22 



branches are sometimes killed, and this, no doubt, sometimes ow- 

 ing to exhaustion from heavy bearing. On the Volga it is the 

 favorite late-keeping apple for home use. Were the tree hardy 

 enough to be grown at Quebec it probably would prove valuable 

 as a long-keeper. Mr. A. Webster, of East Roxbury, Vermont, 

 who has kindly given us, in the last report of the Montreal 

 Horticultural Society, his opinion upon thirty-eight varieties of 

 Russian apples, tested by him, says of the Tchernoe Derevo, '• fruit 

 good, but not of special value — fall." Grown at the north it is a fruit 

 of very fine quality and a pretty good keeper, such was our opinion 

 as we tasted it on the Volga. It is one of those mild app js which 

 seem specially to please the Russian palate. In the Volga region 

 and in central Russia, its quality is first-rate, and thus it is, that, 

 although of small size and unattractive color, it sells at extra prices, 

 and becomes very profitable. At Saratof, in the two largest or- 

 chards we visited, one of 12,000 and the other of 4,000 trees, the 

 Blackwood was named second on their list for profit, second only 

 to Anis. In Russia it sells at i J roubles per pood, 75 cents per 36 

 lbs,, when other apples are selling at 40 kop. or 20 cents per pood, 

 and it even has been sold up to 5 roubles per pood. Only, if 

 picked early and kept in cool place would it be a keeping apple 

 with us, and if so, possibly a valuable apple for home use. 



BoGDANOFF.— This is an apple which has been grown upon 

 the BogdanofF estates near Kursk, probably for two centuries. 

 Hitherto it has been known under the name of Pipka. There 

 were about 300 trees of it in the orchard we visited. It is a stout, 

 upright grower. Taking an average of years, the Antonovka pro- 

 duces more fruit per tree, but it does not keep so long, A large 

 number of varieties have been tried, yet, next to Antonovca, they 

 consider it their most profitable winter apple. As a late-keeping 

 apple for home use they much prefer it to any other. The fruit is 

 large, and in form, size and striping, much like our St. Lawrence. 



The flesh, when tasted on 21st Sept., was whitish, firm, juicy, 

 crude, unripe, rather fine grained, a mixture of sweet and crude 

 sharp acid. As a long-keeping apple of fine quality, I have every 

 hope of this being a very valuable variety. 



