THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



185 



thing else about the home, should be an ex- 

 pression of the personality and taste of the 

 person who owns it. Other things being favor- 

 able, select varieties which appeal to your own 

 palate. Competent judges have rated the 

 Northern Spy apple eight to nine in quality 

 on a scale of ten, and Mcintosh only 

 five to six, on the same scale, yet I prefer 

 Mcintosh. I have as good a right to my 

 opinion as they have to theirs. So I shall 

 plant Mcintosh — they can plant Spy. Quality 

 in fruits is only a relative term 

 — rarely do two people exactly 

 agree as to the desert merits 

 of a certain fruit. If the varieties 

 you like best can be grown in your 

 section with any degree of 

 success, by all means plant 

 them, even though they are 

 not commonly considered as de- 

 sirable for your locality as some 

 others; perhaps you can afford 

 to overlook this point for the 

 sake of having what you like. 



There is another side to this 

 question. If you plant varieties 

 that you like best, you will be 

 more likely to give them better 

 care than other sorts. 



It is certain that if the Clyman 

 plum especially pleases you, your 

 trees of Clyman will be cared for 

 somewhat better than the Red 

 June next to them. So far as pos- 

 sible, then, and remembering 

 that no amount of care can off- 

 set marked uncongeniality of 

 climate or soil, grow the varieties 

 which you prefer. 



HOW MANY VARIETIES? 



The home orchard should have 

 more varieties than the commer- 

 cial orchard. In the commercial 

 orchard, it is better to have only 

 a few sorts on account of busi- 

 ness reasons — the trees can be 

 cared for, and the fruit harvested 

 and marketed to better advan- 

 tage. The home fruit-grower 

 is not troubled by these economic 

 problems. He desires, first of all, 

 varieties which ripen in succes- 

 sion throughout the season, from 

 very early to very late. This 

 means that there shall be several, 

 not a few, varieties. Study care- 

 fully the season of the different 

 varieties which are candidates 

 for favor, and select those which 

 slightly overlap one another. 

 Thus, in apples, a succession of 

 five varieties might be Astrachan, 

 Gravenstein, King, Baldwin, and 

 Roxbury, which in many parts of 

 the North, will give a supply of 

 fruit practically the whole year, 

 if it is stored carefully. Likewise 

 in pears, a succession of five 

 varieties might be Tyson, Bart- 

 lett, Bosc, Anjou and Winter 

 Nelis. The relative season of 

 varieties is usually fairly con- 



stant, whatever may be the locality. Although 

 Early Crawford peach may ripen a month 

 earlier in Georgia than in Massachusetts, 

 it will ripen in the same order with reference 

 to other sorts — after Early Rivers and 

 before Lemon Free, for example. 



The number of varieties which may be 

 chosen will depend upon the area to be 

 planted, and the congeniality of the location, 

 as well as upon the tastes of the planter. If 

 the area which can be used for fruit-growing 



253. Kieffer. Which the home fruit grower should avoid. Usuall 

 quality fresh, but good canned. Less liKely to blight than mo 



ery poor 

 st pears 



254. Flemish (Beauty). A standard midseason variety of high 

 chief drawbacK is its liability to scab. This can be controlled 



255. SecKel. The standard of quality in pears and one of the 

 Grown everywhere in home orchards. Small, russet-red. Ripen 



is limited, it will be better to plant only sum- 

 mer and fall varieties of apples, because the 

 winter sorts are a staple and can usually be 

 bought to advantage. The smaller the area 

 the more should be grown early and perish- 

 able fruits, instead of long keeping fruits. 

 When space will permit, it is usually best to 

 plant at least two trees of a variety, as there 

 is sometimes a marked difference in the 

 value of the fruit on two trees of the same 

 variety. The main points to remember in 

 connection with this subject 

 are: Plant as many of the 

 varieties which "fill the bill" as 

 space will permit; aim to have a 

 succession of varieties from ear- 

 liest to latest ; on very small areas, 

 plant summer or fall sorts, not 

 winter varieties. 



GENERAL SUGGESTIONS ON 

 VARIETIES 



The man who attempts to 

 advise another man, who lives 

 in a different locality, what par- 

 ticular varieties to plant, is al- 

 most sure to go more or less con- 

 trary to the local experience 

 in the inquirer's neighborhood. 

 When asked "What varieties 

 shall I plant ? " it is always safest 

 to answer "It depends" — and 

 then tell on what it depends, 

 leaving the inquirer to answer 

 his own query. Then if he 

 makes a mistake the blame will 

 not be yours. The following 

 are a few of the varieties which 

 have been found especially satis- 

 factory for home planting in 

 various parts of the country. 

 Most of the varieties in this list 

 are of high quality and hence are 

 especially desirable for the home 

 fruit garden. Some, however, are 

 of but medium quality, and are 

 included in this home list only 

 because of their cheerful habit 

 of giving a large quantity of fair 

 quality fruit under a great 

 variety of conditions. Hence 

 they are valuable for the ama- 

 teur. Perhaps two-thirds of the 

 varieties in this list it would be 

 most unfortunate for you to 

 plant in your orchard, because 

 they may have been found, by 

 trial in the neighborhood to be 

 not adapted to the locality. Some 

 of them, however, are just what 

 you are looking for. This list 

 includes only a few of the var- 

 ieties which it might be desirable 

 to plant. Use it, therefore, as 

 a general suggestion, not as a 

 specific guide. Local experience 

 is the final court of judgment be- 

 fore which all varieties recom- 

 mended to your consideration 

 from any outside source should 

 be tried. 



The words in parentheses in 

 the following list are a part of 



quality. Its 

 by spraying 



best Known. 

 s midseason 



