1905 



FRUITS OF ONTARIO. 



71 



SPY {Northern Spy). 



The Spy stands in the very first rank of Canadian apples, whether for home or foreign mar- 

 kets. Originating in New York State on the line with the soutliern portion of the Province of 



Ontario, it succeeds hero 

 to perfection. Its beauty 

 of coloring, lialf shaded 

 by its delicate bloom, and 

 its great excellence of 

 quality for all purposes, 

 justly claim for it its wide 

 popularity. In Chicago, 

 Canadian Spys are more 

 sought for than any other 

 variety, but owing to 

 tenderness of skin, which 

 shows the slightest bruise, 

 it is less popular for ex- 

 port to Great Britain than 

 some other varieties. The 

 tree is late in coming into 

 bearing, often being fif- 

 teen years planted before 

 yielding a crop, and this 

 renders the variety som e- 

 what unpopular with 

 planters. Probably for 

 fancy packages, selected 

 Spys would be among the 

 best. 



Ohtgin : near Roches- 

 ter, N.Y. , introduced 

 about 1850. 



Tree: upright and 

 Spy. spreading in habit ; fruit 



spurs on interior boughs ; 

 very vigorous, late in coming into bearing, but afterwards very productive in alternate years ; 

 blossoms late in spring and holds its fruit late in the autumn ; requires high cultivation and 

 good fertility. 



Fruit : large to very 

 large ; form roundish, 

 slightly conical ; skin 

 thin, light green, or pale 

 yellow, sprinkled with 

 light pink, striped and 

 shaded with pinkish red, 

 and covered with 

 thin whitish bloom ; stalk 

 slender, three-quarters of 

 an inch long, in a wide, 

 deep, sometimes russeted 

 cavity; calyx small, 

 closed, in a narrow, 

 moderately deep, abrupt, 

 irregular basin. ' 



Flesh : white; texture 

 fine grained, crisp, 

 tender, juicy ; flavorrich, 

 sprightly, subacid, fra- 

 grant. 



Quality : dessert and 

 cooking, best. 



Value : home market 

 first class ; skin a little 

 tender for distant ship- 

 ment unless handled with 

 care and wrapped with 

 paper. 



Season : January to May. 



Adaptatio-v : sandy or clay loams in Southern and Middle Ontario ; found tender at the 

 St Lawrence Experiment .Station, and also at the Lake Simcoe Station, except where top grafted 

 to hardy stock. 



X" 



