North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

Interesting to find that Liberty is doing well in parts of Canada.  Too bad for Cornell this success lagged behind pattent rights.  I think that Cornell made a mistake by focusing their breeding program on Macintosh-type apples.  If this is where you're search begins, as far a apple taste is concerned, Liberty would have some very strong attributes- taste and especially texture-wise.  To me, however, Macintosh is a more distintive apple, especially the right strain off the tree at the right time.  Liberty is harder, but it doesn't have the aroma and just as importantly, that appealing Mac crunch that Macintosh genes delivered to Macoun and Honeycrisp.