Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-12-16

apple trees. 6OT 1t S6eulS dliiioot
certain that the original trees of the
orchard were planted by the Fran
ciscan friars of the Quarai mission
and if that is the ase the original
trees must have been planted before
the year 1875 which would make
them at least $50 years old. OF
course, the original trees may have
died and others may have grown
up from seeds "or roots. That this
has happened in some cases is indi-
Gated by the fact hat many of the
trees are double as though two
shoots had sprung up and grown
together.
Naturally much legend clings
about the old trees, but a scientific
investigation of them had
been undertaken until last summer.
1t was initiated by a discussion be-
tween several government men as to
how long apple trees live. A plant
pa%thologist connected with the De-
partment of Agriculture was especi-
ally eager to know this as 1T would
shed light upon a certain phase Of
his work. He said hat the oldest
apple tree of which he had been
able to find my record was in an
Oregon orchard and that it was
somewhere between fifty and sixty
year. old. A Forest Service mon
told him of this apple orchard
that had stood for centuries accord
ing to legend. He pooh-poohed the
legend. The discussion ended ty
the two mems climbing into a a
and driving fifty miles across the
mountains to the town of Manzano.
Trees Still Productive
They found hat the old orchard
stood in an arroyo or dry water
course. No one seemed to care
for it. 1t got no water in that land
of perpetual drouth except what
came down the arroyo when it rain
ed. The trees were badly in need
of pruning all of them containing
dead limbs, but they still had vi
tally enough to produce a crop
of apples, which were very small,
but sweet and well favored.
Like many another historical
monument in the southwest the old
orchard was rapidly p%erishing If
neglect. With proper care the old
yet, and they have great value both
fc specimens.
The priest at the Manzano church
was glad to tell all that he knew
about the trees. He was exceedingly
proud of them as relics of heroic
past of his order but he had neither
the time nor the means tc care for
them. One of the smaller trees had
recently died, and he gave the sci
| enlist permission to cut 1t down in
| order that they might count the
rings of annual growth by which the
age of any tree may be accurately
determined. They counted al least
| SO rings in the sound part of the
tree, the rest of them having been
o~bliterated by heart rot, but they
| felt sure the total was lot less than
a hundred. And this tree was one
of the smallest. some of the larger
ones being nearly thirty inches in
diameter. The scientists ave
marked n of the largest trees
| which seems to be rapidly dying. as
| the next subject for their investiga-
tions. No one, of course, would
| want to cut down one Of the living
trees.
The investigation of this larger
tree may bring forth proof that here
and probably nowhere else in the
world-apple trees have stood for
! two centuries or mo-" What is the
4 secret of this longevity? Did the
old Spanish fathers perhaps have
some kind of tree that would live
longer than any known to modern
science? The boosters with which
New Mexico swarms will tell you
that the explanation is easy-it Is
simply the wonderful climate of the
country, in which the sick get well.
the well get better, and apple trees
live forever. :.