US Janet wrote:

> On Mon, 5 Apr 2021 11:21:50 -0400, Dave Smith
> > wrote:
>
> > On 2021-04-05 10:35 a.m., Mike Duffy wrote:
> >> On Mon, 05 Apr 2021 10:44:48 -0300, Lucretia Borgia wrote:
> >>
> >>> in about 1948 the federal government decided there was a confusing
> >>> number of apple types and the order went out that all trees were
> to be >>> cut down, save a Canadian variety.
> >>
> >> Do we still operate under this regulation? It seems to me that
> during the >> last 73 years the benefits of biodiversity have become
> much more accepted. >>
> >
> > I can't find any documentation regarding the government ordering
> > that apple trees be cut down to save Canadian varieties. That
> > would not make a lot of sense because apple trees can be grafted to
> > bear a different variety. Then there is the issue of agriculture
> > being a provincial jurisdiction.
> >
> > We have lots of apple orchards around here and I can usually get a
> > wide range of locally grown varieties. There used to be close to 20
> > acres of apple orchard next door to us and the farmer had a variety
> > of apple types. They all got pruned and sprayed at the same time,
> > but harvest times were different, so he could deal with one variety
> > at a time. FWIW, one of the varieties he grew was Mitsui, which
> > were from Japanese stock.
>
> When Lucretia said that, something tickled my brain. I faintly
> remember reading something like that but I don't remember that it was
> only apples, or apples for the US or varieties of vegetables at the
> beginning of the last century. Maybe it applies to all.
> However in the U.S., there is currently a group of men traveling the
> (West or all U.S.?) traveling the back roads looking for abandoned
> farms and the like, seeking out forgotten apples. They collect what
> they find and send them off to be tested for unique DNA. There is
> another grooup operating out of the East. Thousands of apples have
> been rediscovered.
> See Lost Apple Project and Apple Search. At one time there were
> 17,000 named varieties of apples in the U.S. Now we are down to
> 4,500.
> Sorry for getting on a hobby horse. This is just a pet project that I
> follow. I'm all for broadening our scope of edible foods and
> protecting them.
> Janet US

Me too. I have only 2 apple trees but I just added 3 Cherry fruit
trees (making 4). I have 2 blueberry bushes blooming their little
hearts out (cross pollenators). Probably next ear before fruit as they
are newly planted but may get a berry or 2.

Meantime, Virginia has a mini explosion of heirloom types of apples
'native to the region' that fell by the wayside but are gaining
popularity.