Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-11-22
APPLE INDUSTRY

Found to Have Wonderful Keep
Ing ouallty--summer King rs
One o. the 5est--Esports Last
Year More Than sfo,ooo,ooo.
H. r. Gould, pomologist, in charge
Of fruit district Investigations Of the
Bureau Of Plant Industry. is seeking
new varieties Of fruits, with view
10 promoting the most promising
THE variety problem" said Mr.
Gould. els one that is ever before
the grower. whether he views the
industry from the standpoint OF the
student or from that OF the business
man. In the last analysis CONNER
cial fruit growing, to be permanently
successful. must be considered from
both standpolnts. AS the business
aspects OF frmt growing receive
more definite reoognitions varieties
win be planted more and more 70
meet conditions, and for special rath-
er than general purposes.
zone OF the most important re-
qulrements In winter apple in some
sections, for instance, Is that 1t have
good cold storage qualities sum
mer apples were for a considerable
period very minor consideration
commercially, but within the past
ten or fifteen years there has de
veloped an urgent demand in the
Eastern markets for this class OF
fruit This has greatly stimulated
the planting of early apple varieties
Three promising varieties OF APP
ptes-ithe Eastman. the Monocacy
and the Summer King have come
into prominence because Of market
demands,
The pioneer attempts ut fruit
growing in Northern Iowa early dem.
onstrated that the varieties With
which the early settlers were tamil.
ar In heir old homes In the East
we're not hardy enough to withstand
the dry, cold winters characteristic
of large portion of the upper Mis-
sissippi Valley The Eastman apple
is one OF the results OF definitely
planned effort to develop varieties
adapted to the peculiar needs OF this
region. 1t originated at Charles
City, Iowa. from a seed OF a Fam.
euse apple which was planted in the
spring OF 1874. The pollen parent
OF the Eastman is unknown, but i
must have been st. Lawrence, an
Oldenburg or Wealthy apple. The
Eastman tree makes strong, Wig
orous, spreading growth, and is con.
eeded to be decidedly more hardy
than its parent, the Fameuse, and
equal in hardness to the Wealthy,
1t has proved to be remarkably
early, regular and prolific bearer,
For some years it has been giving
good satisfaction In central Iowa, as
we'll as In various sections of Mime.
sofa II seems to do well In the Bay.
field Peninsula region of Wisconsin"
The Eastman apple Is roundlsh in
form, slightly truncate, and pale vel.
low in color, heavily washed with
delicate bright red and marked with
broken strikes and splashes Of light
carmine. The flesh Is white. and the
texture rather coarse, tender and
moderately juicy.
'The Monocacy apple said Mr..
Gould, sis one of many examples OF
fruit varieties that apparently pos
sess great potential possibilities, and
have long been grown in very re-
stricted regions, where fhey are
highly esteemed, but which remain
quite unknown to fruit growers gen.
orally. Frederick Dorcus, OF Carroll
county, Md, now eighty-one years
old, recalls eating apples from the
original Monocacy tree In 1S49. The
tree stood on farm owned By Will
liam Baumgardner, OF Monocacy,
Carroll county. II was considered a
wilding, and the fruit was so hard
in the fall that 1t was not usually
gather the apples for himself. He put
the tree through freezes. Mr.. Dor
Gus thawed and ate them.
''The Monocacy came into loca!
prominence in 1859 or 1860, when a
Mr.. Seiss. a tenant farmer, discover.
ed it's real worth. Mr.. Seiss got per
mission from Mr. Baumaardner TO
gather the apple for himself. lie put
away thirty bushels, burying them in
pit. The apples were kept in the
ground until late the next spring.
when all other apples were gone, and
brought out. They were Of such
high qdaIity shat they attracted
much attention, and apparently crea'
ted considerable local excitement"