The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-11-22
Letters from the People.
Varieties are best tor
West Virgininf


|
AppIes-What Varieties are best tor
| West virgininf
Editor Of the Register:
An enquirer in your paper wishes to
know the best selection of fruit with
which to plant an orchard of 1000 apple
trees. Thisis pretty difficult question
to answer, and no two fruit growers will
answer it alike. So much depends upon
soil ssd location, that q list Of fruits
that would suit one locality and one
kind of soil, might not prove desirable
in other places. If you were to enquire
of any nurseryman within hundred
miles, what variety of apple trees are
most in demand, he would reply "rus-
sets; if one half of our stock was russets,
we could not furnish the supply re-
quired." Yet this is no absolute critic
rion. Of all the old fashioned kinds
such as Pennock, Romantic, VaBdsvere,
&C., the Russet is undoubtedly the best.
And it is because it has been so long and
so we'll known and 80 universally priced
before better new sorts came in vogue,
that it is SO popular. If you wish to
buy 500 to 1000 barrels of one kind of ap-
Piles you must 60 to the orchards where
Russets are grown. There is no doubt
but that the Russet will be supplanted
by choice fruit, but the public have not
decided what that kind shall be. The
New England orchardists have pretty
much settled on the Baldwin, the Rhede
Island Greeu and the RoXbury Russet,
neither of which is the apple for our
part of the country. The Baldwin with
them comes out bright and late in the
spring, and commands high price,
while with us half of them are OH the
ground before apple picking fairly COM
msAces. The same may be said of the
Rhode Island greeniDg, which are ex-
wfhdS, and like the Baldwin, much
specked with rot. The Northern Spy,
another fine apple and good keeper in
the East, is with us an early winter
fruit, and must be disposed of soon af-
ter being picked, else on opening the
barrels, many will be found rotten. In
fact we must not be guided by New Eng
land experience in our choice of varie-
ties; nor, may say, by any other region
remote from our own locality. Let the
North have her Baldwin, let Kentucky
feast on her splendid Jauets and Pryor
Reds, let the South boast of her Nicsa-
jacks, &c, as the finest apples in the
world, and let us plant-what As
said before, this is question more cas-
ily asked than answered. Tastes are so
variant, apples differ so widely in differ
ent localities, that it is hard to get a
reliable opinion, or one from any two
parties that will agree. One would
think that the nurseryman ought to
be the hest referee. But they cultivate
the kinds most likely to be in demand,
irrespective of their own tastes or ex-
perience. know nurserymen who haS e
half their trees Russets, who would not
have tree of that variety in their orch
ard if any one would plant it for nothing.
Many persons about to plant, make
their selections from specimens exhib-
tied at fairs, or from highly colored
pictures shown by travelling tree ped
dlers. When they come to compare the
anxiously awaited produce of their trees
with the overwrought pictures, they find
their fruit dull in color and woefully
deficient in size. The beautiful spec
linens exhibited at fairs are the best Sc
lected from many barrels. They may
be pleasant to the taste and of large
size-but what Of their other quail
tiles are they hardy, prolific, and good
koepersf do they rot on tho trees and
some years scab SO badly only as to be
fit for cideri AS "thing of beauty is q
| Joy forever" so is good orchard.
Years after the trees have been set in
the ground with high hopes, we rejoice
in, or regret the choice we made. The
planter therefore cannot be too careful
to do well what is so difficult after
wards to remedy. 1t is good plan to
visit different orchards in the fall to
make observations and compare notes;
to inquire if certain healthy looking
trees we see laden with nice fruit, usually
do so well, or whether it is only in q
chance season.
To come to the gist Of the matter, if
were planting an orchard of 1000 trees
for this locality l would select for early
Sweet Bough, Red June, and Red Astra-
chau; late summer, Maiden's Blush,
Summer Pearmain, Bailey Sweet, Fall
Porter; Rambo, Gravenstein, Pumpkin
Sweet; Winter, Rome Beauty, Pryor,
Red Kaighus, Spitzenberg or Long Pear
nain, Westfield, Seeknofurther, Jona-
than, King Of Tompkins Co., Red Pear
main, Tulpehocken. Iwould add some
reasons why recommend these above
other popular varieties, but / have
already been too prolix. You will not
find these all set down as number one
in the fruit books, and many will smile
and pshaw as this list, having favorites
of their own in view-but / hope others
will give you selections stating their
reasons why they are better than mine,
and lst the public be the judge.
FARMER.