The old apple trees古老的苹果树

石敏

一棵蘋果树孤零零地立在山顶附近，这是阿肯色州一种珍贵的苹果品种，而人们认为这一品种很久以前就消失了。

An apple tree stands alone near thetop of a hill. It produces the ArkansasBeauty， a fruit long believed to have disappearedfrom existence. Three years ago，plant experts E. J. Brandt and David Benscoterrediscovered it. They have found 13longlostapple varieties in an area onceknown as Oregon Territory in the northwesternUnited States， which once had17，000 named varieties of domesticatedapples， but only about 4，000 remain.

Brandt and Benscoter， both retirees，lead a nonprofitcalled Lost Apple Project，which believes settlers planted a few hundredvarieties in their part of the PacificNorthwest alone. They travel hundreds ofkilometers in trucks and on foot to find orchards（ 果园） planted by settlers morethan a century ago.

The two are racing against time tokeep the fruit from disappearing. Theapple trees are old， and many are dying.Others are being ripped out for more wheatfields or housing developments.

“To me， this area is a gold mine，”says Brandt， who has found two historicalvarieties in the state of Idaho.“I dont wantit to be lost in time. I want to give back tothe people so that they can enjoy what ourforefathers did.”

Joanie Cooper is a plant scientist atthe Temperate Orchard Conservancy. Shehas helped identify many of the lost varietiesfound in northern Idaho and easternWashington. The trees have value beyondtheir historic importance， she notes. Thetrees can help genetic diversity amongmoderndayapple crops as climate changeand disease take an increasing toll.

Reading Check

What is the point of Brandt and Benscoterlooking for ancient apple trees？