NEW YORK, JANUARY 2, 1886 
PRICE FITE CENTS. 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S86, by the Rural New-Yorker in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
years before his advent here, is a question, but 
in any view of the ease, the wonderful merits 
of the quince will never be questioned by those 
who have seen it in fruit. JOHN willcox. 
Vineland, N. J. 
different from the common type of Orange 
Quince. The fruit is also larger,and less gritty, 
and of better quality. The fact is, that the 
quince has not received the attention it should 
have received, and is one of our neglected 
fruits. Mr. Downing told me that he had ex¬ 
amined specimens of Meech's Quince and had 
no doubt that it was a new variety. While I 
have no positive information on the subject, I 
have reason for believing Meech’s Quince to be 
an improved type of the Orange. 
CHARLES A. GREEN. 
A GRAND OLD APPLE TREE. 
Q (E show, at Fig. 1, what 
Xfcf? Va (* s bought to be the 
Cc ^ largest apple tree in 
* fli' s country, if notin 
rWJ Jfr JJp C J|[[ the world. It stands 
o7) P vy- i^C XcU in the doovyard of Mr. 
ill! ilfi -jiff Lolos Hotchkiss, Mar- 
ion, Conn. Its dimen- 
sions are truly gigan- 
® /) The cii'cumfereuce, 
SL?'^py<^Lv V one foot from the 
7 >> » ground, and above all 
^ X enlargement of the 
X ■ roots, is feet eight 
inches. The girth of the largest single limb is 
six feet eight inches. The top limbs reach a 
liight of 00 feet, and the spread of the limbs is 
100 feet, or six rods. 
• Hotchkiss has known the tree for more 
than TO years, having owned it 50 years. In a 
iet.eut letter he says: “The old tree bore on 
alternate parts until 1876, when it bore all 
( >vei and lias continued to do so ever since 1 - 
This year it was completely loaded with apples. 
It bears a medium-sized winter apple—a good 
keeper. The crops vary from 80 to 85 bushels 
one year to 30 or 40 the next.” It must have 
pioducod thousands of bushels during its long 
life of ISO years. Of the eight large branches 
five bear one year aud three next. There is 
something almost human a bout these noble old 
giants. 1 he "old tree” has done its work well; 
has earned its fame, and wo take pleasure in 
showing it to our readers. We arc indebted 
to Hon. Marshall P. Wilder for its photograph. 
MEECH’S QUINCE. 
Almost everything in the shape of a quince 
that is not known to be Angers, or Champion 
is called Orange Quince. This race of Orange 
Quinces has sprung from numerous seedlings, 
and there are numerous types of it all over the 
country, that vary in shape, size, quality, and 
dates of ripening. I have given this matter 
the closest attention, and find in my travels 
that the Orange Quince is divided into many 
Florists employ various devices for pre¬ 
serving cut flowers, the chief being refrigera¬ 
tors and ice chests. These, though somewhat 
expensive, answer the purpose in a satisfac¬ 
tory manner for preserving flowers on the 
premises. I am not aware, however, that any 
equally good method is in use for the preserva¬ 
tion of flowers while in t ra nsit u.* for example, in 
sending flowers from Boston to New York, or 
between - any" two given points, especially in 
warm weather. It lias just at this monieut oc¬ 
curred to me that I know of something that 
will probably answer this purpose. I am a 
devoted follower of good old Izaak Walton, 
a nd a member of t he brotherhood of anglers. 
All of us who “go a-fishing” desire to bring 
our fish home in a fresh and sweet condition 
on a hot Summer’s day; and this un f Q Lately, 
we have not been able to do without recourse 
to troublesome methods, the best of which are 
far from satisfactory. An inventive genius 
about a year ago offered the ang ling fratern¬ 
ity a basket which answers the purpose in an 
acceptable manner. We put our lunch, etc., 
in it when we go out, and bring our flsh home 
fresh when we return. 
THE NEW PEAR DR. REEDER. 
Our only specimen was purchased in the 
Spring of 1876, and it bears this year for the 
This basket, though light ana "ashy carried, 
is made upon the principle of an ice chest, 
and it has seemed to me that it would be an 
excellent thing 1 • >r the tTransportation of deli¬ 
cate flowers, and also for keeping them at 
home in a small way. It is, at all events, 
worthy of examination by those infer rested 
in the preservation and transportation of 
flowers. The basket is now made in three 
sizes, to suit the angler, but could > e made of 
any size. It can probably be seen at the prin¬ 
cipal fishing tackle dealers in most of our 
large cities. It is called a “refrigerator bas¬ 
ket.’’ 
* * * 
Fish-culture, in the not distaut future, will, no 
doubt, occupy the attention of a good many 
farmers favorably located for the purpose. 
Some have already made a beginning, but not 
always wisely. I thiuk I can see the time 
when leading agricultural papers will have a 
column headed “Fish-culture.” 
* * * 
I have lately neglected to say anything 
about our native trees and shrubs, though I 
have been among them idl the time. There 
are jdeuty of good ones left. I would just now 
mention Prunus maritime as being worthy of 
a place on the lawn, where I have more titan 
once placed it. Its common name is Beach 
Plum, so called because it is usually found on 
the beach. It is common alone- the seasho»v> 
TRUE STORY OF MEEC'H’S PROLIFIC 
QUrNCE. 
*• V • V ;T - A, 
tue wonaernii fruitfulness of this variety, and 
commenced the propagation of it, obtaining 
t fittings from Mr. Moore’s trees, and from 
those of a half dozen other persons here, who 
nave the quince iu cultivation, in assuming 
the possibility that this aud the Champion are 
identical, w-e encounter tire following dffi- 
cidties: 
1 st. The cuttings of Meech’s Prolific Quiuee 
" t’fe brought here, aud cut from old trees in 
Ohio 20 years ago, while the Champion is of 
recent origin, reaching back not much over 
ten years. [It is plainly a ot the Champion.— 
Eds.] 
id. The Champion, grown here upon the 
same ground as Meech’s Prolific, is very sub¬ 
ject to blight, and Is a shy bearer; indeed, it is 
universally worthless here, while Meech’s is 
vigorous, hardy, aud the most profuse bearer 
of all quinces. 
:kl. Meech’s assumed its beautiful golden hue 
"it October 15, this year, while the Champion 
was quite green on November 1. 
Whether the Rev. W. W. Meech was justi¬ 
fied in affixing his name to a quince which was 
in general cultivation in Vineland, N. J., some 
A GRAND OLD APPLE TREE 
From a photograph. Fig. 1 
mguL ui iron tnree rc> six reet. its exposure 
subjects it to many casualties, and in cotisej 
quence it often presents anything but a sym¬ 
metrical appearance ; yet I have seen not a 
few specimens, especially on the south beach 
of Staten Island, that were all that could he 
desired in this respect. At all events, I know 
you can make it pretty much what you please 
under cultivation. It flowers in May, and is 
quite as handsome, at that time, as many of 
our best spira-as. The flowers are white, and 
appear in umbels, which almost cover the 
plant under favorable conditions. The fruit 
is small, nearly round, and of a purple color. 
It is sometimes eaten. Begin with a small 
plant, not more than twelve to eighteen inch¬ 
es high, aud you can then make it either a 
shrub or a dwarf tree, to suit your taste, with 
comparatively little trouble, it is a plant pe¬ 
culiarly adapted for sandy soils, and yet will 
strains,coming from different sources. Quinces 
have sprung up in gardens, have been planted, 
propagated, aud called Orange Quince, for the 
reason that t hoy resembled that quince more 
closely than any other variety. In mauy 
cases these are not Orange Quinces, but seed¬ 
lings that vary considerably. 1 do not doubt 
but that Meech’s Quince is one of these va¬ 
riations of the Orange Quince, of an improved 
type. This idea is not original with me. 
There is a gentleman in Western New York, 
who has discovered a valuable strain of the 
Orange Quince, bus propagated from it, aud 
has secured what might be considered a new 
variety, aud still, he cannot trace it to any 
source, as it has been under cultivation for 
many years under the name of Orange Quince. 
The shape referred to is round and entirely 
first time, quite abundantly. The tree in its 
growth, at its present age, resembles Clapp's 
Favorite. The variety originated in New York- 
State, though with whom wo do uot know. 
The fruit is of medium size at its best, though 
always averaging larger than the Soekel. It 
is in shape much like the latter, roundish, 
pyriform — sometimes obovate. The skin is 
russeted on a yellow ground, and the flesh is 
sweet, tender, juicy with a peculiar musky, 
aromatic flavor. It begau to ripen Oct. 25th. 
The pear may never prove of the first value 
for market; but it is certainly one of the best 
of its season. The stem is slender and an inch 
and a quarter long, slightly sunk. The calyx 
