December 19 
The Fruits of the Indians. 
PROGRESS IN ORCHARDING. 
Did the North American Indians culti¬ 
vate fruit ? I have no warrant for sup¬ 
posing that they did anything by art to 
improve the stock, hut they certainly did 
grow apple trees. There was in Oneida 
County, when first reached by the whites, 
an orchard containing several hundred 
trees. It was not set with the least re¬ 
gard to order, but the fruit was of fair 
quality. Tradition had it that the trees 
were set as early as 1714, or about the 
time when the Tuscaroras came from 
North Carolina and were accepted by the 
Iroquois League as kinsmen. I am quite 
confident that they brought the seed with 
them and raised the trees If they did 
not plant the orchard, and if it was a 
sample of what the Indians ever did with¬ 
out suggestion from the whites, it is curi¬ 
ous that more orchards have not been 
heard about. 
The oldest pear trees are those planted 
by the French, near Detroit, and those 
planted in Pennsylvania. The pear was 
not a native of North America, and that 
disposes of the supposition that Indians 
cultivated it. The wild plums were used 
by the Indians. It is not improbable that 
somewhere in America some of the wild 
trees may have had rude care. 
The bulk of our earlier fruits came 
from two sources: those cultivated by the 
Indians, probably borrowed from the 
whites at the start ; and seedlings raised 
by the colonists. But grafting was al¬ 
ways practiced; and so the most com¬ 
mon fruits of Europe soon become reas¬ 
onably common here. Of the grafted 
fruits the Pearmain, Bellefleur, Spitzen- 
burgh and Pippin Apples are the finest 
samples. These were of French, Dutch 
and English origin. Among the earlier 
seedling orchards you could easily pass 
around from tree to tree and determine 
the descent of nearly every apple. The 
Bellefleur seeds did not produce Belle- 
fleurs exactly ; but the blood told. The 
seedlings from that apple had, in shape or 
color or core or flavor, something that 
told of their parentage. I own a part of 
the trees planted by Dominie Kirkland, 
missionary to the Oneida Indians. The 
seeds that he planted certainly were out 
of the Bellefleur and the Pearmain sorts. 
I should be inclined to reduce all the 
seedlings of the orchards from Kirkland’s 
nursery, of 1790, to about five or six sorts. 
I think 50 trees are still standing of the 
original Kirkland plant. 
The process of grafting in our colonial 
days, and until this century, was almost 
invariably,high up on seedling trees, and 
rarely, if ever, on the roots. The sorts 
earliest brought in New York from New 
England were the Spitzenburgh, Golden 
Russet, Roxbury Russet, Golden Pippin 
and Greening. The Esopus Spitzenburgh 
was an American seedling. Of sweet 
apples there were Pound Sweet, Bell- 
fleur and Early Sweet Bough. The best 
early sour apples were the Harvest 
Boug-h and an apple called Juneting or 
Juneating. The early apples were neither 
plentiful nor good, and are now super¬ 
seded. 
Among the early seedlings raised in 
this country there were some very good 
sorts that have mostly passed out; though 
they are still to be occasionally found. 
The ‘‘ Indian Rare Ripe ” was an early Western continent with no thought of 
apple of excellent qualities; as nearly as I breeding in with and improving their 
can learn, a seedling of the Indian or- stock, but Eastern weeds and Eastern 
chard. rats and Eastern insects and Eastern 
The changes in apple culture are now other animals have from the outset in¬ 
notable, 1, in the planting of root-grafted vaded this continent with the purpose of 
trees instead of the growth of seedlings; exterminating the natives. Our field 
2, in the addition of many fine sorts, weeds, like our field vegetables, are 
such as the Baldwin, Jonathan, Hub- nearly all Asiatic ; so also are our culti- 
bardston, Fameuse, Astrachan, Rambo, vated fruits. In grape and berry culture 
Wagener, etc.; 3, in the addition of hardy we find a marked and grand exception ; 
Russian and native sorts to widen the for here our best development has been 
apple belt: 4, in increasing the very early in native American varieties. The evo- 
and the very late-keeping sorts so as to lution of the so-called Japanese plums is 
protract the season through 11 months ; a hint of what magnificent fruits may 
were terribly astringent seedlings fit been more largely collectors than origi- 
only to be cooked. The most notable nators. It ‘ ‘ pays ” better to introduce 
grafted sorts were Sanspeau or Skinless, with a blast of trumpets a new fruit 
a nice little pear about big enough for a from China than to create a new one our- 
mouthful, not of special flavor; the Bon selves. Our horticulture is and has been 
Chretien a large, showy fruit of fearful managed too largely by speculators. Let 
inside, worse than any green persimmon; us have a run of Downings and Wilders 
but even 50 years ago it was relished, if possible. e. p. powell. 
There was also a sweet little harvest Oneida County, N. Y. 
pear planted all over the Atlantic States, 
a French fruit called in that country ^ ^ >rom ^ s ^ n S New Pear. 
Amire Joannet. About 1850 the Berga- WORDEN’S SECKEL. 
mottes were improved by the addition of This pear may well have a place in this 
Gansel’s. Soon afterwards came Dear- issue as an evidence of progress in pomo- 
born’s Seedling, and then the Bartlett logy. The following letter explains itself: 
and Sheldon and Seckel and Louise and “We take the liberty of sending The 
Superfin and Duchesse. There are no Rural New-Yorker a small sample of a 
late acquisitions to surpass these. Among new seedling pear, which was origin- 
those either last to be noted, or to be in- ated by Mr. S. Worden, of Minetto, N. 
troduced, are the superb Anjou, also the Y., the originator of the Worden Grape. 
Reeder, Jones, Josephine and Idaho. It is called the Worden Seckel. It is a 
What is said of pear culture must be seedling of the Seckel, and from seed 
said with equal emphasis of cherries and planted by Mr. Worden. It seems to us 
grapes and of all small fruits, gooseber- very promising, on account of its beauti- 
ries and currants excepted. Our fathers ful color and very high flavor, as well as 
had just as good currants as we have, of the hardiness of the tree, and its re- 
notwithstanding Fay’s. The White Grape markable bearing qualities, and the fact 
Currant still stands at the head. We are that the fruit promises to be a superior 
improving the size only. keeper. The sample vrhich we send is an 
Here is the pith of the matter: The inferior one, as the fruit was picked on 
Indians had wild apples and wild plums September 24, and the better samples 
that were eatable, and doubtless knew have long since been selected. 
Notes of Progress. 
About the first advertisement of clover 
seed that ever appeared in print was 
given in an old English work by Hartlib, 
published about 250 years ago. It ran 
thus: ‘ ‘ Such as are desirous to try any 
of the three-leaved grass, or lucern, 
spurry, clover-grass and sinke-foil, what 
quantity they please, may have them at 
Thomas Brown’s shop at the Red Lion in 
Soper Lane.” It was very difficult to get 
farmers to use either clover or turnips 
for 50 years after their introduction by 
leading farmers. Many persons classed 
roots and improved grasses with oats as 
pests brought into the country by the 
Hanoverian family. Would that some of 
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