Origin, Howard county, Missouri. Tree very hardy; has never been injured
by the cold winters; bears very young, roots readily from its own stock,
and can almost be grown from a cutting. Fruit bright red on yellow
ground, no stripes; large, oblong, tapering to the eye; surface smooth,
takes a very high polish, making it valuable as a stand fruit, thought
by many to surpass the Ben Davis. Minute dots; basin shallow, sometimes
deep; stem medium to long; flesh white, fine grained, tender, mild,
pleasant subacid. An early, annual and prolific bearer. December to May.
Remarks on the Gano by members of the State Horticultural Society:
W. G. Gano: I cannot be against my namesake. I have found nothing yet
that excels the parent trees. The Gano is creating a sensation, more
especially in the southern part of Missouri. They prefer it to Ben
Davis, and, where extensively planted and in bearing, it is creating a
sensation. While I have no interest in it, other than the name, still I
think we have in the Gano something that will stay. It is much like Ben
Davis.
E. J. Holman: I would class it and the Ben Davis as twins.
James Sharp: I planted about 700 trees of it five years ago. This year I
raised five apples. Two of these could not be told from Ben Davis. One
looked like Jonathan.
William Cutter: I class it with Ben Davis. It differs little except in
color. Trees are alike, but I think it a younger bearer. I got my grafts
from Lee's Summit, Mo., paying five dollars per 100 for them. One tree I
gave to a friend was this year a wonder to all who saw it.
President Wellhouse: We have seventy or eighty acres in Gano, planted
five or six years ago. While the tree is much like Ben Davis, I can
distinguish a difference in the apples. If I pile both kinds together I
can see a difference; if I pick out a Gano and put it in the Ben Davis
pile, neither I nor any other man on earth can tell it from the Ben
Davis. I do not know whether it is distinct from the Ben Davis or not.
If it is Ben Davis, it is all right. I hope it is distinct, but have so
far been unable to settle the question.
W. G. Gano: We originally found only one tree in an orchard in Pratt
county, Missouri, and in the same orchard there were plenty of Ben Davis
trees. There may have been a mix-up of these varieties, but you will not
be disappointed if you get the Gano.
President Wellhouse: Before planting, I went to Lee's Summit for three
or four years in succession and examined the original trees, to see
whether we ought to plant any; we concluded to plant, for if they were
not a new apple they would be the Ben Davis anyhow. We may have obtained
Ben Davis trees.
Mrs. A. Z. Moore: My husband handles many of them on commission, and
favors them both in the orchard and in the market. He says they are
known as Jonathan, not as Gano, and while you may not distinguish them
in a pile of Ben Davis, you will know the difference if you put your
teeth into them.