CA NA DIA N IIORTICIIL Till: I ST. 

 POMOLOGICAL. 



WINTER ST. LAWKKNCK. 



The Winter St Lawrence Apple. 



HY R. W. SHEPHERD, JR., MO.NTIIKAL. 



Since the Fifth Report of the Society 

 was issued in 1879, not much has benu 

 written about this very promising vari 

 ety. We have now had some experi- 

 ence in growing this apple, and remarks 

 upon the tree and fruit will not be un- 

 interesting. Whether the Winter St. 

 Lawrence be, as reported, an old Eng- 

 lish apple or a Canadian seedling (like 

 Fall St. Lawrence) may never be tinally 

 diicided, Trees of this variety are said 

 to have been impoited from England 

 over fifty years ago, under tlie name of 

 Manx Codlin. But the apple is cer 

 tainly not a MarLX Codlin. It is prob- 

 able, I think, tljat its history is rather 

 confused and may never be fully 

 known 



It certainly shows such very near 

 kinship to one or two of the Newman 

 seedlings that I am inclined to claim it 

 as a Canadian apple. If it be an old 

 English variety, it is strange that such 



a tine fruit is not universally known in 

 I'^ngland ; but perhaps the improve- 

 ment in coloring and size, wrought by 

 our Canadian climate, prevents its be- 

 ing recognized as an English apple. 



There is no doubt, however, about 

 its being a most valuable acquisition to 

 our fruit list. The tree has proved to 

 be (juite hardy. On gravelly soil I 

 have some thirty trees, planted about 

 eleven years ago, not one of which 

 shows the slightest disease or decay of 

 any kind, while the Fall St. Lawrence 

 in the same orchard, on the contrary, 

 is not thriving satisfactorily. 



The Winter St. Lawrence is a stout 

 tree, having strong shoots of vigorous 

 upright growth which ripen their termi- 

 nal buds perfectly. I like a tree with 

 a stout trunk ; it has an appearance of 

 longevity, which varieties of a slim 

 growth have not. The tree does not 

 require nmch pruning, a great advan- 

 tage in this severe climate, for, in many 

 cases, disease is the etFect of pruning 



