THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
237 
The marketplace of a typical Algerian city, showing fruits and vegetables 
longest tunnel in the world—a little over 12 miles—and 
two or three thousand feet below the crest of the Alps. 
The older route is by far the more interesting from the 
scenic point of view. 
Going north from Genoa one soon leaves the hilly coast 
country and emerges upon the great central plain of Italy. 
Delightful farming land but a mosquitoy and malarial 
country most emphatically. On our second trip through 
this region later in April the farmers were planting rice—a 
pleasant job it was! The seed sown by hand was dis¬ 
tributed by bare legged youths who waded through the 
muddy water being preceded by oxen dragging a harrowing 
or more properly rooting implement for the preparation 
of the soil. The surface of the ground is laid off in small 
squares surrounded with dikes to permit of efficient flood¬ 
ing. The mulberry is extensively cultivated in this region 
for the silk worm. The closely cropped trees—for they are 
headed back every year—give the landscape a stiff and 
formal appearance. In this region corn, wheat and other 
cereals are quite extensively cultivated. While farming is 
more profitable in this region than in many others, malaria 
and mosquitos detract much from the comforts of life. 
General view of the fine harbor of Genoa, Italy 
This is always true where quinine is almost an article of diet. 
A wonderful contrast to the farming and gardening 
efforts of these regions is presented in the latter part of the 
same journey when the terraces of the vine growers of Lake 
Geneva came into view. Of these we shall speak in our next. 
BLOOMLESS, SEEDLESS APPLES. 
These have appeared under various names for at least 
two centuries. Such descriptive phrases as no bloom, no 
core, seedless, and bloomless have all been associated with 
this particular freak type of apple. The first definite 
description and extended mention we find is in Du Hamel, 
1768. Again in his revised work, 1807, there is an enlarged 
account of a so-called seedless apple. 
At the American Ins ?, New York, 1868, a seedless 
apple was exhibited. 
In Tilton’s Journal of Horticulture, 1869, a description 
of this apple exhibited the previous year at the American 
Institute appears. 
In the Botanical Gazette for 1887 is a note on the bloom¬ 
less apple. 
In 1889 the Department of Horticulture of Cornell 
University received from Mr. Robinette of Flag Pond, Va., 
specimens of a bloomless and seedless apple. These speci¬ 
mens were not entirely seedless. 
The Algerian donkey, the “ ship” of the mountainous districts, fore and aft. 
In 1903 the Spencer Seedless Apple was first exploited 
through the newspapers. It was heralded as a new creation 
the work of several years of continuous effort on the part of 
John F. Spencer of Colorado Junction. 
In November, 1905, specimens of this same type of 
bloomless, and seedless apple were received from West 
Virginia, by the Horticultural Department of Cornell 
University, photographed, and carefully examined. 
The interesting feature about all these apples is that 
they are bloomless in that they have no petals. The 
stamens are abortive, and they possess two sets of ovules, 
the normal ovary with a superimposed ovary. Whether 
the apples are seedless or not very likely depends upon the 
amount of pollination. All specimens examined have two 
more or less clearly defined cores, one above the other, and 
have, therefore, a double amount of the objectionable 
carpels lining the ordinary ovule cavity. Of the apple 
received in 1889, former United States pomologist Van 
Deman says that the quality of the apple is tolerably good, 
but the size is small and in color it is dull green with a 
dull or faint splash of red. My opinion is that the variety 
is practically worthless so far as fruit is concerned, but 
quite interesting as a curiosity. 
