The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-03-19
THE MISSING LINK
A Valuable Hint to Wayne
County Fruit Growers.
APPLES THAT WILL keep A YEAR.
Northeastern Tier Farmers are
Given Some Valuable Practi-
cal Advice in the Matter of
Fruit Growing.

B. M. Stone writes THE CITIZEN, un-
der date of March Is, 1899, from stull,
Pa:
IA few years ago while attending
Fairs and Farmers Institutes, here in
Northeastern Pennsylvania, 1 tried to get
the farmers interested in raising long
keeping apples for profit. Many of them
wanted me to experiment and report
later. Herewith send you my report,
and the only way to get it before the
farmer is by the press in the territory
hence ON asking you to lay it before
your readers. If the farmers will look
after the matter they will be much bet
ter off in the not very distant future
TO the farmers of Luzerne, Lacka-
wanna, Susquehanna, Sullivan, Wayne
and Wyoming counties:
six or seven years ago tried to get
the farmers of these counties interested
in the Missing Link apple, on account
of its bookkeeping qualities, as it would
keep twelve months in an ordinary eel
lar, and was both good eating and
cooking apple. But very few became
interested, and those on q very small
scale. But they said, "You try it. You
experiment and we will see how it comes
out" Well, gentlemen, have expert
msnted with it, and find it all right.
The quality is good, and the keeping
qualities cannot be surpassed by any
apple known. They bear every year and
hang on the trees. Ny trees commenced
to bear the next year after planting, and
have borne every year since. 1 have
had fresh apples i'll my cellar every day
for the past six years, and some times
two crops at time. The fourth year
from planting I had four bushels and
sold them for three dollars per bushel.
That year we had heavy wind storm
on September Both and October 1st,
which blew all my apples to the ground
except the Missing Link and Ben Davis.
The leaves were blown off the Missing
r Link trees, but not an apple was found
on the ground after the storm. That
!,
and Scranton markets in the fall, in
many cases not paying the expenses. l
shipped eleven barrels of apples to a
wholesale house in Wilkes-Barre, and
after two months received a check for
$2.5O-not as much money as one bush
ell of the Missing Link brought. The
rext spring, apples brought from ST to
ST so per bushel in the same markets.
1t is the apple that keeps through the
winter that brings the price.
in 1907 had twenty-five bushels OF
! Missing Links. / sold them f. o. b. here
q at one dollar and fifty cents per bushel,
= all but the culls. These 1 kept, and
when any person called at my house
! gave him Gull Missing Link of 1907
q crop, with a request that he sample it
, now, and every person who sampled
q them said they were good. The last one
had gave to two gentlemen on Sept.
Is, 1903, with the same request. They
; said they were a right good apple
My other varieties of apples sold that
> year ON December 1st for fifty cents pei
bushel at the cellar. My crop of Missin G
> Link apples for 1908 was forty-eigh
bushels. The dry weather caused al
:. apples to drop from the trees two weeks
|, before the time to pick them. My apple
were all off the trees before Oct. lst
l. The Missing Links hung to the tree ant
: were picked Oct. 10Th. The apple buyer
n were offering from fifteen cents to thirt,
G cents per bushel for apples sixty cent
g per one hundred pounds, delivered t.
y the car, which is about twenty-sevel
cents per bushel for hand-picked apples
:. My Missing Link apples l put in m.
l. cellar, and am holding them for tn
May and June market of 1909. The yea
before l planted the Missing Link
- planted other long-keepng varieties tina
= are not bearing yet. The Missing Linl
- apple trees have produced apples enough
to pay for the trees before the other tree
have commenced to bear. The Ben Da
y Wis, the Gano, the Stark, the Rowel
! Jenett are all long-keepIng apples, tina
~ will keep until spring. The Rowel
Jenett is good apple and good bear
is er. 1t keeps until June, but is yer
he small, which is against it.
ie There is no doubt that any of yo,
III farmers who have apples that will keel
until April or May will be able to ge
Mt from one dollar to one dollar and fift
s. cents per bushel for them at that time
1t You farmers have home market in tn
Lackawanna and Wyoming valleys, wit
a half million consumers who are no
producers, that would take all tn
- apples you can raise on your farms,
ic the delivery of them were spread ou
s. over the whole twelve months in tn
. year, instead of being forced upon then
in large quantities in the fall. Huckster
IL commence securing the country for ap