Many years ago, I worked at Genesee Country Museum, and had the unique opportunity to accompany Dr. Robert Becker and visit the apple orchard at the Geneva Experiment Station – part of Cornell’s collection of rare apple varieties.  He had a chart that showed where all the trees were located.  We collected Russets, Baldwins, Black Permains, Snow Apples, the little Lady Apples, Gravensteins, Rhode Island Greenings, Sheep’s Nose and Northern Spies – just to mention a few.  We would pick about six or eight of each variety and display them in the Horticultural Tent at the Agricultural Fair. After the fair, I would try the apples for cooking and eating. The “text book” were the two volumes of “Apples of New York” published in 1905.  The books were in the research library at Genesee Country Museum, and I spent many hours reading about apples. . .