. Better fruit. Fruit-culture. E are indebted to the Southern Railway Company of Washington, District of Columbia, for the accom- panying illustration of the remarkable apple tree grown in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Apparently the cli- matic conditions of that section are particularly adapted to apple raising and pecularly conducive to great longevity of apple trees. This tree is known to be over one hundred years old, and may be one hundred and fifty. It certainly must have been a large tree ninety years ago, for Mr. Newton Gentry of Trap Hill, Wilkes County, North Carolina, states that h
. Better fruit. Fruit-culture. E are indebted to the Southern Railway Company of Washington, District of Columbia, for the accom- panying illustration of the remarkable apple tree grown in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Apparently the cli- matic conditions of that section are particularly adapted to apple raising and pecularly conducive to great longevity of apple trees. This tree is known to be over one hundred years old, and may be one hundred and fifty. It certainly must have been a large tree ninety years ago, for Mr. Newton Gentry of Trap Hill, Wilkes County, North Carolina, states that his grand- father, Jim Fields, killed a deer in 1820 near this tree, and hung it on a limb to put it out of reach of dogs and wolves while he continued his hunt. Mr. Gentry has used the fruit from this tree for over sixty years, and Mr. W. A. Johnson, his neighbor, states that the tree was as large fifty years ago as it is today. A recent measurement showed the trunk to be sixteen feet five inches in circumference at the ground and twelve feet six inches just below the first limb. It is also stated that the trunk is perfectly solid to this day. Were it cut down and the center hol- lowed out it would be large enough for an ordinary cow to walk through without touching her sides or back to the inside walls. The tree has been neglected for years, but was recently pruned. Before the large limbs were cut off the spread was about sixty- two feet. The variety is not exactly known, but the natives call it the "Rich Apple," as the color is a rich yellow and striped red, and has a very fine flavor. The fruit is ripe about Septem- ber and keeps until late fall. Mr. Gentry does not recall a year in the past sixty that it has not blossomed, and thinks he has seen at least fifty bushels of apples grown on it in a single season. The tree is now owned by J. B. Horton of Elkins, North Caro- lina, and the apple will be cultivated and perpetuated under the name of "Horton's Second C
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