Vol. LXIX. No. 4073 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 19, 1910 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR. 
THE HITCHINGS APPLE. 
A New Sport of the Twenty-Ounce. 
A new sport of the Twenty Ounce apple is found in 
the orchard of Grant G. Hitchings, about 10 miles 
south of Syracuse, N. Y. This sport is so distinct in 
color from the typical Twenty Ounce that 
if judged by its outward appearance only 
it might readily pass for a different variety. 
I am therefore proposing for it the simple 
name “Hitchings.” Mr. Hitchings’s name 
has already become a household word among 
apple growers, being associated with his 
sod mulch system of orchard management 
which in recent years has been the subject 
of much discussion in horticultural meet¬ 
ings and by the horticultural press, particu¬ 
larly in the apple regions east of the Rocky 
Mountains. 
Another sport of the Twenty Ounce 
which originated in the orchard of the late 
J. B. Collamer, now owned by Collamer 
Brothers, Hilton, N. Y., was described in 
Volume II of “The Apples of New York,” 
under the name Collamer. Mr. Collamer 
began propagating this sport about 1900. It 
has held its distinctive characters under 
propagation, and I understand is regarded 
by those who have fruited it as a more de¬ 
sirable variety than the Twenty Ounce, 
chiefly because of its superior color. The 
Collamer differs from the old Twenty 
Ounce chiefly in being less mottled and 
striped, but more completely covered with 
red, which often extends in an unbroken 
blush over a considerable portion of the 
fruit. In the Twenty Ounce such a continuous blush 
is seldom or never seen, but instead the red is mottled 
or appears in heavy, often broad stripes and splashes 
over a -green or yellowish background. The Hitch¬ 
ings is decidedly superior to the Collamer in color, 
and differs from it in that it shows no stripes, but the 
red appears as a solid 
unbroken color, which 
in the highly-colored 
specimens nearly or 
quite covers the entire 
fruit, as is the case 
in a highly - colored 
Baldwin. Like the 
Collamer, the Hitch¬ 
ings differs somewhat 
from the typical 
Twenty Ounce in be¬ 
ing rather more regu¬ 
lar in shape; if ribbed 
at all it is less dis¬ 
tinctly ribbed than is 
the Twenty Ounce. In 
texture, flavor and 
quality the Hitchings 
would readily pass for 
the Twenty Ounce of 
similar size and de¬ 
gree of ripeness. Mr. 
Hitchings reports that 
it is at least two 
weeks later in season 
than the Twenty 
Ounce. At the New York State Fair in 1910 it was 
awarded first prize as the best new apple shown the 
first time. 
The Collamer originated as a bud sport which de¬ 
veloped into a large branch on one side of a mature 
Twenty Ounce apple tree, and while that particular 
branch bore only the highly colored type already de¬ 
scribed above under the name Collamer, the rest of 
the tree produced none but Twenty Ounce apples of 
the ordinary type. The original Hitchings Twenty 
Ounce was obtained as one of a hundred Twenty 
Ounce nursery trees purchased from H. S. Wiley & 
Company, and planted in the orchard seven years ago. 
This tree bears the highly colored type of fruit which 
we are calling the Hitchings, while the other Twenty 
Ounce trees from the same lot of nursery stock pro¬ 
duce only the ordinary type of the Twenty Ounce. A 
specimen apple of one of these is shown for comparison 
with the Hitchings in the accompanying photographic 
illustration, Fig. 455, made from typical specimens. 
The original Twenty Ounce was first brought to the 
notice of pomologists about 70 years ago. It has been 
locally known under the various synonyms Cayuga 
Red Streak, Wine apple, and Limber Twig. It is one 
of the most satisfactory of the Fall apples for com¬ 
mercial planting in various parts of New York and 
adjoining States, and is also highly esteemed for home 
use, particularly for culinary purposes. The large 
fruit is attractive, and when fully ripe it is mottled 
and splashed over a considerable portion of its sur¬ 
face with light and dark red. It is a September apple, 
but with proper handling may often be kept into early 
Winter. The full-grown tree is no more 
than medium in size, and for this reason the 
variety may be planted closer in orchard 
rows than larger kinds of trees, like Bald¬ 
win and Northern Spy. . On account of its 
susceptibility to sunscald on' the trunk and 
larger limbs, it appears, desirable to top- 
work it upon Northern Spy or some other 
hardy, thrifty stock There appears no good 
reason why the Hitchings should not super¬ 
sede the old Twenty Ounce, since it is so 
much superior to it in color and may prop¬ 
erly be regarded as closely identical with it 
in other respects, with the exception of the 
slight difference in shape and in season of 
ripening as above mentioned/ s. A. beach. 
Iowa Experiment Station. 
WELL FED PEACH AND PEAR. 
This has been a banner year in New Jer¬ 
sey for peaches. One of the largest crops 
of the finest fruit on record has been mar¬ 
keted, and while the trees have been loaded 
with fruit, most of it has graded good to 
best, and prices have been at least satisfac¬ 
tory. The crop of 1909 was a paying one, 
because prices were high, but only a medium 
crop of fruit was on the trees, and so left 
the trees in good shape for this- year’s enor¬ 
mous crop. The most remarkable feature 
is the condition of the orchard at the present time 
after bringing out this heavy crop of fruit. I have 
been in a great many orchards of different ages, on 
different soils, under different culture, arid different 
fertilization, and wherever the orchards’ have had 
sufficient food and care they are in fine healthy condi¬ 
tion and growth for 
another year’s crop. 
When I have asked 
■ for information as to 
culture, fertilizing, va¬ 
rieties, etc., I have re¬ 
ceived very little of 
uniformity among the 
different growers. 
Some have used bone, 
some stable manure, 
some depended upon 
cow peas or Crimson 
clover, and some upon 
the natural fertility 
of the soil. Among 
the practical and larg¬ 
er orchardists has been 
practiced a more uni¬ 
form a n d scientific 
method of culture and 
feeding. One thing is 
certain; New Jersey 
has marketed an im¬ 
mense crop of peaches, 
and most of the or¬ 
chards are in good 
condition, healthy arid vigorous. This is true of or¬ 
chards under all kinds of feeding as practiced by each 
different grower according to’his ideas or the fer¬ 
tilizer he had at hand. My own opinion is that most 
of the peach orchardists are neglecting the essential 
food for their orchards’ future welfare, which is pot¬ 
ash, and in most cases they need lime. 
A SPECIMEN OF THE HITCHINGS APPLE. Fig. 454. 
x 
Ski*-- v - 
TWENTY-OUNCE APPLE AND HITCHINGS APPLE. Fig. 455. 
