APPLES. 3 1 



ends and long petioles. The fruit though often attractive in appear- 

 ance is soft, spongy in texture, and insipid in flavor. The trees do not 

 grow in very cold and exposed regions and do not seem to be able to 

 stand much drought. 



Belonging to this group is the "Pai ping kua," or white apple, from 

 the environs of Peking and Pautingfu. The fruit varies a good deal 

 in size. It is much used for preserves. (S. P. I. Nos. 22371 and 

 22440.) Mention may be made of the "Hong teng ku," or red apple, 

 from near Pautingfu (S. P. I. No. 22372), the "Sha hoa tze," a 

 medium-sized apple of whitish color, with red cheeks, from Kwang- 

 chengtze, Manchuria (S. P. I. No. 20230), the "Ping kua" (S. P. I. 

 No. 20280), and the "Pin tze" (S. P. I. No. 20277), from Kwangning, 

 Manchuria, and the "Sa kua," from the Pangshan district, northern 

 China, and Kwangning, Manchuria. The last is a flat apple, like the 

 saucer peach. It has an insipid flavor and does not keep well. 

 (S. P. I. Nos. 20276 and 21915.) The "Ly tze" is a sour red apple, 

 also of a flat saucer-peach shape and a poor keeper. It is from the 

 Pangshan district. (S. P. I. No. 21916.) 



There is another group of apples in China, the trees of which are of 

 large growth, the branches erect, the leaves pointed, very little 

 tomentose, or even glossy. The fruit is small, mostly of a red color, 

 and though often mealy is generally sour in flavor. This group 

 stands more cold, drought, and privation than the first class. The 

 trees thrive as far north as Khabarovsk, on the forty-fourth parallel 

 of latitude. In all probability they have been derived by selection 

 and perhaps hybridization from the wild crab apple {Mains baccata), 

 which is abundant all over northern China, Manchuria, northern 

 Korea, and eastern Siberia. 



To this group belong the "Hua hong," a large red crab apple 

 growing in Kwangchengtze, Manchuria (S. P. I. No. 20231), the 

 "Gai tang," the fruit of which is as large as a good-sized cherry, dark 

 red in color, with a bluish blush, and growing near Jehol, northern 

 China (S. P. I. Nos. 21879 and 21927), and a variety called by the 

 Russians "Reinetka," growing vigorously in Khabarovsk, Siberia 

 and probably the same as the "Hua hong." (S. P. I. No. 19603.) 



THE WILD CRAB APPLE. 



The Chinese in northern China and Manchuria and the Russians in 

 Siberia graft all their apples on the Siberian crab apple ( Mains 

 baccata), which, as stated before, grows wild all over northeastern 

 Asia. There is great variability in the size of the tree. Sometimes 

 one finds a specimen on an exposed, dry mountain side, in appearance 

 like a gnarled shrub, but bearing an abundance of fruit. Again, in 

 good fertile spots one may see it as a tall tree from 40 to 50 feet high 



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