294 APPLES. 



done, it has never failed to protect the trees. One man will 

 go over some hundreds in a day. In the following spring this 

 earth is again levelled. 



Rabbits are excluded by tying woven wire netting or stiff 

 painted paper around the stems eighteen inches high, or, 

 easier, by rubbing fresh blood upon the bark every few weeks 

 during winter, which may be done by using a piece of fresh 

 liver for this purpose. 



Changes Wrought by Climate and Soil, 



This subject has been treated, as applied to fruits generally, 

 in a former part of this work ; a few brief remarks on the vari- 

 ations in the apple may be interesting. 



The winter apples of the Northern States, when cultivated 

 farther south, are changed to autumn apples ; and as far south 

 as Georgia, some of our good keepers ripen nearly by the end 

 of summer. The Baldwin and Rhode Island, at Cincinnati 

 and at St. Louis, cease to be winter fruits. There are few or 

 none of the northern apples which succeed well as keepers as 

 far south as Carolina. This is owing to the long southern 

 summers. It has been found that varieties originated in the 

 Southern States are generally best adapted to the climate of 

 that region. 



Some varieties are greatly influenced by a change of cli- 

 mate and others but slightly. The Ribston, so excellent at 

 Montreal, is of little value a few degrees further south. 

 The Rhode Island and the Roxbury, on suitable soils, through- 

 out New York and New England, present the same charac- 

 teristics of flavor and appearance; the Baldwin, so fine at 

 the east, greatly deteriorates in northern Ohio; and the 

 Belmont, which has been pronounced the most valuable 

 of all apples at Cleveland, is unworthy of cultivation at 

 Cincinnati. These changes, in the latter instances, may 

 perhaps be ascribed to a difference in soil ; and the applica- 

 tion of special manures, as lime, potash, etc., on those unfavor- 

 able soils, has improved the quality. The periods of ripening, 

 given in the following pages, are intended to apply to the 

 Northern States. A difference of about two or three weeks 

 exists between fruits cultivated at Boston or Rochester, and 



