B2 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



April and May 



Kansas Sweet. 



Fruit aveiMge ; weight 8 to 10 ounces ; form flat, slightly conical ; skin greenish yellow, 

 covered with broken stripes of light red and jcrimson ; dots small, black, scattered ; stem 

 short, rather 

 thick ; cavity 

 regular, wide 

 aud deep ; eye 

 small, closed; 

 basin narrow 

 and shallow ; 

 flesh yellowish 

 white, fine 

 grained, juicy, 

 ciisp, breaking 

 very teuder and 

 pleasiint, sugar 

 sweet, quality 

 excellent ; core 

 medium, com- 

 pact; capsules 

 small ; seeds 

 few, long point- 

 ed, light brown, 



plump. Season, November to January.— 

 Use, table. Tree erect, compact, vigorous, 

 healthy; bore eleven years from seed; 

 shoots woolly, short jointed. Seedling, by 

 B. Atkinson of this place. This is the best 

 sweet apple I am acquainted with, and think 

 it worthy of cultivation. 



J. Statman, Asst. Ed. 



For the Western Pomolaglst. 



Russian Apples. 



Mr. E. H. Skinner, of Marengo, read an 

 essay before the Northern Illinois Horticul- 

 tural Society, that presented many points of 

 interest to horticulturists living in this aud 

 more northern latitudes. 



The growing interest in procuring hardy 

 varieties of apples that would withstand the 

 severe rigors of the climate of the Northwest' 

 of which the district embraced in the bounds 

 of this society forms an integral part, had 

 induced him to procure from Kurope a num- 

 ber of varieties of apple, originating in a high 

 northern latitude— some of them so far north 

 as 631^ degrees. 



Four hundred of these varieties were ob- 

 tained from Dr. Lucas, Director of the Po- 

 mological Gardens of Puttcngen, Germany 

 and were accompanied by a list of their 

 names in the German language, which had 

 been, through the kindness of Mr. C. AV. 

 Murtfelt,ofSt. Louis, interpreted and written 

 out for him in English. 



Nineteen of these varieties were of Russian 

 origin, and were those ofi'ered by him as pre- 

 miums to the members of this society. 



He spoke of the merits of this class of ap- 

 ples, and the necessity for them in the rigor- 

 ous nature of our climate. He made no pre- 

 tensions to a knowledge of the science of 

 Pomology, but would cjill attention to the 

 fact that Illinois covers a number of degrees 

 of latitude, and that the fruits aud plants 

 suited to the more southern portion, arc not 

 adapted to its mn-lhern region, for the sup- 



plying of the wants of which this society wa^ 

 organized. ^ 



It was not for the end of detracting from, 

 but rather adding to the general stock of 

 knowledge valuable to the whole country, 

 and he felt proud to believe tlat the capaci- 

 ties and prospects of this society were such 

 that he could not doubt'it would bo made the 

 peer of any organization of like character in 

 this State or any other State. But he was 

 diverging — 



In regard to these Russian apples, he con- 

 sidered these new varieties as promising ^of 

 hardiness and productiveness beyond any 

 of the old sort. 



The Duchess of Oldenburg he cited as a 

 type of the class called Russian apples, and 

 if the crops he had raised on sixty-two trees 

 in the last five years, were to be taken as an 

 example of productivejuess of these new sorts 

 now being tested, it is certainly a promising 

 experiment. 



The Duchess is found quite hardy as flir 

 north as St. Paul. Unfortunately it does not 

 fill the place of a winter apple ; and if among 

 the nineteen varieties he now nfl'ered to this 

 society, there should be found one single 

 winter fruit, as hardy and productive as that, 

 he would consider such a result a more honor- 

 able monument than to have a marble statue 

 erected to his memory. 



It had been objected, he said, that these 

 Russian apples are not equal to our native 

 sorts in flavor. He thought this was an- 

 swered by the nature of our climate, that left 

 little to choose between growing this class of 

 apples and the doubtful production of the 

 finer sorts, and he wished to express that he 

 felt a common sentiment with his neighbors 

 of Iowa, Minnesota, aud Wisconsin, one of 

 whose delegates had so truthfully stiid, " our 

 trials, our soils, our climate, and conditions 

 are the same." 



The Northwest is undoubtedly the most 



promising, and at the same time the most dif- 

 ficult field for the fame of those who aspire 

 to become our national pomologists. Mean- 

 while, he said, as true patriots and phUau- 

 thropists, aud genuine lovers of Nature's 

 good gifts, let us continue our eflbrts to im- 

 prove, and disseminate the fruits she distrib- 

 utes as the rewards of patience and industry. 

 R. Hathaway, Little Prairie, Mich. 



Transcendent and Hislop Crabs. 



At the last annual meeting of the Wiscon- 

 sin State Horticultural Society, Mr. C. 

 Andrews of Marengo, 111., read an interest- 

 ing essay on the crab apple from which we 

 clip the following in reference to the Tran- 

 scendent and the Hislop : 



" The Transcendent and the Hislop apples 

 have become more widely known than any 

 except the Red and Yellow, 'i hey have no 

 authentic history. Even the section of 

 their origin is not with certainty known. 

 But in less than 20 years they have acquired 

 a popvilarity which has rendered them the 

 most popular nursery tree in the Northwest. 



The main facts regarding the value of these 

 two sorts, may be briefly stated thus : The 

 trees, like all of their species are perfectly 

 hardy as far north as they have been planted, 

 and in every other section are strong grow- 

 ing and productive. 'I'he fruit is medium 

 in size, very handsome, and in use from 

 August to November. In quality, loo austere 

 for the choice dessert, but once established 

 ju the kitchen they are never discarded for 

 uy other sorts whatever. A fair test of 

 value is the price a fruit will bring in mar- 

 ket when in competition mth others. The 

 Transcendent has sold in St. Paul for $1.25 

 per peek, when large apples, shipped from 

 Illinois and Michigan orchards, brought only 

 $1 per peck from the same store. The s;mie 

 apple has for the last four years brought in 

 the markets of Chicago an average of $1..50 

 per basket, or $4.50 per bushel, when the 

 best Eastern apples were in good sujjply at 

 $5.00 to 6.00 per barrel. 



•-»-• 



The Dracut Amber and Christine. 



At the last meeting of the Mississippi Val- 

 ley Grape Growers' Association, the Dracut 

 Amber and Christine grapes were brought 

 up. 



Mr. Husmau add the tendency just now 

 is in favor of white wines, but if any new 

 dark grape is worthy of attention it is the 

 Christine. It is very healthy; last year it 

 had the healthiest foliage of one hundred 

 varieties. When the vine becomes about 

 four years old it i^roduces well, not large 

 bunches, but three or four to a shoot. — 

 Colors about the time of the Hartford, berry 

 about same size as Ives ; bunch, very com- 

 pact, and generally shouldered. Samples of 

 wine were very superior. It has a thinner 

 skin than the Ives. Ripens about with the 

 Hartford. 



Mr. Mason spoke of the Dracut Amber, 

 which he fruited last season, and found the 

 demand very great on account of the color 

 and size. They are inferior to the Concord, 

 but sell well. He had no doubt they would 

 make a good wine. The viues are very 

 healthy and not subject to rot. The skin ig 

 very tiuek, aud it will bear transiwrtation. 



