Personalities of Fruits II.— By John Craig, sr:;u 



WINTER APPLES OF HIGH QUALITY — SOME OF THE BEST KINDS FOR THE DISCRIMINATING 

 GROWER -HABITS OF TREES AND POINTS AS TO CULTURE FOR HOME USE AND MARKET 



TN THIS article I speak favorably of varie- 

 ■■■ ties which, the out-and-out commercialist 

 would laugh to scorn. They are not intended 

 for the orthodox commercial grower. They 

 are not in the Ben Davis, Baldwin, or Wine- 

 sap class — varieties which are grown by 

 the acre and train -load in the great apple 

 regions of the country; but most of them 

 are the kinds which the discriminating 

 grower and apple connoisseur — the person 

 who delights in the superlative in quality 

 — would be Hkely to choose. I am making 

 this prefatory statement to anticipate dis- 

 claimers from men who look at apple lists 

 exclusively with the eye of the commercial 

 grower. 



NORTHERN SPY 



This apple occupies third place in rank 

 of commercial importance in western New 

 York, where it originated about a century 

 ago. It is commonly supposed to be the 

 parent of Wagener. which has also attained 

 a position of considerable economic impor- 

 tance in the apple world; but as a matter of 

 fact an examination of the records of the 

 two gives Wagener precedence in time of 

 appearance. Whether the records are ab- 

 solutely accurate or not is a difficult question 

 to answer. At any rate. Spy is one of the 

 most widely known apples and at the same 

 time one of the most generally appreciated 

 varieties grown in the Northeast. 



Not only is the fruit in keen demand 

 during its long season, but the tree has special 

 usefulness, owing to its excellent constitu- 

 tion, its strong framework, and vigorous 

 growing habits. For this reason it has done, 

 and is doing, excellent service as a stock 

 on which to grow varieties less freely en- 

 dowed with vigor and hardiness. Notwith- 

 standing these qualities, it should be pointed 

 out that Northern Spy does not enjoy as 

 wide a range of adaptation as either Baldwin 

 or Ben Davis. This is probably to be 

 ascribed to the more potent influence of soil 

 and climate on the fruit than upon the tree. 

 For it is in the Northeast that Northern Spy 

 attains its highest development. If we were 

 to look for the region where the best fruit 

 of this variety is produced, we would make 

 no mistake in visiting the Lake Champlain 

 section of New York and Vermont and the 

 eastern end of Lake Ontario. As we go 

 south the apple matures relatively early and 

 loses its crisp, sub-acid qualities. In the 

 South it is better to grow it on heavy soils 

 than upon warm ones, for soil of this char- 

 acter will tend to offset the influence of the 

 chmate. In the North, warmer soils give 

 the best results. 



The Spy is a distinctive tree and very 

 easily recognized in the orchard by its up- 

 right, compact, twiggy growth. On this 

 account it requires a considerable amount 

 of pruning, for the apples borne on the in- 



side branches do not color well and usually 

 lack flavor as well as size. Since it is one 

 of the latest bloomers in the whole apple 

 family, it is not hkely to be caught by un- 

 seasonable late spring frosts. On the other 

 hand, on account of late blooming, the 

 variety is dependent in large measure upon 

 its own pollen for fertilization. The result 

 of this is that while Spy is self-fertile, it runs 

 low in number of seeds, and seedless speci- 

 mens are not at all uncommon. These latter 

 are usually somewhat under size, though oth- 

 erwise normal. The only other variety that 

 I now recall blooming in practically the same 

 season as Spy is the well known Virginia 

 Jenneting or Rawle's Genet. A few trees 

 of these would undoubtedly tend to more 

 completely fertilize the Spy and probably 

 improve its bearing qualities. 



Northern Spy has a bad reputation in the 

 matter of early bearing. It is unquestion- 

 ably a tardy bearer. On the other hand, it is 

 a fairly regular bearer after its normal 

 season for fruit production arrives. It does 

 not tend to overproduce and thus develop 

 a biennial system of fruiting, as in the case 

 with many of our commercial varieties. 



The fruit of Northern Spy is in every 

 respect a magnificent addition to the apple 

 group. Its normal form is large, roundish 

 conical, with more or less well-developed 

 ribs. These ribs are sometimes hardly 

 noticeable; again they are quite prominent, 

 as in Western grown specimens. The cavity 

 is large, while the basin is rather small. 

 The skin is markedly thin, smooth, and 

 rather tender. In the East under good cul- 

 ture it takes on a fine glossy finish and is 

 covered with a light yellow ground washed 

 liberally with red in varying shades from 

 bright pink to deep carmine. The delicate 

 hlac bloom of the Spy is also one of its beau- 

 tiful characteristics. The flesh is yellowish, 

 of firm, fine texture, yet tender; notably 

 juicy, sub-acid in flavor and of pleasant 

 aromatic quality. It ranJcs from good to 

 very best according to pomological standards, 

 and is in season as grown in New York 

 and New England from December until 

 March, according to method of handling. 

 There is no reason, however, why it may not 

 be kept until apples come again. Northern 

 Spy should make an excellent variety to 

 breed from. Curiously enough, it has never 

 been used very much for this purpose. Its 

 tardy bearing habits may be the reason. 



JONATHAN 



This splendid apple has been placed by 

 eminent pomologists of the country in both 

 Spitzenburg and Fameuse groups. I do not 

 feel disposed to agree with either of these 

 classifications. It is true that the tree has 

 some of the Spitzenburg characteristics, 

 but the fruit has not. The Jonathan is 

 quite dissimilar to and hardly suggestive 



168 



of the Fameuse group of apples, in tree or 

 fruit. It seems to stand alone. 



The Jonathan is somewhat noted, owing 

 to the fact that it is one of the few Eastern 

 apples which have attained a position of any 

 prominence in the commercial apple world 

 of the Middle West. At all the large ex- 

 positions which I have visited during the 

 past twenty years this variety has been cited 

 as typifying the highest quality in apples of 

 all varieties grown in the South or Middle 

 West. The fruit grower of the Ozark, when 

 asked to name a variety of high . quality, 

 answers "Jonathan," with much pride. 

 The southern lUinois man does the same, 

 as well as the fruit grower of Indiana. 



Jonathan originated in Ulster County, 

 New York, about a century ago. Here is 

 a case of a fruit finding congenial, if not 

 ideal, surroundings in regions other than 

 the place of its birth. The behavior of 

 Jonathan is fickle in New York State. The 

 best specimens I have seen in this state were 

 grown in Westchester County on stony, rich, 

 clay loam, and it is probable that such soil 

 conditions will bring out the best that is in 

 the variety, at any rate in the East. The 

 principal complaint against Jonathan is that 

 it is variable from year to year, some seasons 

 being of normal size and fine color, while 

 other years it may run small and vary much 

 both in color and in size. On the Pacific 

 Coast, where the variety is again very popu- 

 lar, this defect is not complained of. 



The tree is not a vigorous grower. It is 

 a weak grower in nursery, according to the 

 opinion of the man who grows the tree, but 

 it improves in orchard, and when it ap- 

 proaches middle life is fairly vigorous and 

 sturdy. Ideally it should be top-worked 

 on a strong-growing stock. The charac- 

 teristic shape is round at first, then spreading, 

 and finally somewhat pendant in form. 



It is an early bearer and for this reason is 

 popular in commercial plantings, being used 

 both as a permanent tree and as a "filler." 

 The apple is being extensively planted on the 

 Pacific Slope and as far south as the inter- 

 mountain regions of Utah and Idaho. 



The fruit is of medium size. One of its 

 attractive features is its regularity of form 

 with its characteristically deep basin and 

 cavity. The color, too, is very uniform, 

 being a clear, bright red, washed on with 

 great evenness. Occasionally it is Hghted up 

 on the shady side with a patch of clear yellow, 

 which brings into bolder contrast its red 

 cheek. The flavor of Jonathan is quite 

 distinctive. A striking feature is its aro- 

 matic qualities. It is sprightly sub-acid, with 

 crisp, juicy flesh. One is obliged to admit 

 on very critical examination that the prom- 

 ise which the first taste of Jonathan gives 

 is hardly fulfilled by the after-taste. How- 

 ever, it is a mighty good apple. In contrast 

 to Jonathan the after-taste of the Pearmain, 



