10 THE FLORIST AND 
seen the trees witli their branches almost ready to break off beneath their 
heavy burdens of Baldwin's, Pennocks, and Bellefleurs; a sight seldom 
vouchsafed to us now-a-days. In what we consider a good apple season, 
the Cider Apple, Newtown Pippin, Grindstone, Maiden's Blush, and Rhode 
Island Greening, seem almost alone to be depended on for anything like an 
approach to the crops of former years. 
Most of our former popular kinds in a good season, will perhaps give us 
a few score of fine fruit in lieu of their former bushels — as the Bellefleur 
and Sheep Nose ; while others, if they do bear a tolerable number of large 
fruit, as the Pennock or Hay Apple, present them to us half rotten before 
they are fully ripe. These peculiarities do not seem to depend on the age 
of the trees, as young thrifty orchards present the same results ; nor on the 
wearing out of the soil, as the newer orchards are not always planted on the 
sites of the old ones ; nor on the exploded theory of the wearing out of varie- 
ties, as this season in Ohio, the Bellefleur has been one of the most distin- 
guished bearers. Indeed, some of the newer varieties have not been more 
productive than the older ones. The Northern Spy I have not been able 
to see bearing anywhere abundantly, though what fruit it does afford us, is 
certainly fine and healthy. I cannot learn either, that our treatment of 
our apple orchards is less scientific than that of our forefathers. Their 
course of treatment consisted in "setting out a lot," sowing it with orchard 
grass, and raking up the fruit for the cider press, as the fruit fell from the 
trees. They do not seem to have cared to prefer any one soil, situation, or 
aspect; sand and clay; hill and dale; north, south, east and west; bear wit- 
ness to the indifference of our ancient orchardists, in the legacies they bear 
as they were left to us. By what unfavorable circumstances, then, are we 
surrounded, that our forefathers did not experience? In only one respect 
do I see any difference, — in the matter of insects. With the exception of 
a" foreign insect, singularly enough termed "American blight," and the 
caterpillars of various butterflies, — neither of which, however, does any 
serious damage to the fertility of the tree — they were quite free in this 
respect; while we are in a manner inundated by numerous varieties. Of 
these the well known "borer" is by far the most destructive, and in my 
opinion, has to answer for a large share of the sterility of our orchards. It 
operates injuriously, by separating many of the vessels conducting the sap 
from the roots to the branches. The- latter being insufficiently supplied 
with food, cease to make strong growths ; for a few years bear large crops 
of small fruit, just as a "ringed branch" does, and then continues for years 
to produce small leaves only, or soon dies entirely. Innumerable side shoots 
