The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
873 
The  Story  of  the  Baldwin  Apple 
ONCE  more  to  the  care  and  thoughtfulness  of  our  New  England 
ancestors  is  due  the  production  of  a  famous  apple.  The  story  of 
its  origin  is  somewhat  obscure,  but  though  accounts  differ  in  minor 
points,  they  agree  in  essential  details.  On  the  farm  of  John  Ball,  Wil¬ 
mington,  near  Lowell,  Massachusetts,  sprang  a  chance  seedling  in  the 
lane  between  the  house  and  the  barn  some  time  shortly  after  1740.  When 
a  Mr.  Butters  came  into  possession  of  the  farm  he  designated  the  tree, 
for  want  of  a  better  name,  by  calling  it  “the  woodpecker  tree,”  because 
of  the  fact  that  a  family  of  woodpeckers  had  selected  it  as  a  fitting 
place  for  a  home.  And  so  the  tree  was  variously  termed  “Woodpecker,” 
“Pecker."  and  “Butters.”  after  the  owner  of  the  land  upon  which  it 
stood.  It  lived  scarcely  100  years,  40  of  which  were  content  with  nothing 
more  than  local  fame;  in  fact,  the  variety  was  not  recorded  in  Amer¬ 
ican  pomological  literature  until  1822,  several  years  after  its  destruction 
in  a  violent  gale. 
A  granite  shaft  erected  by  the  Rumford  Historical  Association  of 
Woburn.  Mass.,  bears  this  inscription:  “This  pillar,  erected  in  1895, 
marks  the  estate  where  in  1793  Sam’l  Thompson,  Esq.,  while  locating 
the  line  of  the  Middlesex  Canal,  discovered  the  first  Pecker  apple  tree, 
later  named  the  Baldwin.”  Other  accounts  say  that  Colonel  Baldwin  as 
a  boy  had  eaten  the  delicious  fruits  from  the  tree,  and  was  attracted  to 
it  in  later  life  by  boyhood  remembrances.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  to 
Colonel  Baldwin,  whose  name  the  variety  now  bears,  and  to  Dr.  Jabez 
Brown  of  Wilmington,  and  their  sons,  that  the  country  is  indebted  for 
bringing  such  a  remarkable  apple  to  attention. 
'The  Baldwin  was  early  widely  planted  in  New  England,  so  that  in 
1846  it  is  recorded :  “The  Baldwin  is  in  Boston  preferred  to  any  other 
variety  for  shipping.  I  have  been  credibly  informed  that  one  person, 
engaged  in  shipping  fruit  from  this  port,  has  this  Autumn  purchased 
1,200  barrels  of  Baldwins  for  this  purpose.”  But  it  was  not  until  1850 
or  later  that  it  began  to  be  extensively  set  in  Western  New  York.  Since 
then,  the  fame  of  the  greatest  apple  belt  in  the  world  and  the  achieve¬ 
ments  of  the  Baldwin  apple  have  become  synonymous.  Its  range  is  not 
great.  To  the  north  and  west  the  tree  winterkills,  and  to  the  south  the 
fruit  becomes  a  Fall  variety.  Yet  dn  a  region  of  moderate  Winters, 
from  Michigan  to  Massachusetts,  it  has  stood  until  recently  the  undis¬ 
puted  and  unchallenged  champion  of  commercial  apple  varieties  in 
America.  And  this  very  fact  has  made  the  king  to  totter  on  his  throne, 
for  successful  culture  of  the  Baldwin  in  certain  famous  sections  has  lead 
to  its  extension  beyond  the  range  to  which  it  is  suited,  with  the  resulting 
cries  of  failure  and  the  search  for  a  successor. 
In  short,  the  tree  is  all  that  could  be  asked  for  in  shape,  vigor,  pro¬ 
ductiveness,  and  longevity,  but  it  lacks  hardiness  and  is  a  biennial 
bearer.  Moreover,  it  is  late  in  coming  into  bearing,  yet  whether  the  cus¬ 
tom  of  high  heading  that  is  prevalent  in  the  regions  to  which  it  is  suited 
is  not  more  responsible  for  this  habit  than  the  nature  of  the  tree  is  a 
debatable  question.  Certainly  the  bearing  age  is  materially  lessened  by 
lower  heading.  Further,  the  tree  bears  a  high  percentage  of  uniform 
and  marketable  sized  fruit.  The  fruit  is  a  favorite  because  of  its  sym¬ 
metrical  outline  and  more  than  average  size,  coupled  with  an  attractive 
led  coloiing,  rich  yellow  flesh,  both  highly  flavored  and  of  very  good 
quality,  and  a  long  season,  extending  from  November  to  April.  Baldwin 
spot,  or  stipen,  is  in  some  localities  a  most  serious  trouble,  which  appears 
most  often  associated  with  large-sized  and  unevenly  distributed  fruits, 
yet  in  the  main  the  Baldwin  is  not  prey  to  any  serious  pests  of  either 
fruit  or  tree. 
A  great  discussion  has  occasionally  arisen  over  the  running  out  of 
the  Baldwin  and  its  variability  in  different  regions.  That  there  are 
different  types  of  Baldwins  is  undoubtedly  correct.  Russet  Baldwins 
and  laiious  graA  and  dark  Baldwins  have  frequently  been  reported  not 
to  mention  such  sports  as  the  Olympia,  or  even  possible  distinct  seed 
strains.  But  again  it  must  be  aflirmed  that  the  true  Baldwin  apple  is 
the  same  today  as  it  was  175  years  ago,  and  that  most  variations  in 
color,  shape,  bearing  habits,  and  so  on,  are  largely  to  be  ascribed  to 
differences  in  location. 
Those  who  contend  for  one  reason  or  another  that  the  Baldwin  is 
no  longer  a  profitable  commercial  variety  have  looked  about  for  a 
variety  to  take  its  place.  Suggestions  have  included  the  McIntosh  Cort¬ 
land.  Rome  Beauty,  Golden  Delicious,  and  a  host  of  others.  True  the 
Baidu  in  maj  be  foiced  to  share  with  or  even  relinquish  its  supremacy  to 
some  other  variety,  but  certainly  no  Fall  or  early  Winter  apple  can  trulv 
take  the  place  of  so  superb  a  keeper,  nor  does  a  conservative  grower  care 
to  gamble  in  a  large  way  with  the  newer  and  less  tried  sorts  The  Bald¬ 
win,  restricted  to  the  regions  to  which  it  is  suited,  has  stood  the  te«t  of 
time,  and  is  here  to  stay.  „  n  T 
Spraying  Grapevines 
I  have  2,000  grape  vines  ;  half  of  them 
are  Clinton  and  half  are  Concord.  The 
Clinton  grapes  are  almost  dying.  Can 
you  tell  me  what  to  do  to  save  them?  I 
would  like  to  know  what  to  spray  them 
with  twice  a  year.  j.  w.  w. 
Newburgh,  N.  Y. 
Of  course  it  is  impossible  to  tell  why 
the  Clinton  vines  are  dying  in  this  vine¬ 
yard.  This  variety  is  considered  much 
hardier  and  more  vigorous  than  Concord. 
It  has  a  tendency  to  over-produce,  and 
perhaps  this  may  be  a  contributing  fac¬ 
tor  to  the  killing.  It  is  suggested  that 
these  vines  be  very  closely  pruned  for 
the  current  season’s  crop  and  that’  ni¬ 
trate  of  soda,  at  the  rate  of  250  lbs.  per 
acre,  be  broadcast  throughout  the  entire 
width  of  the  rows  when  the  new  shoots 
are  out  6-8  inches.  It  is  essential  that 
good  cultivation  be  given  until  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  July  at  least. 
Grapes  are  sprayed  for  the  control  of 
certain  insects  and  diseases.  It  is  impos¬ 
sible  that  two  treatments  will  handle  all 
these  troubles,  as  four  or  five  treatments 
are  more  often  necessary  for  the  control 
of  black  rot  alone.  Three  or  four  spray¬ 
ings  are  necessary  for  the  control  of 
downy  mildew,  while  powdery  mildew 
may  be  effectually  handled  with  two  ap¬ 
plications.  Not  knowing  just  what  in¬ 
sects  and  diseases  are  prevalent  in  this 
acreage  it  is  suggested  that  a  spray  of 
Bordeaux  mixture  made  according  to  the 
4-4-50  formula — that  is  4  lbs.  of  copper 
sulphate,  4  lbs.  of  lime,  with  50  gallons 
of  water,  be  given  when  the  second  leaf 
on  the  new  shoot  is  showing ;  this  appli¬ 
cation  to  be  followed  by  another  of  like 
material  just  previous  to  blooming.  A 
i  of  the  same  to  which  is 
added  2  lbs.  of  powdered  arsenate  of 
lead  should  b.e  given  when  the  berries  are 
the  size  of  small  peas.  The  fourth  ap¬ 
plication  of  Bordeaux  mixture  and  lead 
to  which  is  added  one-fourth  pint  of  a 
nicotine  sulphate  solution  should  be  made 
when  the  young  form  of  the  grape  leaf- 
hopper  is- showing  abundantly  on  the  un¬ 
der  sides  of  the  leaves.  Frequent  exam¬ 
ination  of  the  leaves  is  necessary  to  de¬ 
termine  this  time.  In  the  Hudson  Valiev, 
the  grape  leaf-liopper  is  rather  gener¬ 
ally  known  as  “thrips.”  In  years  of 
severe  black  rot  infection  a  fifth  and 
later  spraying  is  required  to  hold  it  in 
check.  F,  E.  g. 
Budding  Plum  Suckers 
I  have  the  same  problem  with  suckers 
springing  up  around  plum  trees  as  C.  L. 
G.,  noted  in  a  recent  issue  of  your  paper. 
Can  these  suckers  be  left  standing  and 
budded  to  good  varieties?  If  so.  will  they 
grow  as  separate  trees  to  bearing  age? 
Macedon  Center,  N.  Y.  c.  w.  c. 
There  is  po  reason  why  the  suckers 
cannot  be  budded  successfully,  and  why 
they  will  not  grow  to  bearing  age.  They 
spring  from  the  roots  of  the  tree,  and  are 
therefore  most  likely  to  be  the  same  as 
the  stock  upon  which  the  tree  was  orig¬ 
inally  _  budded.  Of  course,  there  is  the 
possibility  that  the  suckers  may  come 
from  roots  that  have  gone  out  from  the 
trees  above  the  bud,  in  which  case  the 
suckers  will  be  like  the  original  tree. 
H .  B.  T. 
Lead  makes  its  mark 
on  every  printed  page 
DEPRIVE  the  printer  of 
lead,  and  his  presses  would 
be  costly,  useless  junk.  Not  a 
newspaper,  not  a  book,  not  a 
magazine  would  appear  until 
some  substitute  could  be  found. 
And  it  might  take  some  time 
to  discover  such  a  substitute. 
Making  modern  type 
Type-casting  machines  used 
in  printing  shops  everywhere 
have  done  more  to  expand  the 
printing  industry  than  any 
other  invention.  And  lead  is 
directly  responsible  for  the  type 
these  machines  produce.  In 
them  a  molten  alloy,  mostly 
lead,  is  forced  against  matrices, 
or  type  molds,  to  form  the 
printing  type,  or  slug. 
Large  editions  are  not  printed 
directly  from  the  type  face,  but 
from  plates  cast  from  the  type. 
Magazines  and  books  are  usu¬ 
ally  printed  from  electrotypes, 
newspapers  from  stereotypes. 
Stereotypes  are  made  from  lead 
alloys,  and  electrotypes  are 
thin  shells  of  copper  filled  or 
backed  with  lead. 
Lead  in  paper  making 
Lead  even  has  a  part  in  manufac¬ 
turing  the  printing  paper  from 
wood  pulp.  The  cut-up  wood  is  acted 
upon,  or  digested,  by  a  solution 
containing  sulphurous  acid.  The 
steel  tanks  and  boilers,  in  which  the 
wood  and  solution  are  placed,  are 
lined  with  a  special  brick,  set  in  a 
cement  made  partly  of  litharge,  an 
oxide  of  lead.  Ordinary  mortar  or 
cement  would  be  attacked  by  the 
acid. 
Lead  is  even  used  in  yellow  and 
green  printing  inks,  and  in  making 
the  collapsible  tubes  which  contain 
the  ink. 
Where  you  know  lead  best 
Despite  the  importance,  however, 
of  lead  in  the  printing  industry,  the 
use  of  lead  you  are  most  familiar 
with  is  as  paint.  White-lead  paint 
is  known  and  used  the  world  over 
to  protect  property  from  the  rav¬ 
ages  of  weather. 
Never  has  this  idea,  “Save  the 
surface  and  you  save  all,”  been  so 
firmly  established  as  now.  As  a  re¬ 
sult,  many  more  property  owners 
are  saving  the  surfaces  of  their 
houses  by  painting  them  with 
white-lead  paint.  It  is  the  best,  the 
safest,  and  the  most  economical 
way  to  preserve  wood  and  similar 
materials  from  decay  and  destruc¬ 
tion. 
Look  for  the  Dutch  Boy 
National  Lead  Company  makes 
white-lead  and 
sells  it,  mixed  with 
pure  linseed  oil, 
under  the  name 
and  trade-mark  of 
Dutch  Boy 
White-Lead.  The 
figure  of  the  Dutch 
Boy  is  reproduced 
on  every  keg  and 
is  a  guarantee  of 
exceptional  purity. 
Dutch  Boy  products  also  include 
red-lead,  linseed  oil,  flatting  oil, 
babbitt  metals,  and  solder. 
Among  other  products  manufac¬ 
tured  by  National  Lead  Company 
are  came  lead,  type  metal,  lead 
oxides,  lead  castings,  lead  washers, 
and  die  castings. 
More  about  lead 
If  you  use  lead,  or  think  you 
might  use  it  in  any  form,  write  us 
for  specific  information. 
NATIONAL  LEAD  COMPANY 
New  York,  111  Broadway:  Boston,  131  State  St.;  Buffalo,  116  Oak  St.; 
Chicago,  900  West  18th  St.;  Cincinnati,  659  Freeman  Ave.;  Cleveland, 
820  West  Superior  Ave.;  Pittsburgh,  National  Lead  &  Oil  Co.  of  Pa.,  316 
Fourth  Ave.;  Philadelphia,  John  T.  Lewis  &  Bros.  Co.,  437  Chestnut 
St.;  St.  Louis,  722  Chestnut  St.;  San  Francisco,  485  California  St. 
