植物學家們在老化的果園里，搜尋長期消失的蘋果品種

植物學家們在老化的果園里，搜尋長期消失的蘋果品種

The apple tree stands alone near the top of a steep hill, wind whipping through its branches as a perfect sunset paints its leaves a vibrant gold.

那棵蘋果樹孤零零地矗立在一座陡峭的山頂上，風從樹枝間呼嘯而過，完美的晚霞將它的葉子染成一片生機勃勃的金色。

It has been there for more than a century, and there is no hint that the tree or its apples are anything out of the ordinary. But this scraggly specimen produces the Arkansas Beauty, a so-called heritage fruit long believed to be extinct until amateur botanists in the Pacific Northwest tracked it down three years ago.

它在那里已經(jīng)有一個多世紀了，沒有任何跡象表明這棵樹或它的蘋果與眾不同。但是這個雜亂的標本卻產(chǎn)生了阿肯色州的美麗，一種所謂的傳統(tǒng)水果，一直被認為已經(jīng)滅絕了，直到三年前太平洋西北部的業(yè)余植物學家才發(fā)現(xiàn)它。

It’s one of 13 long-lost apple varieties rediscovered by a pair of retirees in the remote canyons, wind-swept fields and hidden ravines of what was once the Oregon Territory.

這是一對退休老人在遙遠的峽谷、狂風掃過的田地和隱蔽的峽谷中重新發(fā)現(xiàn)的13個消失已久的蘋果品種之一。

E.J. Brandt and David Benscoter, who together form the nonprofit Lost Apple Project, log countless hours and hundreds of miles in trucks, on all-terrain vehicles and on foot to find orchards planted by settlers as they pushed west more than a century ago.

e·j·勃蘭特(E.J. Brandt)和戴維·本斯考特(David Benscoter)共同創(chuàng)立了非營利組織“消失的蘋果項目”(Lost Apple Project)，他們開著卡車、越野車、步行數(shù)小時數(shù)百英里，尋找一個多世紀前定居者向西開拓時種植的果園。

The two are racing against time to preserve a slice of homesteader history: The apple trees are old, and many are dying. Others are being ripped out for more wheat fields or housing developments for a growing population.

這兩棵樹在爭分奪秒地保護家園的歷史:蘋果樹老了，很多都快死了。其他的則被用于更多的麥田或為不斷增長的人口開發(fā)住房。

“To me, this area is a goldmine,” said Brandt, who has found two lost varieties in the Idaho panhandle. “I don’t want it lost in time. I want to give back to the people so that they can enjoy what our forefathers did.”

“對我來說，這個地區(qū)是個金礦，”勃蘭特說，他在愛達荷州的狹長地帶發(fā)現(xiàn)了兩個丟失的品種。“我不想讓它在時間里消失。我要回報人民，使他們能夠享受我們的祖先所做的一切。”

Brandt and Benscoter scour old county fair records, newspaper clippings and nursery sales ledgers to figure out which varieties existed in the area. Then they hunt them down, matching written records with old property maps, land deeds and sometimes the memories of the pioneers’ great-grandchildren. They also get leads from people who live near old orchards.

勃蘭特和本斯考特仔細查閱了老郡集市的記錄、剪報和苗圃的銷售分類賬，以找出該地區(qū)存在的品種。然后，他們會將書面記錄與舊的地圖冊、地契、有時還有先驅者的曾孫們的記憶匹配起來，進行搜尋。他們也從住在老果園附近的人那里得到線索。