SOILS OP MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 61 



cut so far available this variety seems to yield somewhat heavier 

 crops at the highest altitudes in the northern part of the State than in 

 the southern part; there is less trouble from dropping and the fruit 

 has better keeping quality. Even in the northern counties at eleva- 

 tions as low as 300 feet there is much loss from dropping, the tree 

 does not yield satisfactorily, and the fruit is not as crisp as at higher 

 altitudes. 



SOILS FAVORABLE FOR THE TOMPKINS KING. 



The Tompkins King is fully as exacting as Northern Spy in soil 

 adaptation. The tree, with its straggling tendency of growth, does 

 not develop satisfactorily on sandy soils, but succeeds best on a 

 moist yet well-drained soil, i. e., the light Rhode Island Greening 

 soil, a soil capable of maintaining such supply of moisture that the 

 tree receives no check at the approach of drought. But the fruit 

 grown on soils so heavy often lacks clearness of skin, and the ap- 

 pearance of the apple is marred by the greenish look extending far 

 up the sides from the blossom end, and the lack of the well-developed 

 color which makes this fruit at its best very attractive. A layer of 

 hardpan within a few feet of the surface may produce similar effects. 

 Hence the problem is to balance these two opposite tendencies as 

 well as possible, and soil of the following description seems best 

 to do this: Light, mellow loam, the sand content thereof being me- 

 dium rather than fine, thus constituting an open textured loam rather 

 than a fine loam. A subsoil of the same texture or only slightly 

 heavier is favorable, and one heavier than a very light, plastic clay 

 loam or inclining toward stiffness in structure should be avoided. 

 For this variety the productivity of the soil should be at least moder- 

 ately well maintained. 



SOILS FAVORABLE FOR THE FALL PIPPIN. 



Soils adapted to the Fall Pippin are somewhat wider in range than 

 those described for Northern Spy and Tompkins King. In fact, 

 this variety may be very successfully grown on the soils described 

 for both the Tompkins King and the Northern Spy. It is prefer- 

 able, however, that the surface soil be a fine loam rather than the 

 open-textured loam described for the Tompkins King. 



Another soil combination which has given very good results in 

 Connecticut is a strong loam 10 to 12 inches deep, underlain by 

 sandy loam which offsets in a measure the retentiveness of the surface 

 soil. 



SOILS FAVORABLE FOR THE ROME BEAUTY. 



The commercial worth of Rome Beauty for New England is yet 

 to be determined. In middle latitudes it bears the same relation to 

 the Grimes in soil requirements that Baldwin does to the Rhode 



