PRINTER'S NO. 3591
No. 2599 Session of 1988
INTRODUCED BY COLE, MORRIS, BROUJOS, SIRIANNI, COY, G. SNYDER,
BORTNER, HERSHEY, LEH, WASS, FOSTER, DAVIES, SHOWERS, STUBAN,
D. W. SNYDER, STABACK, PHILLIPS, FISCHER, SEMMEL, VAN HORNE,
FEE, GEORGE, LIVENGOOD, COLAFELLA, SALOOM, B. SMITH, DORR,
NOYE, HESS AND CESSAR, JUNE 29, 1988
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS,
JUNE 29, 1988
AN ACT
1 Designating the apple as the official fruit of the Commonwealth
2 of Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Apple growing has a long and distinguished history
4 in this Commonwealth; and
5 WHEREAS, Apple orchards were tended by Native American
6 Indians and apples were an item of trade among Indian villages
7 long before the first European colonists arrived in the colony
8 which was to become Pennsylvania; and
9 WHEREAS, After sharing a shipment of Pennsylvania apples with
10 the British Court in 1759, Benjamin Franklin soon became
11 involved in a brisk trade in apples between England and America,
12 thus allowing Franklin to be considered the father of the apple
13 export business in America; and
14 WHEREAS, Franklin's interest in the cultivation and grafting
15 of fruit trees, particularly apple trees, eventually led to the
16 formation of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which is
1 said to be the first horticultural society in America; and
2 WHEREAS, It was a cargo of apple seeds from Pennsylvania
3 cider mills that accompanied John Chapman, the legendary Johnny
4 Appleseed, on his journey down the Ohio River, thus spreading
5 Pennsylvania's bounty of apple trees throughout the Midwest; and
6 WHEREAS, The average market value of Pennsylvania's yearly
7 apple harvest is greater than the combined value of all other
8 fruit products grown in this Commonwealth; and
9 WHEREAS, The significance of Pennsylvania's apple industry
10 can be seen in the fact that the world's largest apple processor
11 makes its headquarters in Adams County, Pennsylvania.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. Designation of apple as official fruit.
15 The apple, the fruit of the tree species known as Pyrus
16 malus, is selected, designated and adopted as the official fruit
17 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
18 Section 2. Effective date.
19 This act shall take effect immediately.
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