19 OCTOBER 1945, Page 14

The Surest Apple

Controversy as to the best apple (Cox always excepted) can never be settled ; but it seems that of apples immune to frost, Edward VII excels others, chiefly thanks to its extreme lateness in flowering. We ought doubtless to choose our sorts according to the site of the orchard. It is, for example, virtually useless to grow early-flowering apples in a dry valley or where cold air may collect without an escape. Oddly, the only apple I have utterly failed with on 'what should be a congenial site is D'Arcy Spice, which I regard is the very best of the very late and long- keeping apples. Can any expert tell me why? With me the trees perish outright within a year or two.