44 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



March 



For the Western Pomologist. 



New Seedling Apples. 



Friend Miller. — I believe it is generally 

 acknowledged that the apple is the most 

 valuable fruit we have, and I suppose it is 

 the best fruit that man has ever been blessed 

 with on the face of the whole earth ; and I 

 know of no one fruit in so general use. I 

 once spent a month at Panama, on the 

 Isthmus, where there are an abundance, and 

 great variety of tropical fruits, and I suppose 

 nearly one-half of the food of the native 

 people of that country is fruit of some kind. 

 The Plantain and Bananna are used as com- 

 mon as our potatoes are, and are cooked 

 similar, baked and fried, though I'do not 

 recollect eating any boiled. Oranges at 7.5 

 cents a bushel ; pine apples, large and fine, 

 5 to 10 cents each. And yet, none of these 

 fruits were equal to the apple and pear. If 

 we could raise pears as cheap as apples, I 

 would prefer them. I am going to try 

 Captain Mathews plan of raising pears by 

 intermixing evergreens with them. In fact, 

 I had commenced a new pear orchard in this 

 way two years ago, by setting evergreens on 

 the north and west ; and now they must be 

 on the south and through among the pear 

 trees. 



It is generally known that I propagated 

 the "Warfleld apple, a new seedling of this 

 place, and I have spread it over the country 

 pretty widely, from Maine to Nebraska ; and 

 I am not ashamed that I have done so. I 

 have about 50 of the trees in my orchards, 

 the oldest of which are buded on seedling 

 stocks, eight years growth ; one tree bore at 

 two years and it has borne every year since ; 

 half the others bore at three years and nearly 

 all at four. They are remarkable young 

 bearers and the tree is the most perfect 

 apple tree I ever saw. The branches form a 

 knot that will never be likely to split off. 

 Its growth is exceedingly rapid, yet it 

 appears as hardy as anj'thiug I have. Such 

 a fall as last, it is apt to burst the bark at 

 the ground while young in the nursery. 

 The fruit is large, round and fair, and ex- 

 ceedingly handsome; very light delicate 

 yellow, with light beautiful blush in the 

 sun ; flesh a little coarse, firm and hard, sub- 

 acid; quality, second rate, good cooking in 

 July and August ; keeps tlirough September, 

 though it often rots a little on the tree, par- 

 ticularly last season, though it was large and 

 fair. If I am palming off a humhug, friend 

 Miller can testify that it differs from the 

 Mexican Strawberry, in that I have never 

 paid much for advertising, nor have I ever 

 made to exceed Jl.5.00 in any ous season on 

 it, except the two last on the fruit. 



The Iowa; a seedling from Washington 

 county, which I obtained from Mr. Ramsey 

 10 or 12 years ago, a large, striped apple, of 

 first quality ; seascm, September and October. 

 Tree first rate. So far, it has not borne 

 much with me. Some one in Washington 

 county please tell us how the original tree 



succeeds aud bears; for we have not, in 

 former years, attached importance enough to 

 the qualities of Hie tree. 



I have on hand three or four sweet varie- 

 ties, not yet fruited, long keepers, to take 

 the place of the Sweet Romanite, which is 

 quite too small ; we want a good sweet apple 

 for baking in the spring of the year. A dish 

 of rich, baked sweet apples and milk is a 

 very good and healthful food for children, 

 and far from being dispised by any person. 

 I have a number of other seedlings not yet 

 fruited, but highly recommended by those of 

 whom I obtained them. 



By a fortuitous combination of circum- 

 stances, I have, lately obtained from Peter 

 M. Gideon,' of Excelsior, Minnesota, which is 

 25 or 30 miles W. N.-W. of Minneapolis, 

 the cions of two seedling apples, "the 

 Wealthy" and "the Molly," which have 

 made their way to public favor, to some 

 extent, in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I will 

 ask Mr. Gideon to give you a description of 

 the trees and fruit for publication. 



But, friend Miller, here is one important 

 fact we must not overlook in introducing 

 new seedlings. It does not follow that 

 because a seedling has originated in our own 

 vicinity, that it is adapted to our climate ! 

 or that if it originated in Minnesota, it is 

 unquestionably hardy! although when an 

 apple tree has withstood a few winters there 

 it is a very good test, for Mr. Gideon writes 

 me 2d of March, "The winter has been rather 

 mild generally, coldest, 31° below zero." 

 And when Mr. Adams, in the north of Iowa, 

 says "nine-tenths of the seedling apples 

 wiuter-ivill with me," we must know that it 

 is only a few of the hardiest that survive ; 

 but here we get this severe test only once in 

 ten to twenty years. We want varieties 

 that will stand these tests. And yet, I 

 would not condemn all that will not stand 

 such tests. A few of us early settlers of 

 Iowa saw the exceeding killing winter of 

 1843 and 1843, which was in length and 

 severity like a Minnesota winter. And yet, 

 Mr. Starit, of Cedar county, told me tliat his 

 mother brought some apple trees with them 

 and set a small orchard previous to that 

 winter, and a Rambo stood through, and 

 twenty years after it was the best tree on 

 the place. How little we know of the 

 causes that would save a Rambo through 

 such a winter! 



Allow me to criticise some of the remarks in 

 the February number of the Pomologist, 

 on the " Kansas Queen," " a seedling raised 

 by B. Atkinson, of this place, from seed of 

 Ben Davis, planted 1858." " The tree is so 

 identical in all its habits with the Ben Davis, 

 which is a sufficient guarantee of its being 

 hardy, productive aud profitable without 

 further comment from me." 



In the first place, I deny the evidence 

 that it was a "seedling of the Ben Davis." 

 In the second place, that if it was proved to 

 be a seedling of tlie Ben Davis, or any other 

 hardy variety, it is sufficient evidene of its 



hardiness and productiveness ; aud third and 

 lastly, if it was just like its adopted parent, 

 the Ben Davis, except its season, which you 

 say, or rather your correspondent, is August 

 and September," therefore I would not give 

 two cents for ten thousand of the trees, 

 unless I was in the line of 7iumbitgs, to sell 

 the trees, for we have plenty of better 

 apples for August and September than the 

 Ben Davis, which is only tolerated for its 

 long keeping. The tree of the Dutchess of 

 Oldenburg is equal, or better than the Ben 

 Davis in every respect, and the fruit larger, 

 handsomer, better qualitj^ and a far more 

 profitable market apple for August. 



Let us be cautious about getting the true 

 Dutchess of Oldenburg, for I learned last win- 

 ter, in the Northern Illinois Horticultural 

 Society, at Dixon, that many have got a 

 spurious variety, by mistake, for the genuine 

 Oldenburg, (let us shorten this name,) it is a 

 very valuable variety, probabl}' superior to 

 the Warfield, and the two together will 

 make the handsomest basket of fruit that 

 any boy or woman ever peddled in the 

 streets, or ctirried into a railroad car. 



Please pardon me if I have disparaged the 

 introduction of the Kansas Queen, or any 

 other seedling ; I only intended to criticise the 

 principle that a seedling can be depended on 

 because of its parentage or place of origin. 



Hence the nineteen varieties from Russia, 

 which Mr. Skinner, of Illinoi.s, is so widely 

 and generou.sly spreading over the North- 

 west, must be taken with a great deal of 



caution and tried. 



SuEL Foster, Muscatine. 



Flavor of California Fruits. 



JosiAH HoopES, in his late annual address 

 before the Penn. Fruit Growers' Society, 

 s;iid of his observations in California: — "I 

 may say in regard to the larger fruits, such 

 as tlie apple, pear, peach, etc., that their re- 

 markable -size and beauty appeared very 

 little short of a miracle ; indeed, I was totally 

 unable to detect old standard varieties, time 

 and again. Their enormous size and perfect 

 sliape, together with that peculiar waxen 

 appearance, proverbial to all California fruits 

 was a continual picture, aud will not soon be 

 forgotten. But beautiful and large as 'all 

 the.se vegetable productions are, there is 

 hicliing that deicious flavor, the agreeabl'J 

 aroma, and tlie riclmess of our less perfect, 

 but better fruits. We search in vain for 

 these requisites beyond the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and I very much diuibt if tMy have the 

 more preferable acquisitions, or that we 

 would exchange our quality for their appea- 

 rance." 



Cracking of the Pear. * 



It may be a long time before we know all 

 the influences affecting this disease. The 

 past season, whicli has been so wet in West- 

 ern New York, and, as commonly supposed, 

 favorable to the increase of tlie fungus which 

 Ciiuses cracking, has given some remarkable 

 results. The Seckels have been badly afi'ec- 

 ted, and on some teees nearly all the S])eci- 

 mcns are small, black and scabby. The 

 Flemish Beauty, which has so often been 

 spoiled of late years by cracking, was large 

 uninjured and covered witli that ricli russet 

 which accompanies a high flavor. The 

 White Doyenne appears to be hoi)clessly 

 diseased, as no indications are seen of auy 

 improvement of late years, and few fair 

 specimens only, to be found on tlie best trees. 

 The Gray Doyenne, on the contrary, is 

 mostly fine and fair. — Country Geniknian. 



