Part 16

Fruit, below medium size, two inches and three quarters wide, and two inches high; oblate, slightly ribbed on the sides, and ridged round the eye. Skin, entirely covered with beautiful red, which is marked with spots, and broken stripes of deep crimson; the color on the shaded side is paler than on the side exposed to the sun; it is strewed all over with russety dots, and round the stalk, and in the basin of the eye it is of a clear waxen-yellow. Eye, small and open, with broad, erect segments, set in a moderately deep basin. Stalk, short and thick, inserted in a rather shallow cavity, which is lined with thick grey russet. Flesh, yellowish, tender, juicy, and brisk.

A beautiful cider apple, raised at Monkton, near Taunton, in Somersetshire.

233. MOORE’S SEEDLING.--H.

Fruit, large, three inches and a quarter wide, and three inches high; conical and angular, flattened at the base. Skin, greenish-yellow on the shaded side; and marked with broken streaks of red where exposed to the sun, interspersed with numerous large dark spots. Eye, small and open, set in a plaited basin. Stalk, very short, imbedded in a small, narrow cavity, and surrounded with a patch of russet. Flesh, yellow, tender, rather sweet and pleasantly flavored.

A good culinary apple; ripe in October, and keeps till December.

234. MORRIS’S COURT OF WICK.--H.

Fruit, small, two inches and a quarter broad, and an inch and three quarters high; roundish-oblate, regularly and handsomely shaped, very closely resembling its parent, the old Court of Wick. Skin, pale green on the shaded side; but washed with light red next the sun, which is covered with darker red spots, and marked with thin grey russet, round the eye. Eye, open, with reflexed segments, equally as characteristic as that of the old Court of Wick, and placed in a wide, shallow basin. Stalk, half-an-inch long, inserted in a round cavity. Flesh, firm but tender, with a profusion of rich, vinous, and highly flavored juice.

A delicious dessert apple, excelling even the old Court of Wick; it is in use from October to February.

This variety was raised some years ago, by Mr. Morris, a market gardener at Brentford, near London.

235. MORRIS’S NONPAREIL RUSSET.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 743?

SYNONYME AND FIGURE.--Nonpareil Russet, _Ron. Pyr. Mal._ 25, pl. xiii. f. 3.

[Illustration]

Fruit, small; conical and irregularly formed, being generally larger on one side than the other, and having the eye placed laterally. Skin, green, covered with large patches of thin grey russet, strewed with silvery scales, and marked with green dots. Eye, small and open, with segments reflexed at the tips, and set in a plaited basin. Stalk, short, and deeply inserted in an oblique cavity. Flesh, greenish, firm, crisp, juicy, sugary, briskly flavored, and charged with a pleasant aroma.

An excellent dessert apple, of the first quality; in use from October to March, and will keep even as long as May and June.

Can this be the same as the Morris’s Nonpareil Russet, of the London Horticultural Society’s catalogue, which is said to be oblate? I know that the variety described above is the true one, the friend from whom I received it having procured it from Mr. Morris himself.

This variety was raised by Mr. Morris of Brentford.

236. MORRIS’S RUSSET.--H.

Fruit below medium size, two inches and a half wide, and two inches and a quarter high; round, regularly and handsomely shaped. Skin, covered with a coat of smooth, thin, brown russet, with occasionally a bright, fiery-crimson flame breaking out on the side next the sun, sometimes so large as to form a fine, smooth, and varnished crimson cheek. Eye, large and open, set in a small and shallow basin. Stalk, very short, inserted in a rather small cavity. Flesh, firm, but tender, juicy, brisk and sugary, charged with a very rich, and powerful aromatic flavor.

This is a dessert apple, of the highest excellence, and ought certainly to form one in every collection, however small; it is in season from October to February.

This, like the two preceeding varieties, was raised by Mr. Morris of Brentford.

237. NANNY.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 452.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and two inches and a half high; roundish, narrowing towards the apex, and somewhat angular on the sides. Skin, smooth, greenish-yellow with broken streaks of red, on the shaded side; but bright red, streaked with dark crimson, on the side next the sun; the whole strewed with russety dots. Eye, open, with flat segments, placed in an angular basin, which is marked with linear marks of russet. Stalk, short, inserted in a rather deep, round cavity, thickly lined with rough russet, which extends in ramifications over the base. Flesh, yellow, rather soft and tender, juicy, sugary, and highly flavored.

A dessert apple of excellent quality, and when in perfection, a first-rate fruit; it is in use during October, but soon becomes meally.

The tree attains the middle size and is a good bearer, much more so than the Ribston Pippin, to which the fruit bears some resemblance in flavor.

238. DE NEIGE.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 454. Lind. Guide, 22. Down. Fr. Amer. 91.

SYNONYMES.--Fameuse, _Fors. Treat._ 101. _Rog. Fr. Cult._ 38. Sanguineus, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3. La Fameuse, _Ron. Pyr. Mal._ 1.

FIGURE.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. i. f. 2.

Fruit, about the medium size, two inches and a half broad, and two inches high; roundish, sometimes oblate. Skin, tender, smooth and shining, of a beautiful pale waxen-yellow color, tinged with pale red, on the shaded side; but covered with deeper red, on the side next the sun. Eye, small, half open, and set in a shallow and plaited basin. Stalk, half-an-inch long, inserted in a round, and pretty deep cavity. Flesh, pure white, very tender and delicate, sweet and pleasantly flavored.

A very beautiful and handsome apple, but not of great merit. It is suitable for dessert use, and is in perfection from November to January.

The tree is of a small habit of growth, hardy, and bears well; but in some soils it is liable to canker.

This variety is supposed to be of Canadian origin, and was introduced to this country by a Mr. Barclay, of Brompton near London. This is not the Pomme de Neige of Diel.

239. NELSON CODLIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 162.

SYNONYMES.--Nelson’s Codlin, _Lind. Guide_, 32. Backhouse’s Lord Nelson, _Ron. Pyr. Mal._ 49. Nelson. _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3.

FIGURE.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xxv. f. 3.

[Illustration]

Fruit, large and handsome; conical or oblong. Skin, greenish-yellow strewed with russety specks, on the shaded side; but where exposed to the sun of a fine deep yellow, covered with rather large dark spots, which are encircled with a dark crimson ring. Eye, open, with short segments, set in a deep, plaited, and irregular basin. Stalk, about a quarter of an inch long, inserted in a very deep, and angular cavity. Flesh, yellowish-white, delicate, tender, juicy and sugary.

A very excellent apple, of first-rate quality as a culinary fruit, and also valuable for the dessert; it is in use from September to January.

This variety was discovered many years ago, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where it is now cultivated to a large extent. It was first brought into notice by John Nelson, a noted Wesleyan preacher in that part of the country, who, during his professional visits distributed grafts of it among his friends. From this circumstance it became generally known by the name of the Nelson Apple. It was called Backhouse’s Lord Nelson by Mr. Ronalds in the Pyrus Malus Brentfordiensis, from having been received from the York nursery; but Mr. Backhouse, to whom it refers, disclaims having any merit either in the origin or introduction of it, and prefers retaining simply the name of “Nelson”, as a tribute to the memory of the excellent man after whom it was named.

The tree is a strong, vigorous, and healthy grower, and a most abundant bearer.

240. NEW ROCK PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. v. p. 269. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 460. Lind. Guide, 75.

Fruit, of medium size; round. Skin, dull green on the shaded side, and brownish-red where exposed to the sun, entirely covered with brown russet. Eye, deeply set in a round basin. Stalk, short. Flesh, yellow, firm, sweet, rich, and perfumed with the flavor of anise.

A dessert apple of first-rate quality; in use from January to May.

This variety was raised by Mr. William Pleasance, a nurseryman at Barnwell, near Cambridge, and was communicated by him to the London Horticultural Society, in 1821. It belongs to the Nonpareil family, and is valuable as a late winter apple.

241. NEWTOWN PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3. 458. Lind. Guide, 54. Down. Fr. Amer. 118. Fors. Treat. 115. Rog. Fr. Cult. 95.

SYNONYMES.--Large Yellow Newton Pippin, _Coxe View_, 142. American Newtown Pippin, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Green Newtown Pippin, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 636. Large Newtown Pippin, _Ibid._ 638. Petersburgh Pippin, _Ibid._ 780. Green Winter Pippin, _acc. Down. Fr. Amer._ Newton Pippin, _Aber. Dict._ Neujorker Reinette, _Diel. Kernobst._ v. 152.

FIGURES.--Brook. Pom. Brit. pl. xciii. f. 6. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xvii. f. 1.

Fruit, medium sized; roundish, broadest at the base, with broad obscure ribs extending to the apex, which give it an irregularity in its outline. Skin, at first dull green, but changing as it ripens to a fine olive-green, or greenish-yellow, with a redish-brown tinge next the sun, and dotted all over with small grey russety dots. Eye, small and closed, set in a small and rather shallow basin. Stalk, half-an-inch long, slender, and inserted all its length, in a deep, round cavity lined with delicate russet, which extends over a portion of the base. Flesh, yellowish-white tinged with green, firm, crisp, very juicy, with a rich, and highly aromatic flavor.

A dessert apple, which, when in perfection, is not to be surpassed. It is in use from December to April. This description being taken from an imported specimen, it must not be expected that fruit grown in this country, will attain the same degree of perfection; for like most of the best American apples, it does not succeed in this climate. Even with the protection of a wall, and in the most favorable situation, it does not possess that peculiarly rich aroma, which characterizes the imported fruit.

The tree is a slender, and slow grower, and is always distinguished, even in its young state, by the roughness of its bark. It prefers a strong, rich, and genial soil, and, according to Coxe, does not arrive at maturity till 20 or 25 years old.

This is an old American apple. It originated at Newtown, on Long Island, U. S., and was introduced to this country about the middle of the last century. I find it was cultivated in the Brompton Park nursery so early as 1768, under the name of “Newtown Pippin from New York.” Forsyth remarks that it is said to have been originally from Devonshire, but if it were so, there would still have been some trace of it left in that county. It is extensively cultivated in New York, and all the middle states, and particularly on the Hudson, where the finest American orchards are. There are immense quantities produced which are packed in barrels and exported to Britain and other parts. The month of January, is generally the season they arrive in this country, and then they are the most attractive of all dessert apples in Covent Garden market; the name serving in many instances, as a decoy for the sale of many other and inferior varieties. The Alfriston, in many collections, is erroneously cultivated under the name of Newtown Pippin.

242. NEWTOWN SPITZENBERG.--Coxe.

IDENTIFICATION.--Coxe. View. 126. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 791. Lind. Guide, 55. Down. Fr. Amer. 139.

SYNONYMES.--Matchless, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1. 397. Burlington Spitzenberg, _acc. Coxe Cult_ 126. English Spitzemberg, _Ibid._

FIGURES.--Pom. Mag. t. 144. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. x. f. 3.

Fruit, above medium size, three inches and a quarter wide, and two inches and a quarter deep; roundish, regularly and handsomely formed, a little flattened, somewhat resembling a Nonesuch. Skin, smooth, at first pale-yellow tinged with green, but changing to a beautiful clear yellow, on the shaded side; but of a beautiful clear red streaked with deeper red, on the side next the sun, and strewed with numerous small, russety dots. Eye, open, set in a wide, and even basin. Stalk, short and stout, inserted in a deep cavity. Flesh, yellowish, firm, rich and pleasantly flavored.

An American dessert apple, very pretty, and handsome; of good quality, but only second-rate; it is in use from November to February.

This variety originated at Newtown on Long Island U. S. It received the name of Matchless, from the late William Cobbett, who sold it under that name.

243. NEW YORK PIPPIN.--Lind.

IDENTIFICATION.--Lind, Plan. Or. Lind. Guide, 76.

Fruit, rather large, of an oblong figure, somewhat pyramidal, rather irregular in its outline, and slightly pentangular on its sides, three of which are generally much shorter than the other, forming a kind of lip at the crown; from two inches and a half to three inches deep, and the same in diameter at the base. Eye, closed, rather deeply sunk in a very uneven irregular basin. Stalk, half-an-inch long, slender, rather deeply inserted in a wide uneven cavity. Skin, dull greenish-yellow, with a few green specks, intermixed with a little skin, (thin?) grey russet, and tinged with brown on the sunny side. Flesh, firm, crisp, tender. Juice, plentiful, saccharine, with a slight aromatic flavor.

A dessert apple; in use from November to April.

An American variety of excellence. The tree grows large, and bears well. It sometimes happens with this as it does with Hubbard’s Pearmain, that smooth fruit grow upon one branch and russety ones upon another; and in cold seasons the fruit are for the most part russety.

It was named the New York Pippin by Mr. Mackie, and first propagated in his nursery, at Norwich, about forty years ago. (1831.)

Never having seen or met with this apple, I have here given Mr. Lindley’s descriptions verbatim, for the benefit of those who may meet with it; as it is no doubt still in existence in the county of Norfolk.

244. NONESUCH.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 489. Lind. Guide, 20.

SYNONYMES.--Nonsuch, _Fors. Treat._ 116. _Rog. Fr. Cult._ 36. _Down. Fr. Amer._ 91. Langton Nonsuch, _Hanb. Pl._

FIGURE.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xxxvii. f. 2.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and a half wide, and two inches and a quarter high; roundish-oblate, regularly and handsomely shaped. Skin, smooth, pale yellow, mottled with thin pale red, on the shaded side; and striped with broad, broken stripes of red next the sun. Eye, small and closed, set in a wide, shallow, and even basin. Stalk, short and slender, inserted in a shallow cavity. Flesh, white, tender, juicy, sugary and slightly perfumed.

An excellent culinary apple, of first-rate quality, and, according to Mr. Thompson, excellent for apple jelly; it is ripe in September, and continues during October.

The tree is a free grower, attaining about the middle size, and is an abundant, and early bearer, young trees three years old from the graft producing an abundance of beautiful fruit.

Although an old variety, I do not think this is the Nonesuch, of Rea, Worlidge, or Ray, as all these authors mention it as being a long keeper, for which circumstance, it might otherwise have been considered the same. Rea says “it is a middle sized, round, and red striped apple, of a delicate taste, and long lasting.” Worlidge’s variety is probably the same as Rea’s he says “The Non-such is a long lasting fruit, good at the table, and well marked for cider.” And Ray also includes his Non-such among the Winter Apples.

245. NONPAREIL.--Duh.

IDENTIFICATION.--Duh. Arb. Fruit. i. 113, t. xii. f. 2. Switz. Fr. Gard. 136. Lang. Pom. 134. t. lxxix. f. 4. Mill. Dict. Fors. Treat. 117.

SYNONYMES.--Old Nonpariel, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3. n. 476. _Lind. Guide_, 91. _Down. Fr. Amer._ 120. Old or Original Nonpareil, _Rog. Fr. Cult._ 70. English Nonpareil, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Hunt’s Nonpareil, _Hort Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 659. Lovedon’s Pippin, _Ibid._ 573. Reinette Nonpareil. _Knoop. Pom._ 51, t. ix. Nonpareil d’Angleterre, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 647. Duc d’Arsel, _Ibid._ 283. Grüne Reinette, _Sickler. Obstgärt._ iii. 177, t. 10. _Diel Kernobst._ v. 95. Nompareil, _Chart. Cat._ 54. Pomme-poire, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3.

FIGURES.--Pom. Mag. t. 86. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xxxiv. f. 5.

[Illustration]

Fruit, medium sized; roundish, broad at the base and narrowing towards the apex. Skin, yellowish-green, covered with large patches of thin grey russet, and dotted with small brown russety dots, with occasionally a tinge of dull red, on the side next the sun. Eye, rather prominent, very slightly if at all depressed, half open, with broad segments which are reflexed at the tips. Stalk, an inch long, set in a round and pretty deep cavity which is lined with russet. Flesh, greenish, delicate, crisp, rich, and juicy, abounding in a particularly rich, vinous, and aromatic flavor.

One of the most highly esteemed and popular of all our dessert apples. It is in use from January till May.

The tree is a free grower, and healthy, scarcely attaining the middle size, and an excellent bearer. It prefers a light and warm soil, succeeds well on the paradise stock, and is well adapted for growing in pots, when grafted on the pomme paradis of the French. Bradley in one of his tracts records an instance of it being so cultivated. “Mr. Fairchild (of Hoxton) has now (February) one of the Nonpareile apples upon a small tree, in a pot, which seems capable of holding good till the blossoms of this year have ripened their fruit.” In the northern counties and in Scotland, it does not succeed as a standard as it does in the south, and even when grown against a wall, there is a marked contrast in the flavor when compared with the standard grown fruit of the south.

It is generally allowed that the Nonpareil is originally from France. Switzer says “It is no stranger in England; though it might have its original from France, yet there are trees of them about the Ashtons in Oxfordshire, of about a hundred years old, which (as they have it by tradition) was first brought out of France and planted by a Jesuit in Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth’s time.” It is strange, however, that an apple of such excellence, and held in such estimation as the Nonpareil has always been, should have received so little notice from almost all the early continental pomologists. It is not mentioned in the long list of the Jardinier François of 1653, nor even by De Quintinye, or the Jardinier Solitaire. Schabol enumerates it, but it is not noticed by Bretonnerie. It is first described by Duhamel and subsequently by Knoop. In the Chartreux catalogue it is said “elle est forte estimée en Angleterre”, but, among the writers of our own country, Switzer is the first to notice it. It is not mentioned by Rea, Worlidge or Ray, neither is it enumerated in the list of Leonard Meager. In America it is little esteemed.

246. NORFOLK BEEFING.--H.

SYNONYMES.--Norfolk Beaufin, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3, n. 34. _Lind. Guide_, 55. _Down. Fr. Amer._ 120. Norfolk Beau-fin, _Rog. Fr. Cult._ 59. Norfolk Beefin, _Fors. Treat._ ed. 3, 124. Reeds Baker, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 858. Catshead Beaufin, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._

FIGURES.--Brook. Pom. Brit. pl. xcii. f. 3. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xxxiii. f. 3.

Fruit, medium sized, three inches wide, and two inches and three quarters high; oblate, irregular in its outline, caused by several obtuse angles or ribs, which extend from the base to the basin of the eye, where they form prominent knobs or ridges. Skin, smooth, green at first, but changing to yellow, and almost entirely covered with dull brownish-red, which is thickest and darkest next the sun; sometimes it is marked with a few broken stripes of dark crimson, and in specimens where the color extends over the whole surface, the shaded side is mottled with yellow spots. Eye, open, set in a rather deep and angular basin. Stalk short, inserted in a deep and russety cavity. Flesh, firm and crisp, with a brisk and pleasant flavor.

A well known and first-rate culinary apple; it is in use from January to June. It is extensively cultivated in Norfolk, where, besides being applied to general culinary purposes, they are baked in ovens, and form the dried fruits met with among confectioners and fruiterers, called “Norfolk Biffins.”

The tree is vigorous in its young state, but unless grown in a rich soil, and a favorable situation, it is apt to canker, particularly if it is too moist.

The name of this apple has hitherto been written Beaufin, as if of French origin; but it is more correctly Beefing, from the similarity the dried fruit presents to raw beef.

247. NORFOLK PARADISE.--Fors.

IDENTIFICATION.--Fors. Treat. 117. Lind. Guide, 77. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3.

FIGURE.--Brook. Pom. Brit. pl. xcii. f. 4.

Fruit, medium sized; oblong, irregularly formed. Eye, very large, deeply sunk in an uneven, oblique hollow. Stalk, rather short, not deeply inserted. Skin, greenish-yellow; on the sunny side of a brownish-red, streaked with a darker color. Flesh, white, very firm. Juice, abundant and of a very excellent flavor.

A dessert apple; in use from October till March.

Its name seems to indicate a Norfolk origin; but I never could find it in any part of the county.--_Lindley._

248. NORFOLK STONE PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 804.

SYNONYMES.--Stone Pippin, _Lind. in Hort. Trans._ vol. iv. p. 69. _Lind. Guide_, 82. _Diel Kernobst._ xi. 119. White Stone Pippin, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 1071. White Pippin, _in Norfolk_. Englischer Kleiner Steinpepping, _Diel Kernobst._ xi. 119.

Fruit, below medium size, two inches broad, and the same in height; oblong, slightly angular on the sides, and narrowing a little towards the apex. Skin, smooth and very thin, pale green at first, but changing by keeping to pale yellow with a mixture of green; sometimes it has a slight tinge of red next the sun. Eye, small, half open, with acuminate segments, set in a rather shallow and wide basin. Stalk, slender, half-an-inch long, inserted in a shallow cavity with a fleshy protuberance on one side of it. Flesh, white, firm and breaking, brisk, sweet, and perfumed.

An excellent long-keeping culinary apple, and useful also in the dessert; it is in use from November to July. In the “Guide to the Orchard,” Mr. Lindley says “This is a valuable Norfolk Apple known in the Norwich market by the name of White Pippin. The fruit when peeled, sliced, and boiled in sugar, becomes transparent, affording for many months a most delicious sweetmeat for tarts.”

The tree is a free and vigorous grower, and attains the middle size. It is a regular and abundant bearer.

249. NORTHERN GREENING.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 497. Fors. Treat. 117. Lind. Guide, 77. Diel Kernobst. xi. 83.

SYNONYMES.--Walmer Court, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1. 1134. Cowarne Queening, _Ron. Pyr. Mal._ 49. John, of some, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._

FIGURE.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xxv. f. 4.