  Every Day Trivia The Search for the Perfect Apple Apples have always been an American favorite. Thomas Jefferson was never without one, and Thoreau called them the noblest of fruits. Today, the tradition continues. The average American eats 17.8 pounds of apples each year. The oldest apple core ever found, in a Swiss Stone Age Village, was estimated to be 300,000 years old. And as this apple-picking season begins, the bustle to breed the best bushel is as brisk as the race to create the perfect hybrid car. So the best apple you'll ever have may be the one you have yet to taste. "What we can do now with this gorgeous fruit is simply amazing," says Susan Brown, 53 an apple breeder at Cornell University's Experimental Research Station. Cornell's apple credentials are not too shabby: The University has bred and named 62 varieties, including the Empire, the Cortland, and the prized dessert apple Jonagold (a cross between the Jonathan and the Golden Delicious). "You want crunch?" says Brown. "We can breed for that. You want a better balance of acid and sugar? We can do that. The ones coming up don't even have names yet, only numbers. One of them tastes like licorice." It used to take 20 years to cross-breed a new variety and bring it to market. No more. Brown says that advances in genetics can cut that time in half. Still the birth of a new fruit isn't all roses (although an apple is a kind of rose). Jim Luby, 52 is a professor of horticulture science at the University of Minnesota and co-creator of the Honeycrisp, which many regard as the best eating apple of all time. It took myriad tries to breed that beauty - which falls apart in the mouth and springs with juice because its cells are actually larger than those of denser apples. Says Luby, "When people come up to me and say, "Oh, thank you, thank you," it's all worthwhile. Eating apples he believes, could combat childhood obesity - and teaches kids that a treat doesn't have to come in the shape of a superhero. "We're competing for stomach space with taco chips, so we have to make them tempting." Many growers and sellers worry that most people's concept of "apple" is a big red fruit - that is, a Red Delicious, which they say is red but not delicious. Although it's the most widely grown because of its prettiness and shelf life, it's not an apple that makes you say, "Wow", according to Lisa Kerschner, 42, who raises more than 50 varietes of apples with her husband at North Star Orchard in Chochranville, PA. "Take the Goldrush", developed in Indiana at Purdue University. "It's phenomenal. People stand in line." But Kerschner also grows "antique" or "heirloom" apples, such as Adams' Pearmain, old-time varieties that are rare and harder to grow than mainstream breeds. "They may not be pretty and have a bump here or there. But when you bite in ... well, wow!" Pennsylvania is smack on the list of the top apple-producing states, which also includes Washington, New York, Michigan and California. Apples thrive in New England as well. In Lebanon, NH, Steve Wood and Louisa Spencer of Poverty Lane Orchards grow antique varieties and are reintroducing the noble tradition of "hard cider", the chosen apple of our forefathers. If Wood, 54 had to eat only one apple for the rest of his life, he "would stick with Thomas Jefferson and choose the Esopus Spitzenburg. That was his favorite." Growing apples can be very difficult, Wood says. "But I guess it's an addiction. Nick Botner, 83 of Yoncall, Ore, may have one of the largest collections of different apples trees on earth - 4,000, including the Kandil Sinap, a Turkish variety. "Everybody has a passion for something," he says. "I can eat these apples, sell them, burn the wood if I have to." What more could you ask of life? by Jacquelyn Mitchard |
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Snow Removal InfoPosted on: 2009-11-19The snow season runs from November 15 to March 15 each winter. The City will declare a snow emergency when weather conditions warrant it during the snow season. For 24-hour information visit www.spokanecity.org or call the Snow Line at (509) 456-2666.
Stage 1 - A Stage 1 Snow Emergency is called when 2 inches of snow are on the ground and 4 more are anticipated during the current snow event.
Stage 2 - A Stage 2 Snow Emergency is called when 6 inches of snow are on the ground and more is anticipated during the current snow event.
Snow Corridor Plan - The Snow Corridor Plan is implemented when City crews cannot effectively keep arterials clear because of weather conditions. Crews will concentrate on identified routes that citizens can rely until conditions improve.
Below is The Residential Snow Plowing Routes map. You will be able to find your route number on the map and keep up-to-date on where the snow plows will be during a snow event.Website:www.spokanecity.org
