HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY MEETING

HELD AT FOREST GROVE DECEMBER 1, 1921

GREETING

By HENRY E. DOSCH, Portland, Oregon

Mr. Mayor, Mr. President, Mr. Secretary and Horticultural Friends-Greeting! To use a stereotyped phrase, it is always pleasant to meet friends of horticulture, but it is especially so to meet and greet you at a college town like Forest Grove. I thank you, Mr. Mayor, for your kindly greeting and welcome to your city and I know all will enjoy the hospitality you have so generously extended to us. The older members present will remember gratefully President Marsh of your college who devoted his life to the education of the youths who were so fortunate as to be students under him, many of whom have left their mark on the history of Oregon.

This society was organized some thirty-six years ago, and after laboring some years, gave birth to the State Board of Horticulture, and I have the honor to be a charter member, so to speak, of both.

At the organization of both, we were confronted with serious obstacles and much trouble. Fruit growing was still in its infancy and sadly neglected by growers, as evidenced by the gnarled, scrubby, moss covered trees, and worm eaten fruits, evidences of mossbackism and dormant intellect, but we had set out to overcome all these troubles by education and carefully coaching old and new planters.

The prune industry seemed at that time to take the lead sponsored by Dr. J. R. Cardwell, who was president of this society for twenty years and ten years of the State Board, faithfully assisted by Prof. E. R. Lake, secretary for twelve years, Samuel A. Clarke, Jesse Bullock, A. W. Hidden, John H. Fletcher, W. K. Newell, J. R. Shepard, Dr. Sharples, Dr. O. P. S. Plummer, C. H. Welch, H. W. Prettyman, Chauncey Ball, the Lewellings, T. V. Sluman, H. C. Atwell, Earl Pearcy and myself.

The apple, which has since put Oregon on the map as "The Land of the Red Cheek Apple," was taken up by R. S. Wallace of Salem, H. B. Miller of Rogue River, E. L. Smith of Hood River, Geer and James Hendershott of the Grande Ronde Valley, H. H. Weatherspoon of Elgin, Dr. C. A. Macrum of Mosier, and T. A. Sammis, Jr., of The Dalles.

The pear was fostered by the Stewarts and Albert C. Allen of Medford, R. S. Wallace of Salem, Emille Schanno of The Dalles, A. H. Carson of Grants Pass, and Charles A. Park of Salem.

The cherry by L. T. Reynolds of Salem, J. H. Lambert of Portland, Seth Lewelling of Milwaukie, and Cyrus Hoskins of Newberg-and last but not least, the French walnut, which fell to me, introducing them some thirty years ago and, after many years of experimenting, succeeded in the Franquette, Mayette and later the Columbias, a seedling of the Mayette, planted largely by Thomas Prince and Charles Trunk of Dundee, J. C. Cooper of McMinnville, hundreds of others and myself, indorsed by H. M. Williamson and C. D. Minton, both secretaries of the board and society; hence I feel, and rightfully so, that we, with the cooperation of Dr. James Withycombe, Dr. A. B. Cordley, Prof. A. L. Lovett, Prof. H. P. Barss, Prof. C. I. Lewis, Prof. W. S. Brown, Prof. S. M. Zeller, C. E. Schuster, B. B. Fulton, and many other professors from the agricultural experiment station at Corvallis, who are always ready and willing to assist and lend a hand for the good of the cause, have placed the fruit and berry industry on a high plane, and by our work so cheerfully given, have carried out Emerson's mission, who said, "You can help your feilow man, you must help your fellow man; yea! it is even a divine privilege to give to your fellow-laborer the results of your best thoughts and experiments." This, friends, is the best greeting I can give you.

THE DELICIOUS APPLE-ITS PLACE IN AMERICAN

POMOLOGY

By C. I. LEWIS,

Managing Editor American Fruit Grower Magazine

The Bible is filled with references to fruit. Frequently we read of the vine, the fig and the pomegranate. We are all familiar with the old story of the apple in the garden of Eden, and I have long since concluded that this apple was a Ben Davis, for had it been a Delicious Eve would have eaten it and would have had none left to offer Adam.

Southwest Asia and Asia-Minor has been the home of most of our fruits. From that point the traders passing through Greece, Italy, through Spain, France and England, gradually introduced these fruits. With the discovery of the new world, the voyagers almost invariably carried with them plants and seed to the new land. The hardy Spanish buccaneers introduced into Florida the seed of the citrus and have made that land one of the greatest producers of high quality fruits in the world. These same buccaneers, sailing down around South America, introduced into Chile the olive, walnut and other fruits which later the Spanish fathers carried from that country to Southern California and laid the foundation for marvelous horticulture. In all probability the French traders introduced apples into Canada and possibly the Snow apple formerly may have originated from that source.

Our pilgrim fathers and Virginia cavaliers brought with them trees and seed. Too often, however, the trees died and the colonies had to resort to the planting of seed. These early orchards produced fruit largely of inferior quality and the fruit was largely manufactured into cider, but from this seedling epoch came our well-known varieties of today. The Baldwin seemed to have originated as a chance seedling in 1740 at Wilmington, Massachusetts, and was named by Colonel Baldwin in 1784. No one knows where the Spitzenberg came from except that it originated in Ulster county, New York, more than a century ago, and it is undoubtedly the result of seed which was probably brought from New England and planted in that section. Our famous Yellow Newtown, sometimes known as the Albemarle Pippin, originated near a swamp on the estate of Mr. Moore in Newtown, Long Island. Benjamin Franklin received specimens of this fruit in England as early as 1759, and it was exported in fairly large quantities by 1773 to both the West Indies and to England. We know that the Grimes probably originated in West Virginia, from seed which were planted at that point, and that this variety is very old is evidenced by the fact that it was offered to the trade in New Orleans as early as 1804. The Jonathan was described in Judge Buell's catalogue of 1825 as originating on the farm of Phillip Rick, Woodstock, Ulster county, New York. The famous Northern Spy was found in a seedling orchard at East Bloomfield, New York. It had been planted by Herman Chapin, the seed coming from Salisbury, Connecticut, the original tree having died before bearing, but the sprouts lived and thus this wonderful variety was propagated. It was well distributed by 1847. The Rome originated on the farm of H. N. Gillett of Ohio and was shown at a convention of fruit growers as early as 1848. Without doubt the Rhode Island Greening probably originated as a seedling near Newport, Rhode Island, at Green's End. Some varieties, like the Winesap, we know little about as regards their origin, although the Stayman originated in 1866 at Leavenworth, Kansas. The McIntosh originated in Dundas county, Ontario, and was freely propagated as early as 1870. The Wealthy, to which we owe so much to Peter Gideon, originated at Excelsior, Minnesota, from the seed of a cherry crab obtained in 1860 from Bangor, Maine.

Had it not been for the seedling epoch in our horticultural history these varieties would never have been produced and America would have lost many valuable commercial varieties. Probably many varieties were lost. For example, we know that the Indians took seed from the colonists in New England and planted orchards in New York and Pennsylvania. Sad it is that General Sullivan in his raids destroyed the Indian orchards he came in contact with and thereby, perhaps, deprived us of many valuable varieties. Mr. Chapman, known as the eccentric Johnny Apple Seed, in his wanderings down in the Ohio valley, clothed in burlap, carrying a sack of seed in one hand and a Bible in the other, blazed the trail for varieties of apples through that district. Possibly the Ben Davis may have originated from Johnny Apple Seed distributed in the Ohio valley.

Quite a new epoch in our American pomology was the introduction of the Russian varieties. As early as 1838 we find that four Russian varieties were grown in the trial gardens at Salem, Massachusetts, and described in the catalogues and in the "Book of Fruits," these varieties being the Red Astrachan, the Tetofsky, the Duchess and the Alexander. We know what a controversy arose later on; how Professor Budd of this state led the fight in favor of the Russian apples, recognizing much merit in them, and they have contributed much to our American horticulture.

As the pioneers swept westward over the Rockies to the Pacific coast, we find they always carried fruit with them. Lewellyn Brothers and Meek, after several trials and much privation, brought fruit to Oregon and planted some of the seed which originated the famous Black Republican and Lambert cherry. At a banquet in England in the early part of the last century, the ladies of the table laughingly gave the seeds of fruits to the Hudson Bay travelers who were to go to Vancouver, Washington. Some of these seeds were planted and thrived in orchards in the Vancouver district. The Mormons, as they wandered westward to Utah, always instructed their followers to bring seeds of all kinds and early established in Utah the foundation for a permanent horticulture.

Some of the work in originating the varieties I have described was probably intentional, an effort being made on the part of some to originate new varieties. The greater part of it, however, was accidental, and some of our finest varieties came very nearly being destroyed. The Northern Spy had a very narrow escape. The Delicious apple, of which we are here today to dedicate a monument, perhaps narrowly escaped destruction. This variety occurred as a sprout on a Yellow Bellflower which was grafted on Vermont seedlings. Suppose some stray steer had eaten and destroyed the shoot, we would not today have the wonderful Delicious apple.

Down in Florida they have a new variety of orange known as the Temple orange, which is said to have originated from the sprout of a seedling root, following a disastrous disease at the top of the tree.

The Delicious apple represents the crowning point of achievement in the origination of American varieties. No variety has been originated which is superior to the Delicious in quality; few can equal it in production. On the Pacific coast, where I am very familiar with orcharding, it is not uncommon to find this variety yielding as high as 750 packed boxes per acre, whereas some of the older varieties often do not yield more than 200 packed boxes per acre. The high yielding varieties like Delicious, Jonathan, Winesap, Stayman and the Winter Pearmain, which tend to produce annually big crops, are the varieties which are making fruit growing profitable in the west. No variety of apple of American origin ever had quicker distribution than the Delicious and none were ever accepted more readily by the American public. It is one of the best known varieties which we have, and rightly so, for its large size, its beautiful color, its delicious aroma and quality. In the origination of the

Delicious a high standard has been set for us in the development of future varieties. How proud the state of Iowa must feel that it was the mother of this wonderful variety. Gradually some of the older varieties are slipping by the wayside; the Baldwin has probably passed its zenith, being an irregular bearer, winter killing frequently and being subject to Baldwin spot, which have contributed to restrict its planting.

The future is going to see the demand for quality fruits, coupled with productiveness, vigor and good appearance. We see through all the ages man has gone through all sorts of hardship and privation to carry fruit with him to the ends of the earth. As a result, some races, especially in the tropics, subsist on fruit alone. Can we not, with the later generations, show that same zeal in the improvement of our varieties and the origination of new ones? What more can we do for posterity than to bring forth beautiful, superior fruits, nuts, flowers and vegetables. The time is too short for me to tell of the tragedy and romance connected with the development of the American grape industry or the wonderful development of the small fruits, and of our flowers-the American rose and chrysanthemum; nor can I go into detail concerning the wonderful work that our plant breeders, such as Burbank and Hanson have done, or the work which the Minnesota experiment station is accomplishing, of the splendid plant breeding work being inaugurated in this state, of the work in seeking a blight-resistant pear which is being carried on by Professor Reimer of Oregon and by the experiment station here, or the remarkable work being done on the strawberry by Mr. Etter of California. These men have blazed the trail; they have shown us that plants are plastic, that it is possible to breed them and improve them. You of the colleges and experiment stations who are present have a great work before you in showing what characters our present varieties possess which they will will readily transmit to their offspring, what variations take place, what varieties are promising as parents in breeding experiments, what laws of breeding and selection we must follow to get the best results. With the Delicious apple ever before you as a model it should inspire you to the greatest effort. Our deeds are many; we need a peach of the Elberta type to follow the Elberta; we need a cherry which matures later and is less liable to cracking; we need blight-resistant crab apples; a pear which is resistant to fire blight; earlier maturing prunes; more fruits of higher quality coupled with greater vigor and more productiveness.

Let us, as the latter-day horticulturists, emulate the zeal of our forefathers and make America the native home of the world's choicest fruits.