STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 71 



and Emperor Alexander, which were imported by the elder 

 Manning of Salem, Mass. The Pewaukee, which has been 

 sold largely for a Russian, is a seedling of the Duchess of 

 Oldenburg, and originatect by Mr. George P. PefFer of 

 Pewaukee, Wis. The Haas, Walbridge, and others now 

 being largely sold as hardy, and represented by many agents 

 as "Russian," are natives of this country, and are deserving 

 of intelligent trial, and will prove for many places hardy 

 enough for all seasons. They are generally in bearing while 

 young, which is a valuable consideration in deciding what to 

 purchase. 



Dr. T. H. Hoskins, of Newport, Vt., a gentleman of great 

 experience and extensive information on this subject, to 

 whom I am indebted for valuable facts, writes me as follows : 

 *' There is no ' humbug ' about the apples ; they are all good 

 sorts, and valuable where extreme hardiness is required. 

 They would be promising for all the northern parts of your 

 State. But there is a great deal of humbug used in the sell- 

 ing of those varieties by peddlers. I have them all in my 

 orchard and in my nursery for sale at $25 per 100, yet the 

 peddlers will sell them (or trees labelled with their names) 

 all around me at |1 apiece. I know no wa}' to prevent this, 

 as long as the Tool-killer is so remiss in his duties.'" He 

 adds : " I should not recommend any of these varieties for 

 planting in those sections where older and well known sorts 

 succeed. Even though as good, they would not sell as well, 

 because unknown." 



In concluding my discussion of the Russian apple business, 

 I will say : these trees are yet to be further tested, and the 

 fruits they bear must be better known before it would be 

 advisable to invest largel}^ in that kind of stock. If we can 

 raise the Baldwin, the Greening, the Russet, the Northern 

 Spy, the Bellflower and other well known kinds in abundance, 

 I think they should not be discarded at the interested solici- 

 tations of a peregrinating- ignoramus, who hardly knows an- 

 apple tree from a shad-bush. 



