The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-03-07
About Apples, etc.

NPPASSJ wv
Agricultural Editor:-You inquired
in late issue if any one raised the
Mortified Beauty Apple. l have one
tree that bears on even years, and l
think great deal of the apples. They
will keep till about February l, and
are as good an eating apple as l ever
tasted. Now l would like to ask few
questions. Q) Why is it that some va
rieties of apples grown in certain To-
calities will keep well, while others,
supposed to have equally good keeping
qualities, will last but short time;
while perhaps in another orchard the
keeping qualities of the same apples
will be turned, Uice versa. The Fa-
meuse apple will not keep with me till
January the best | can do; while |
have no trouble in keeping the Alex
ander nice and crisp till the last of
March. Also there seems to be a diff
ference in the looks and taste of the
same variety grown in different locai-
ties. l have some Wealthy trees, the
ment to me, - the apples are rather
small and tinged with green inside,
and are not good. tasting apple. |
think the trees are true to name q
bought them of a preacher), and l
tOp-dress the orchard every other year.
(2) Is it because the formation of the
soil is not the same, and that which is
adapted to one kind of apple will not
grow another SUCCESSFULLY Is the
time coming when the nature of the
soil which a man has will determine
the variety of apples he can grow to
advantage? Or is this all my magma
ton, and is it from some other cause
entirely that makes apples grow "thus
and SOP" The soil l have is rather
heavy; no sand, but rather inclined to
clay, and no lime in it, 1. e., the springs
and wells produce soft water. A few
miles from me, where they have hard
water and the rock formation is en-
tirely different, the Wealthy apples are
very nice, and the Alexander, like your
Mortified Beauty, rots on the tree.
L. V. Brown.
Eden, VT, Feb. -, 1894.
REMARKS BY THE AGRICULTURAL
EDIToR.-In reply to Mr.. Browns
questions: AS to the keeping of
apples, the circumstances make great
deal of difference. Thus, while by
carefully gathering the fruit as soon as
the seeds are colored, and as carefully
handling it 30 as not to bruise it; and
by putting it away with equal care in a
deep, cool, well-ventilated cellar, with
windows to open nights, and close by
day, we keep the Wealthy in good or
der until March; others, by an opposite
treatment, can hardly keep it till
Christmas. The apples described by
Mr.. Brown resemble Wealthy so little
that we should be inclined to think
them not true to name. We have seen
the Wealthy as grown in many local
tiles, but never saw them lacking in
color, or quality, to the extent he
speaks of. His keeping Alexander so
long beats us all out; and we suspect
that he may have another apple under
that name. We have another, the
Grand Duke Constantine, which be-
longs to the same family, and looks 80
much like Alexander as to be pulling
This variety is a keeper; and perhaps
it is what Mr.. Brown has. 1t is a good
eating apple, while Alexander is only
fair cooking apple. The Russian
apples are often grown from seed,
which tends to produce number of va
rieties which are closely alike. Thus,
we have an apple which no one could
tell by its looks from Duchess of
Oldenburgh, but is about month later.
1t is also enough better in quality TO be
a very good eating apple. 1t was only
by its later ripening, however, that we
should have recognized it as being a
distinct sort. There is certainly a
choice of soils for growing apples, and
even for particular varieties; for some
of them are very particular. For in
stance, there are only two places known
in the United States where the New
town Pippin can be successfully grown
the lower Hudson valley, and Able
marie county, Virginia. Grown else,
where, they have scarcely any resem.
blance, and are worthless, though the
trees may have come from the same
stock.
"High Farming"