38 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



Mapeh 



Missouri Pippin, 8 ozs. (.Mo. Keeper, Warveji..) 



This apple has been known under this name for more than ten years at and around Inde- 

 pendence, Mo. It has been iu cultivation in Kansas nearly that time under the above name. 

 Dr. "Warder has 

 described it in his 

 work under the 

 name of "Missouri 

 Keeper," but by 

 what authority we 

 do not know. We 

 think there is no 

 doubt that it is a 

 seedling of Missou- 

 ri; at least we have 

 never seen or 

 heard of anything 

 like it. It is wor- 

 thy of introduc- 

 tion. 



Fruit, medium ; 

 weight 6 to 9 oz.s ; 

 form round, irreg- 

 ular, oblique ; skin 

 smooth, shining, 

 yellow, mixed, 



shaded, marbled and striped with light and 

 dark red ; dots numerous, small, gray ; stem 

 medium to short, slender ; cavity regular, 

 wide and deep ; eye small, nearly, closed ; 

 basin abrupt, deep, regular, furrowed ; core 

 small, compact ; capsules medium ; seeds 

 small, short, plump, quite dark; ticsh yellow, 

 tender, juicy, pleasant, sub-acid. Quality 

 only good ; use, market and kitchen. Sea- 

 son — January to July. Dr. Warder says: 

 " Specimens cut on the 35th of June were in 

 perfect condition." Tree vigorous, healthy 

 and hardy ; bark, dark brown ; very early 

 and abundant bearer. Origin, supposed to 

 be Missouri. 



We consider this apple worthy of cultiva- 

 tion in Kansas and Missouri, it being such 

 an early and abundant bearer and quite 

 handsome, will always command a fair price. 

 Excellent for shipping in the spring on ac- 

 count of its fine color and great keeping 

 qualities. 



WEIGHT AND BIZK OF APPLES. 



We have adopted a scale from one to seven, 

 as follows : 



Under two ounces, very small. 



From two to four ounces, small. 



From five to seven ounces, medium. 



From eight to ten ounces, average. 



From eleven to fourteen ounces, large. 



From fifteen to twenty ozs., very large. 



Over twenty ounces, monstrous. 



We give the weight of tlie apple the cut is 

 taken from, consequently if large or small it 

 will show by a comparison of the scale and 

 the average size of the apples, which are 



also designated in the description. I find 

 this necessary, as our apples are much larger 

 than Eastern. What is large there would 

 not be here. 



Kan. Ed. 



*-•-♦ 



— Worldly pleasures are no more able to 

 satisfy the soul than the light of a candle to 

 give day to the world. 



For tbe Weetem Pomologiet. 

 More about the Cherry— MahaJeb vs. 

 Morello. 



Unless by a fair comparison it shall be de- 

 cided by a majority of our pomologists, that 

 the Morello proves generally better than 

 Mahaleb, I think the latter ought to have 

 the preference for general purposes, and for 

 reasons which few will gainsay. I will name 

 two of them. In the first place the Morello 

 is not, so far as I know, grown extensively, 

 if at all by nurserymen, from the seed. I do 

 not remember to have seen them advertised 

 iu any catalogue. Then how are cultivators 

 to supply themselves with this stock where 

 there is an extensive demand ? They must 

 obtain whatever they can by traversing 

 neighborhoods, hunting and digging all the 

 sprouts they can find which have come up 

 from the common Morello, with roots large 

 and small, a few having fibers, and the rest 

 having none. Some of them oblong, some 

 square, some triangular, and some having no 

 shape whatever; with tops too, quite as 

 various as the roots ; some being tall and 

 some short, some straight and others crooked, 

 some one year old, some two, three or four, 

 and some of bearing size. Of course the 

 latter, if top grafted, will bear sooner than a 

 graft or bud on a Mahaleb stock one or two 

 years from the seed. 



But as a second objection, the common 

 Morello sprouts from the roots as badty as the 

 black locust or ailantus, either of which, on 

 this account, is a nuisance in a yard, garden, 

 or town lot, where the cherry is generally 

 grown. I have heard it said, the more you 

 doctor a sick sheeii the worse it gets. Just 

 so with these sprouts, the more you dig them 

 out the more they multiply. 



The fact is, all must admit, that it is out of 

 the question to approximate to neatness in a 

 door yard or garden, after the Morello has 



been planted long enough to commence 

 sprouting, which is u.sually not a great while, 

 I would only recommend them, therefore, 

 for nurserymen who decidedly prefer these 

 sprouts as a stock to graft upon. 



By digging their own door yard, garden, 

 and cherry orchard over once a year, includ- 

 ing also the grounds of all their neighbors, 

 whose trees are on the Morello stock, they 

 will obtain a short .supply of roots for the 

 propagation of the Early May Cherry. 



But I must ask pardon, Mr. Editor, for 

 this digression. I intended when I com- 

 menced this article to have discussed the 

 question of varieties ; that is, to enquire 

 what kinds, besides the Early May or Rich- 

 mond, if any, may be grown profitably in 

 Iowa. I have already, however, made this 

 article too long, and must defer that subject, 

 which I think ought to engage the attention 

 all fruit growers, to anotlier time. 



James Mathews. 

 Knoxville, Iowa. 



For the Westers Pomologist. 



What Opens Fruit Stones? 



It is generally understood, in the North 

 particularly, that fruit stones, or pits, must 

 be exposed to the action of frost to prepare 

 them for germinating, consequently these are 

 generally planted in the fnW, to give them 

 the benefit of the winter's frost ; but some- 

 times they are cracked by hand in the spring, 

 when they are planted. Each method has 

 its advocates, and perhaps its peculiar ad- 

 vantages. The first method seems to be 

 attended with the least trouble and labor, 

 while, it is said that the second accelerates 

 the period of germination and subsequent 

 growth. In the former method I am in- 

 clined to think that one grand principle has 

 been overlooked, to which I will merely 

 refer, and upon which I may say more before 

 I close. I refer to the part which water 

 performs in this somewhat mysterious oper- 

 ation of nature. It may be a matter of some 

 little importance for us all to understand this 

 matter ; therefore it may may not be wrong 

 to excite a little public interest and curiosity 

 in relatitm to the subject, and endeavor to 

 draw out from some of our learned profes- 

 sional horticulturists, or others, a little sci- 

 entific information. There is no doubt but 

 nature does, under certain conditions and 

 circumstances, cmploj' Jack Frost to perform 

 the labor of which we are speaking. But, 

 is that the case in a Southern latitude, where 

 they have little or no frost during the whole 

 year ? I think such cnnnot be the case. — 

 We must, therefore, assign some other cause, 

 find some other cracking agent, in a climate 

 where frost cannot be relied upon for that 

 purpose. What cause shall we assign? — 

 May not the whole secret be revealed by 

 keeping the fruit stones moist from the time 

 they mature until they germinate ? That is 

 the way nature performs the task in climates 

 where there is not sufficient frost to accom- 

 plish it. She drops the fruit upou the ground, 



