The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1907-08-29
SPENCER SEEDLESS
NOT new VARIETY

The Wisconsin State Horticultural al
society hes been investigating the
Spencer Seedles4 apple, which was SO
widely advertised year or so ago,
and attracted considerable attention.
and among other reports prints the
following communi etion FIR III Ches.
Waters, ot . bite Sslmcn:
al am often HsEeI by letter il the
Spencer Seedlr>s aUlle sold bv The
Spencer Seedless company, Grand
junction, Colo, and laDeied the
worlds greatest discovery In horticul-
ture," is the sane kind that | tried
to grow IN Wi,cOnsin and that | sent
to A. Ii, Jewett. | now give the his.
tory OF the apple IeferIed TO.
In the early SOS received a few
scions from Virginia. called bloom.
less, corelsss aud seedless, and grew
them in my nursery at Springville,
Wiz. The seions could not endure the
o.. wiuter, none living to bear fruit.
4 bout the yeai 1879 | sent a few
root gratis to lh wet nursery and
on coming there ia 1884 found the
gratis in his orchard but not yet bear
ing. After bearing a few years Mr..
Jewett top worked them TO o.her
kinds, saying that they we're not
commercial apples. Later he grubbed
them cut
''ln 1890. when went to Grand
Junction, Colo. ] furnished j. L.
Spencer with stait Of the same seed.
less apples, but when | left there In
1896 heard nothing of his having
aanIlaaa 4
orchard had not fl uitei yet
"The question now Is this: Is the
Spencer SeeJless the same which |,
Charles Waters. furnished j. T.. Spen.
Ger in 1850 aud is it commercial ap-
pie? To tue frat question would s.y
that / SEM apples last year to Mr..
Taylor, horticulturist, Washington,
d. G, the Rural New Yorker, Wiscon-
sin State Agricultural college and the
Wiscosin State horticultural society.
From each of these | received letter
stating there is no doubt but the
Spencer Seedless is identical with the
apples | sent and grown from the
same stock taken to DIR. Spencer.
Secondly, is the aprle refer to
commercial appleP When the Spencer
company's first booklet appeared on
the wonderful development of the j.
r. Spencer apple, was certain that
the Spencer apple mentioned was
nothing but my Virginia seedless, -
for | had known John Spencer since
the day he was born in April, 1848. |
first wrote decoy letter to the Spen-
Ger company stating that there was
leedless growing at White Salmon,
WASH, and that there could be grown
many thousand of these in few
years. Then ! had friend of mine
copy this letter, sign his name and
give a neal by postoffice as the sup
posed address OF the writer. In
short time the letter was answered in
this manner: Please send some of
the apples and perhaps they will be
big money to US all. | did net take
the hint to join them In their enter
prise, but il had there would have
been less talk about the way it has
now turned out.
81 then began writing to the Spen.
Ger company, wishing them to ac-
knowledge that Spencer and grew
few of the seedless trees in Grand
junction nursery. ! certainly knew
that Mr. spencer ola not nave any
new process. Finally, in one letter
from A. l.. Green, secretary of the
Spencer company, he said: Now,
MIR. Waters, you may rest assured
that we are not fooling the public, as
our apple is an entirely different
proposition from the apple you and
Mr.. Spencer introduced here or tried
to and failed.-as you know it was
perfectly worthless. That letter is in
the hands of the authorities of the
department of agriculture, Washing
ton, ID. G.
Remember this: Spencer's trees
had not fruited wLen | left Grand
Junction in 1896 Now, are the two
seedless stocks one and the same
thing? IT so, is it commercial ap-
pie? | say they are the very same ap.
pie and never will be commercial
apple, as the fruit Is tasteless.
"Yet | think that any person might
wish to plant one tree as a curiosity,
as the apple when properly grown is
suitable for making sauce, in April or
May. One tree is enough for any or
chard."