APPLESEED 



APRICOT 



79 



Apricot leaves. 



P. Mume on left ; 

 P. Armenlaca on right. 



New Testament he read aloud in many frontier log 

 cabins. He had many peculiarities, but was always 

 welcomed and respected everywhere. In the war of 

 1812 he saved many lives by warning the settlers of 

 Hull's surrender and the approach oE the Indians. He 

 lived to see trees bearing fruit over a territory of 

 100,000 acres. The story o£ this self-sacriflcing and 

 useful man is told by W. D. Haley in Harper's, 

 43:830-836(1871). W. M. 



APEICOT, SosAcem. The apricot is a fruit some- 

 what intermediate between the peach and the plum. 

 The tree is a round-headed, spreading grower, with 

 dark, somewhat peach-like bark, and very broad or al- 

 most circular leaves. The fruit, which generally ripens 

 in advance of both the peach and plum, is peach-like in 

 shape and color, with a smoother skin, rich, yellow flesh 

 and large, flat, smooth stone. The 

 flesh is commonly less juicy than 

 that of the peach, and, as a rule, 

 perhaps, of higher quality. The 

 apricots are of three species, all 

 probably native of China or Japan. 

 The common apricot of Europe 

 and America is Prumi-s Armeni- 

 aca : fr. variable, but smooth at 

 maturity, red or yellow, the sweet 

 and firm flesh free, or very nearly 

 so, from the large, smooth, flat 

 stone : tree with a round, spread- 

 ing top, and a reddish, cherry-like 

 or peach-like bark: lvs.(Fig. 113, 

 right) ovate or round-ovate, with 

 a short point and, sometimes a 

 heart-shaped base, thin and bright green, smooth, or 

 very nearly so below, as are the gland-bearing stalks, the 

 margins rather obtusely and mostly finely serrate : fls. 

 pink-white and borne singly, sessile or very nearly so, 

 preceding the leaves (Fig. 116). The Russian apricot 

 is a hardy but smaller-fruited race of this species. The 

 Japanese apricot, in Japan grown for flowers rather 

 than for fruit, is Prumts Mitme : fr. small, yellowish or 

 greenish, the flesh rather hard and dry, and adhering 

 tightly to the pitted stone : tree like the conunon apricot, 

 but with a grayer or greener bark and duller foliage : 

 Ivs. grayish green, generally narrower {Fig. 113, left) 

 and long-pointed, more or less hairy along the veins be- 

 low and on the shorter mostly glandless stalk, thick in 

 texture and prominently netted beneath : fls. fragrant, 

 borne singly or in 2's, and sessile (without stalks). 

 Only recently introduced into this country, chiefly under 

 the name of Bungoume plum. The third species is the 

 purple or black apricot, Fmniis dasycarpa, which is 

 little cultivated : fr. globular and somewhat plum-like, 

 with a distinct stem, pubescent or fuzzy even at ma- 

 turity, dull dark purple, the sourish, soft flesh clinging 

 to the plum-like fuzzy stono : tree rotmd-headed, with 

 much the habit of the common apricot, with Ivs. ovate 

 and more or less tapering at both ends, thin, dull green, 

 on slender and pubescent mostly glandless stalks, flnely 

 appressed-serrate, and hairy on the veins below : fls. 

 large and plum-like, blush, solitary or in 2's, on pubes- 

 cent stalks a half inch or more long, and appearing in 

 advance of the leaves. See Prunus for related species. 

 The apricot-plum, Pninus Simoniij is discussed under 

 Plum. 



The apricot is as hardy as the peach, and it thrives in 

 the same localities and under the same general cultiva- 

 tion and treatment, but demands rather strong soil. It 

 is grown commercially in New York and other eastern 

 states. There are three chief reasons why the apricot 

 has remained in comparative obscurity in the East : 

 Ignorance of the fruit ; loss of crop by spring frosts, 

 because of the very early season of blooming of the 

 apricot ; the fondness of the curculio for the fruit. To 

 these may be added the fact that we have not yet ar- 

 rived at an understanding of the best stocks upon which 

 to bud the apricot ; but this difficulty may be expected to 

 disappear as soon as greater attention is given to the 

 fruit and our nurserymen begin to propagate it exten- 

 sively. Aside from the above difficulties, there are prob- 

 ably no reasons why apricots should not be grown in the 

 East as easUy as pliuns or peaches. The varieties of 



apricots which are chiefly prized in the eastern states 

 are Harris, Early Moorpark, and St. Ambroise for early ; 

 Turkish or Roman (Fig. 114), Montgamet, Royal and 

 Moorpark for mid-season and late. Of the Russian race, 

 the best known are Alexander, Gibb, Budd, Alexis, 

 Nicholas, and Catherine. 



The ideal soil for the apricot seems to be one which 

 is deep and dry, and of a loamy or gravelly character. 

 The rolling loamy lands which are well adapted to apples 

 seem to be well suited to the apricot, if the exposure 

 and location are right. The apricot seems to be particu- 

 larly impatient of wet feet, and many of the failures are 

 due to retentive subsoils. Particular attention should 

 be given to the location and exposure of the apricot 

 orchard. In the East, the best results are obtained if 

 the plantation stands upon elevated land near a large 

 body of water, for there the spring frosts are not so 

 serious as elsewhere. _ Generally, a somewhat backward 

 exposure, if it can be obtained, is desirable, in order to 

 retard blooming. Apricots will be sure to fail in frosty 

 localities. The apricot should always be given clean 

 culture. For the first two or three years some hoed 

 crop may be grown between the trees, but after that 

 the trees should be allowed the entire land, particu- 

 larly if set less than 20 feet apart. Cultivation should 

 be stopped late in summer or early in the fall, in order 

 to allow the wood to mature thoroughly. The trees are 

 pruned in essentially the same way as plums. The fruit- 

 buds are borne both upon spurs (two are shown in Fig. 

 115), and also on the wood of the last season's growth, 

 on either side of the leaf -bud, as shown in the twin and 

 triplet buds above a in Fig. 115. Each bud contains a 

 single naked flower (Fig. 116). As the fruit begins to 

 swell, the calyx-ring is forced off over the top (Fig. 117) ; 

 and the injury from curculio may then be expected. 



When grown under the best conditions, the apricot 

 may be considered to be nearly or quite as productive 

 as the peach. Like other fruit trees, it bears in alter- 

 nate years, unless the crops are very heavily thinned; 

 but it can never be recommended for general or indis- 

 criminate planting. Only the best fruit-growers can 

 succeed with it. Apricots are to be considered as a 

 dessert or fancy fruit, and, therefore, should be neatly 

 packed in small and tasty packages. The most serious 

 enemy of the apricot is the curculio, the same insect 

 which attacks the plum and peach. It seems to have a 

 particular fondness for the apricot, and as the fruit sets 

 very early the crop may be expected to be destroyed un- 

 less the most vigilant means are employed of fighting 

 the insect. Spraying with arsenical poisons is uncertain. 

 The insect must be caught by jarring the trees, in the 



114. Apricot, the Roman (X K). 



same manner as on plums and peaches, but the work 

 must be even more thoroughly done than upon those 

 fruits. The jarring should begin as soon as the blos- 

 soms fall, and continue as long as the insects are nu- 

 merous enough to do serious damage. It will usually be 



