American Pomology Part 36

Cavity regular, green, rather deep; Stem long.

Core medium, regular, closed, clasping the eye; Seeds numerous, plump; Flesh yellowish-white, fine grained, juicy, sub-acid; Season January until May. A limited acquaintance does not justify me in giving such high praises as those bestowed upon this fruit by Mr. Downing.

=Yellow Foster.=

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 81.--YELLOW FOSTER.]

This apple is a favorite with that worthy pioneer Pomologist of Southern Ohio, H.N. Gillett, of Lawrence County, to whom I am under obligations for this and many other varieties.

Fruit medium to large, regular, oblate; Surface smooth, greenish-yellow; Dots scattered, minute green.

Basin of medium depth and size, regular; Eye small, closed.

Cavity acute, regular; Stem of medium size and length.

Core medium, wide, closed, not meeting the eye; Seeds not numerous, medium; Flesh yellow, fine grained, tender, juicy; Flavor sub-acid and aromatic; Of first quality for table; During October.

CLa.s.s I.--FLAT APPLES.

+ORDER I.--REGULAR.+

SECTION 2.--SOUR.

SUB-SECTION 2.--STRIPED.

=Abram.=

FATHER ABRAHAM, of Illinois, not that of c.o.xe.

This little southern favorite is not extensively cultivated in the North, except where southern settlers have introduced it. It is found in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. Origin believed to have been in Virginia, whence I have received specimens and trees. In Kentucky it is found to be a hardy drooping tree, holding the fruit well; annually productive, valued for cider, and keeping till July of next year.

Fruit medium, globular-oblate, uneven; Surface not smooth, yellowish green, mixed, red, with stripes and splashes; the whole presenting a gray appearance; Dots minute, scattered.

Basin shallow, wide, wavy; Eye small, closed.

Cavity acute, regular; Stem long, inclined.

Core medium, regular, closed; Seeds numerous, short, plump, pale; Flesh greenish-yellow, fine grained, juicy; flavor mild sub-acid, rich; almost first quality; keeping until May or later.

=American Pippin.=

GRINDSTONE.

This fruit is chiefly valued for keeping very late into the summer.

c.o.xe commends it for its cider, rating it as nearly equal to the Grey-House; he says that fourteen bushels are required to make a barrel of cider. The apples hang well to the tree, and will bear a considerable amount of freezing. They are so firm as to suffer little from bruising, and are not disposed to rot when thus injured. A fruitman once said of their ability to withstand rough usage, that the apples might be whipped off the tree with a hoop-pole, shoveled into a cart, dumped upon the ground, and have some dirt thrown upon them, and that they would keep until next July; but, he added, they are then as good as dried apples; so lightly are they esteemed for table use.

The tree is thrifty, with a low, spreading head and depending branches; very productive; notwithstanding the fruit is dry and deficient in flavor, it is considered profitable, because so easily kept until May and June, when it commands the highest price, because of the rarity of green fruit at that season.

Fruit medium, regular, very flat; Surface rough, sometimes vein-russeted, dull green, covered with mixed red, and shaded with stripes of brick-dust color; Dots numerous, large, gray.

Basin very shallow, wide, regular or plaited; Eye quite small, open.

Cavity regular, brown, this color extending over the base of the fruit; Stem medium, often thick and k.n.o.bby.

Core wide, irregular, closed; Seeds numerous, plump, brown; Flesh yellow, breaking, dry, very firm; Flavor mild sub-acid; Quality poor; Uses kitchen and market, which last means that it may be sold to those who do not appreciate the summer fruits of May and June.

=Baldwin.=

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 82.--BALDWIN.]

This celebrated apple of New England has been widely distributed over the country, but has not met with universal favor in the West and South; first, because it is apt to become a fall or early winter fruit, instead of a keeping apple; and secondly, because it is not well adapted to our palates; moreover, the tree has been considered tender, having suffered extensively during the cold winters; this is especially true in the nursery. Its productiveness and fair quality will, however, always make the Baldwin a favorite over a large portion of our country, and the New England settlers must have this variety.

Tree robust, spreading, very productive; Foliage large, dark, on shoots that are stout and have a rich brown bark.

Fruit large, frequently round, and sometimes almost conical, but generally inclined to be flattened, so as to be cla.s.sed by measurement as oblate; large specimens in southern lat.i.tudes are very apt to be unequal, and to have their axis inclined, or to be what is called lop-sided; surface smooth, rich yellow where shaded, but the exposed parts quite covered with deep red, which is mixed so as to conceal the ground color, and also to obscure the stripes of deeper red that prevail; this fruit is also frequently marked with veined russet, overlying the red color, or excluding it; Dots minute, and yellow, or gray where the red prevails.

Basin deep, often abrupt and narrow, generally waved, folded or plaited, and these marks are quite characteristic; Eye large and open, from the shortness of the calyx. On this account the variety is considered very subject to the attacks of the Codling-moth.

Cavity wide, regular or wavy, generally brown; Stem medium to long, often curved or inclined, sufficiently stout.

Core medium, regular, closed, meeting, sometimes clasping the eye; Seeds numerous, long, angular, imperfect; flesh yellow, breaking, frequently coa.r.s.e-grained, juicy, sub-acid, rich; some northern specimens are fine-grained and almost first quality; those from the South are coa.r.s.e, poor and scarcely second-rate for table use, but are good for cooking; Season October to January, occasionally keeping later.

=Bethlemite.=

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 83.--BETHLEMITE.]

This apple has frequently been exhibited before the Ohio Pomological Society, by friends Lipsey, Morris and Benedict, of Morrow County, to which region its cultivation appears to have been confined. The origin of the fruit is obscure.

Tree thrifty, hardy, productive, upright.

Fruit medium, flat, or oblate-globular, regular; surface smooth, dull red or bright red, mixed, on yellow, with broken splashes of crimson; Dots distinct, large, gray and yellow.

Basin wide, deep, regular or folded, leather-cracked; Eye medium, closed.

Cavity rather wide, regular, brown; Stem medium to short.

Core regular, neat, closed, just meeting the eye; Axis short; Seeds numerous, short, very plump, pale; Flesh yellowish-white, breaking, juicy, sub-acid, aromatic; Quality good, for table and cooking; Season December.

=Blondin.=