
          [I]

THE VARIETY APPLE ORCHARD
AT ARLINGTON FARM

The following apple variety notes are based on observations recorded
by the writer, H. P. Gould, during the years 1922 to 1931
on specimens sent from the orchard to the Division of Fruits and
Vegetable Crops and Diseases, or to its antecedent pomological component
unit where the studies were made.  Observations were recorded
on but very few varieties for the entire 10-year period; more
often they were limited to not over 4 to 6 seasons, or even a
smaller number of years in many cases.  During the entire period
the fruit was picked with only rare exceptions by H. W. Brunk who
had general supervision of the orchard.  While in some cases the
fruit was picked prematurely, the continuity from year to year in
the picking of so large a number of varieties by the same individual
was on the whole advantageous.

Preliminary to what follows a historical statement regarding
the orchard is in order.  The accompanying blueprint of the orchard
shows the general plant of arrangement, and the years in which the
older portion of it was planted.  Each section was 5 trees wide and
26 trees long; 2 trees of each variety;  the varieties running
lengthwise the sections.  Thus, for example, a variety situated in
Section B, rows 15 and 16, tree 3, could be located readily, as
each tree bore a label giving name and location by section, row
and tree.   There were 12 sections in the orchard, each designated
by a letter, A to L, respectively, though Section K and L together,
were less than half planted to trees.  Each section consisted of
nearly 3 acres, or a total for the 12 sections of about 35 acres.

Because of duplications, uncertainties in identification, unnamed
seedlings and for other irregularities it was never possible
to be sure of the exact number of varieties in the orchard, but
including crabapples and certain seedlings the number must have
been well over 500.

With very few exceptions the trees were all propagated at
Arlington Farm and grown in a nursery there before being planted
in the orchard.  In the variety notes the source is given in
most cases of the scions from which each variety was propagated.
A large proportion of them came from two sources - The New York
State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, through Prof.
S. A. Beach, and from a private nursery developed in Eckington,
Washington, D. C. by Mr. W. N. Irwin of the Pomology staff of
the old Division of Pomology which later became Pomological
Collections of the Bureau of Plant Industry.

        