Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/779

APPIUS CLAUDIUS CRASSUS. colleague Oppius remained in Rome, with two legions to maintain their authority. Meanwhile, Appius Claudius had been smitten by the beauty of Virginia, daughter of a respeeted plebeian named Lucius Virginius, who was abroad with the army. By force and stratagem, representing that she was the born slave of JIarcus Claudius, one of his clients, Appius Claudius gained pos- session of the girl. His design was penetrated by leilius, who was betrothed to Virginia, and who, aided by Xumitorius, her uncle, threatened to raise an insurrection against the decemviri. Virginius, hurriedly recalled from the army by his friends, appeared and claimed his daugliter; but, after another mock-trial, she was .again adjudged to be the property of Marcus tiaiulius. To save his daughter from dishonor, the unhappy father seized a knife and slew her. The popular indignation excited by the case was headed by the senators Valerius and Horatius, who hated the decemvirate. The army returned to Rome with Virginius, who had carried the news to them, and the decemviri were deposed. Appius Claudius died in prison by his own hand (as Livy states), or was strangled by order of the tribimes. His colleague, Oppius, committed suicide, and Marcus Claudius was banished. APP'LE. The name applied to a tree be- longing to the rose family of plants, as well as to its fruit. The conmion juiple is known botanically as Pyrus mains; the Crab Apples be- longing to Pyrus< bafcata. All the cultivated apples of the world have come from these two forms. The fruit of the apple is a pome, con- sisting of a thickened fleshy portion, resulting from the development of the calyx, inclosing the horny cells forming the core and 'covering the true seeds.

The common apple, Pyrus mains, lias been in cultivation since prehistoric times. Charred re- mains of the fruit have been found in the mud of the lakes inhabited by the Lake Dwellers, and, according to De Candolle, the tree was probably indigenous to Anatolia, the south of the Cau- casus, and northern Russia, and its cultivation began at a very early date. The Siberian Crab, Pyrus baccata, is a native of the north, and is of great importance to fruitgrowers not only on account of its own hardy and resistant char- acter, but also because it transmits much of its hardiness to its crosses with Pyrus m/tliis. thus producing a fruit of good quality that can endure northern climates. Besides these European apples, North America has several wild species which are more or less notable. Among these, the Prairie Apple, Pyrus loensis, is perhaps the most promising from a horti- cultural standpoint, because crosses between it and Pyrus malus (to which class the so-called I'yrus Koulardii undoubtedly belongs) are already valualile. The eastern wild apple, Pyrus corona- ria. is oi little value for its fruit, but its bloom is beautiful. China and .Japan have native ap- ples which are of little economic importance, hut are interesting in that they carry the genus through the north temperate zone around the world.

Crab Apple, or Cr,b. A term applied indis- criminately to all small fruits of the apple, re- gardless of species. Sometimes, however, it is confined to a class of small, long-stemmed fruits belonging to Pyrus baccata.

Economically the apple is the most important fiuit of temperate regions. It is grown over a wide area, prospering as far north as Scandi- navia and as far south as the southern mountain districts of the United States. It has, moreover, been carried into the Southern Hemisphere, and now, with rapid ocean transit. New Zealand and Tasmanian apples are annually offered during April and May in the markets of London and San Francisco.

North America is the leading apple-growing region of the world. Apples are raised on a commercial scale from Nova Scotia south to Virginia and west to Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. They are also raised in Oregon and California. These several regions produce an annual aggregate product of one hundred million barrels. The great portion of this yield finds a ready market within the domain of North America ; but a small fraction of the crop is annually exported, mainly to Liverpool, London, and Glasgow. The export trade is gradually increasing, and the Mediterranean countries may be counted upon as a future market for American aj)ples. The apple is propagated both by budding, and by grafting the desired sort on young seedling trees, which are usually groTi from seeds ob- tained from apple pomace at the eider mills. ( See Budding ; Grafting. ) Such seeds give a progeny variable both in hardiness and in habit of growth, and are therefore less desirable for stocks than seedlings grown from seeds of the wild Pyrus malus of Europe. Budded trees are preferred by most growers, as well as nursery- men, in the southeastern and eastern parts of the United States. To the nurseryman, the chief advantage of a budded tree comes of its quick growth, which shortens the time during which money invested is non-productive. The root-grafted tree is preferred by planters in the Northwest ; such trees form roots from the scion, if a short piece-root is used. This, sooner or later, produces a tree on its own root, which in turn eliminates the uncertainty of the seedling root and, when "iron-clad" scions are used, gives a perfectly hardy tree. Grafting is again im- portant for the purpose of converting bearing trees, of several years standing, from one variety to another.

Dwarf apples are grown as espaliers in parts of England. The dwarf trees are obtained by grafting the desired variety on Paradise or Doucin stocks. These are dwarf forms of Pyrus malus. New varieties of apples are obtained by sowing the seeds of cultivated sorts. Seeds from such fruits are more variable than those from wild trees, and consequently more likely to give desirable offspring. This operation is one of chance; frequently thousands of seedlings are grown without producing one valuable tree. Apple trees grow large and endure many years. In planting an orchard, therefore, the trees should be given ample room ; 40 feet each way is close enough in New York and the New Eng- land States, where the trees grow largest. Farther south, where the trees do not attain great size, and are shorter-lived, .3,3 to 35 feet apart each way is not too close. In the North- west, trees should be planted even closer tlian this, for there they are liable to injury from sun- scald and wind. Closely planted and low-headed trees serve as a mutual protection. Soils for the apple which have given the best crops and have produced longest lived trees, are chiefly com- posed of clay or clay-loam impregnated with