THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
6i<5 
and Western New York we regard Fameuse as a fall apple, 
but in the district of Montreal it is often marketed in March 
and April from common storage. 
The tree does not attain large size. At first it is round 
topped and compact, but later in life it assumes a somewhat 
spreading habit, rather dense withal. To offset this density 
it should be pruned annually, thinning the branches so that 
the sunlight may be made available to all parts of the tree. 
Like many good things, fine clean fruit of this variety is not 
easily obtained for it is subject to apple scab in its most 
virulent form. Since the advent of spraying the disease is 
less feared, though in older Fameuse growing districts there 
is always a considerable percentage of loss from this enemy. 
In soil requirements the variety is not so particular as some 
apples, but, nevertheless, it has a decided preference for a 
porous gravel containing a high percentage of lime. This 
type of soil brings to perfection its natural and beautiful 
colors, and when coupled with a northern latitude its deli¬ 
cious crisp yet melting qualities of flesh. 
As commonly grown in the regions of the eastern town¬ 
ships of Quebec and the Upper St. Lawrence Valley there is 
but a small percentage of No. i fruit. The heavy bearing 
proclivities of the tree, the susceptibility of foliage and fruit 
to scab, faulty pruning, all tend to reduce the grade of fancy 
fruit, and increase the amount of small and poorly colored 
specimens. The visitor to the markets of St. Hyacinthe, 
Sorel, or Trois Rivieres during the winter months will be 
astonished at the marvellous assortment in the way of 
qualities of LaBelle Fameuse laid out before him. He can 
buy samples from the size of marbles covered with scab 
fungus up to the normal and beautiful 2 x / 2 " specimen, and 
this possibly from November until April. 
For a number of years an apple grower of the Montreal 
district, Mr. R. W. Shepard, has shipped a limited quantity 
of fancy Fameuse to a personal market in England. The 
package used is a box holding about one hundred specimens, 
constructed on the egg case plan, each apple being wrapped 
and having a compartment to itself. This suits the soft 
textured Fameuse admirably. While Fameuse is appre¬ 
ciated and has been sold in barrels in the Boston market for 
many years, and while the bulk of the Champlain grown 
stock finds sale in this way, yet it is a fact that in this variety 
we have primarily' a box or small package apple and one 
always to be handled as a fancy variety. 
This worthy apple has been grown for nearly three hun¬ 
dred years in the Province of Quebec and as a natural result 
of wide-spread cultivation of any variety, is now the parent 
of a goodly progeny. The most distinguished member of 
the family is the McIntosh. Other scions of this noted 
family of pomes are, Shiawassee of Michigan origin, Princess 
Louise and Scarlet Pippin of Ontario region. Besides these 
there are several of local repute in the vicinity of Montreal. 
Growers in that region are well acquainted with Fameuse 
Sucre, Fameuse Noir and Green Fameuse. These varieties, 
though not competing with the parent are appreciated by 
local growers. 
McIntosh 
Were I the originator of this apple I would have reason to 
be a proud man. I would have full justification for realiz¬ 
ing that pleasurable sensation attendant upon the per¬ 
formance of a really worthy deed. Railroad kings and 
captains of industry may come and go. They are soon for¬ 
gotten, their deeds pass away, but Allen McIntosh, the dis¬ 
coverer and introducer of the apple of his name and of un¬ 
surpassed excellence, will as the generations come and go be 
rightly regarded as one of the people’s benefactors. 
While there is no circumstantial evidence to prove that 
McIntosh is derived from Fameuse stock its likeness to that 
variety, and its general characteristics are so unmistakable 
as to remove all reasonable doubt from the question. 
In “The Apples of New York,” that notable publication 
of the New York State Experiment Station, McIntosh is 
deemed worthy of a colored plate, but the lithograph is not a 
happy production. Neither color or typical form are faith¬ 
fully rendered. When this variety is grown on clay soil it is 
often slightly ribbed towards the cavity as shown in this 
illustration, but the normal McIntosh is not ribbed. It is 
of medium size, averaging somewhat larger than Fameuse, 
regularly and unusually roundish in outline. The skin is 
thin and tough. The color of northern grown specimens 
shades from a livid or bright red to deep purplish red, almost 
black, overspread with a delicate lilac bloom. Who sinks 
his teeth into a well grown McIntosh in prime condition, if 
possessed of a reasonably discriminating taste, cannot fail to 
carry away a cherished remembrance. I have tried many 
people and rarely failed in securing an enthusiastic response. 
Its white flesh, flaky and melting, pleasantly sub-acid, and 
highly aromatic, represents a gift of the Gods, indeed. 
McIntosh originated along the Upper St. Lawrence and 
its distribution was commenced by the introducer, Mr. 
McIntosh, on whose farm it appeared as a chance seedling 
in 1870. It has made it way into public favor very rapidly. 
The tree is hardy and vigorous, a moderately early and 
practically annual bearer. It succeeds over a wider range 
of territory than its reputed parent Fameuse. One finds it 
growing from the Sauguenay River in Eastern Quebec to the 
Valley of the Fraser, and even on Vancouver Island in 
British Columbia on the West. At the national apple show 
in Spokane in 1908, a carload of this variety was exhibited 
by a Bitter Root Valley Orchard Co. of Montana, grown at 
an elevation of some 3000 feet and in a location where the 
thermometer occasionally touches 40 degrees below zero. 
In the colder regions of interior British Columbia I found an 
orchard (an old one for that region) some twenty years of 
age, where most varieties had been killed by cold and clima¬ 
tic difficulties, yet McIntosh was thriving and productive. 
In high latitudes it is smaller in size and firmer in texture, 
coupled with high coloring, than normal. McIntosh like 
Fameuse is a fancy apple, to be sold in small packages, to be 
eaten fresh out of hand. Don’t cook it. In doing so you 
simply spoil a good thing. I do not think McIntosh will 
supersede Fameuse in the old home of the latter but it will 
have much greater vogue in the newer apple regions of 
British Columbia and the Northwest Pacific. 
John S. Kerr, Sherman, Texas: The April frosts did little 
damage to fruits south of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, yet 
corn and cotton crops suffered in many sections. Nursery stock 
in fine condition. 
