70 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



it affected bis own or his customers' interest. I know tliat 

 he has for years furnished a good quality of stock — much bet- 

 ter tlian the average brought licre from the West, and it is a 

 fact, that no large dealer in nursery trees in this State has 

 given such general satisfaction to his customers as the one to 

 whom I allude. But he cannot be cognizant of all their deal- 

 ings, and of course many abuses are practised by the sub- 

 agents of which he has no knoMledge and for which he should 

 not be blamed further than his responsibility is involved under 

 the directions which he gives the selling agents for their gen- 

 eral government in obtaining orders. 



And now, in returning to the subject of the Russian apple, 

 what, 3'ou ask, are my conclusions respecting it? During 

 the investigation and research for facts, which I have given 

 to it for many weeks past, I have found good reasons, I think, 

 for some modification of the views and impressions I had 

 previously entertained respecting the true character of the 

 Russian apple tree, and the Russian apple mania. It is but 

 natural that we distrust the methods and appliances by which 

 we have been repeatedly deceived, and after an experience 

 and observation of years of tree-buying and planting, with 

 most unsatisfactory results, is it strange that we regard the 

 efforts and the peculiar means employed to introduce new 

 varieties of trees for sale, with somewhat of incredulity and 

 apprehension? Although I have given the Russian apple 

 trees a trial, and am watching their growth and development 

 with much interest, I am not convinced that they are any 

 more valuable to me, nor are they to any man whose location 

 is favorable to the cultivation of our best old standard fruits. 

 There are places in almost every toAvn, where there is nearly 

 every winter a degree of cold prevalent at certain times suffi- 

 cient, if followed by a sudden change to w^arm weather, to 

 kill almost any common kind of apple tree. For such loca- 

 tions the Russian apple trees are well adapted. 



It must be remembered that of all the so-called hardy 

 apple trees recently introduced and sold as "Russian," but 

 two are known to be of Russian origin, viz: the Tetofsky 



