The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-02-02
APPPEs IN FOOTHILLS.


Country Gentleman.
Amid the multiplicity of fruits iu our
state, the apple still holds preference with
those inhabitants of Placer county (Aus
burn being the county seat) who have
come from apple producing states-and
they are majority. New corners are in
clined to plant apple orchards for local
markets or Eastern shipping, and it is
proper to state that apples do not succeed
well till elevations considerably higher
than Auburn are reached. Here and south
and southwest of us they are generally .
failure, and hundreds of old apple trees
have been grubbed out as worthless. -Four
trees of Yellow Bellfiower and two of New
town Pippin, on land / purchased
two years ago. produced only small
being blotched and small, the bellfiowsrs
small, spongy in flesh and tough in rind.
This is at an elevation 100 feet higher than
Auburn, the latter 1850 feet above sca
level at San Francisco. Their cd Astrachan,
however, succeeds well at Auburn, and in
higher elevations as far up the Southern
Pacific railroad as Alta or Towles, which il
1907 feet above sea level. Another
Russian apple, the Duchess of OldenburR.
succeeds well at Colfax--elevation 2,43
feet-and at the several stations on the
railroad up to Cisco, which is 5.84 feet
u
character, will undoubtedly bear any
degree of cold or exposure that any known
apple can succeed in.
It being well settled that both amateur
and professional fruit-growers are most
likely to succeed when they limit them-
selves TO a few which have been bought
and sold by an experienced fruit dealer,
who is also raising several Of them az kinds
that may be relied on to do well with pr0p-
er care at any elevation between Clipper
Gap, 1,760 feet, and Cisco, 1854 feet eleva-
ton: Gravenstein-large striped and beau-
tiful; first quality; tree vigorous and pro-
ductive; riPeniing in foothills first Of
August. King of Tompkins County
Large, yellowish, striped with red;
flesh Juicy, tender, vinons flavor; very
good; keeps till February at and above
Auburn; for apple sauce it is not excelled.
White winter Pearmain-large, pale, .yel-
low, very. fine flavor; flesh pale. yellow
crisp and juicy; quality very good; ripens
late in October and keeps well; an excel
lent apple in the middle foothills, at and
above 1,700 feet elevation. Winesap-
small to medium size; dark red; high
favored; tree hardy; 2 mellow, good vim
raised in elevated positions northward.
Smiths Cider is safe apple to
plant in the foothills for production and
profit, as it is in Central Wisconsin. The
popular Wealthy-orignating in Hennepin
county, Mimi, believe-does well in foot
hill localities; light red, very productive,
best quality, and very desirable apple;
early winter in North California foothills.
OF the same iron-clad class is the Wal
bridge-good quality, handsomely striped
red, early and abundant bearer; . few days
later in ripening than the Wealthy. The
Walbridge. originated in Sank county,,
Wis, / believe, and should try it If set
ting out an apple orchard above loo feet
elevation.
Haas and Rhode Island Greening are
popular apples, and do fairly well at eleva-
tions of 5000 feet or over. Fine specimens
were shown at the Auburn fruit exhibi-
ton, September, 1890, and I have tested
several boxes Of Greetings grown at Dutch
Flats, elevation :, 395 feet, near Southern
Pacific railroad.
This short list may be concluded with
brief remarks on the LAWYER, q most prom.
ising late-keeping winter apple. The law
yer Is here called 'sfour-tiern apple-that
is, four tiers packed in the usual manner
fill box, which is eleven inches deep.
The LAWYER is large, roundish, hat, mild
sub-acid. tine grained, firm and heavy; color
dark red-the handsomest of all extra late
keepers; valuable late market sort; tree
vigorous grower, very hardy and pears
well. 1.-THE LAWYER apple" says John
Bidwell, an experienced fruit shipper, sis
the most promising late market apple now
before the California public, and being
very good quality, as well as hardy and
productive, may supersede the poor quail
fty Ben Davis, which, though very snowy,
has neither good flavor nor high quality
1t is more uniform in size than either the
Greening or Baldwin, and as fine grained
as the Swaar, its tirmness being pr0tec.
ton against bruising. 1t is little larger
than the Greening, while its long keeping
qualities are undoubted. Considering its
excellent qualities, the LAWYER Is probably
the coming red bookkeeping winter apple
that has been desired for several decades.
being adapted for shipping in late spring
and early summer when really good APP
pies readily command good prices.
Many other varieties are grown at eleya-
tions above 1, 800 feet, in the contiguous
counties, FL Dorado and Nevada, and sold
here, thus giving our fruit shippers oppor-
tunity for comparison, and selection Of
those varieties that are best adapted to the
producing conditions Of the foothills, and
for shipping as we'll as supplying the
local demand, which Is considerable,
where there are usually several hume
bred visitors seeking health, or on
county seat business. IL may be added
that apples of good quality may. Be
grown at or near the elevations stated, in
scores and hundreds of foothili localities
on the west side of the Sierra Nevada
mountains, which extended, with gaps al
irregular intervals. from Modoc county
adjoining the Oregon state line, fully 500
miles TO the southern side of Kern county,
where the mountains curve ana iorm
the coast range, which extends back
again 10 the Oregon boundary In
Del Norte county, with break
of about 100 miles wide, which
forms the valley through which the wa
tiers Of the Sacramento and San joaquin
rivers redch the bay Of San Francisco.
The only reason why the localities first
named are now producing good apples n
that railroads and other opened highways
have made them accessible. The slopes Of
any of the wooded foothills on the western
side of the sierras are naturally as well
adapted 70 apple growing at correspondents
elevations as the localities named.
Placer County, Cal. ]. W. CLAn1