Part 18

Fruit, above medium size, three inches wide, and two inches and a half high; roundish and flattened. Skin, pale green, almost entirely covered with russet, and with a faint tinge of red on the side next the sun. Eye, open, set in a broad, shallow, and plaited basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a shallow cavity. Flesh, greenish-yellow, firm, rich, and highly aromatic.

A dessert apple of the greatest excellence. It is in use from December to February.

This variety was raised by John Williams, Esq., of Pitmaston, St. John’s, near Worcester, and was first communicated to the London Horticultural Society in 1820.

270. PITMASTON GOLDEN WREATH.--M.

IDENTIFICATION AND FIGURE.--Maund. Fruit, pl. 16.

Fruit, very small, half-an-inch wide by half-an-inch high; conical and undulating round the eye. Skin, of a fine deep rich yellow, strewed with russety dots. Eye, large and open, with long, spreading, acuminate segments, set in a shallow and plaited basin. Stalk, an inch long, very slender, inserted in a narrow and shallow cavity. Flesh, rich yellow, crisp, juicy and sugary.

A pretty little apple; in use from September to Christmas.

This beautiful variety was raised by J. Williams, Esq., of Pitmaston, from the Golden Pippin, impregnated with the pollen of the Cherry apple, or what is usually called the Siberian Crab.

271. PINNER SEEDLING.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. iv. p. 530. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 587. Lind. Guide, 79.

SYNONYME.--Carel’s Seedling, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 791.

[Illustration]

Fruit, medium sized, roundish-ovate, and slightly angular on the sides. Skin, greenish-yellow, nearly covered with clear yellowish-brown russet, so much so, that only spots of the ground color are visible; it has also a varnished redish-brown cheek next the sun which is more or less visible according to the quantity of russet which covers it. Stalk, half-an-inch long, inserted in a narrow and deep cavity. Flesh, yellowish, tinged with green tender, crisp, juicy, sugary and briskly flavored.

A dessert apple of first-rate quality; it is in use from December to April.

This excellent apple was raised by James Carel, a nurseryman at Pinner, Middlesex, in 1810. The tree first produced fruit in 1818, and was introduced to the notice of the London Horticultural Society, in 1820.

272. POMME GRISE.--Fors.

IDENTIFICATION.--Fors. Treat. 120. Down. Fr. Amer. 124.

SYNONYMES.--Grise, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3, n. 305. Gray Apple, _acc. Downing_.

FIGURE.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xvi. f. 6.

Fruit, small, two inches wide, and an inch and three quarters high; roundish and inclining to ovate. Skin, rough, with thick scaly russet, green in the shade, and deep orange on the side next the sun. Eye, small and open, set in a narrow and shallow basin. Stalk, about half-an-inch long, inserted in a shallow and small cavity. Flesh, yellowish, crisp, very juicy and sugary, with a brisk and highly aromatic flavor.

A dessert apple of first-rate quality; in use from October to February.

The tree is rather a weak grower, but an abundant bearer.

This apple, according to Forsyth, was first introduced to this country from Canada, by Alexander Barclay, Esq., of Brompton, near London.

273, 274. POMEROY.

There are two very distinct varieties of apples, which, in different parts of the country, are known by the same name of Pomeroy. The one is that which is cultivated in Somersetshire and the West of England, and the other is peculiar to Lancashire and the Northern counties.

The POMEROY _of Somerset_, is medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and the same in height; conical. Skin, greenish-yellow, covered with thin grey russet, on the shaded side; but orange, covered with stripes of deep red, and marked with patches and spots of russet on the side exposed to the sun, and strewed all over with numerous large, dark russety dots. Eye, open, set in a round and even basin. Stalk, short, not extending beyond the base, inserted in a round, even, and russety cavity. Flesh, yellow, firm, crisp, juicy, sugary, and highly flavored.

An excellent dessert apple; in use from October till December.

The POMEROY _of Lancashire_, is medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and two inches and a half high; roundish, slightly ribbed at the apex. Skin, smooth, pale yellow on the shaded side, but clear pale red next the sun, which blends with the yellow towards the shaded side, so as to form orange; the whole covered with russety dots. Eye, small and closed, placed in a small and shallow basin. Stalk, short, imbedded in an angular cavity with a swelling on one side of it, and from which issue a few ramifications of russet. Flesh, whitish, tender, crisp, juicy, and with a brisk flavor, a good deal like that of the Manks Codlin.

An excellent culinary apple; in use during September and October.

The tree is healthy, hardy, and an excellent bearer, well adapted for orchard planting, and succeeds well in almost all situations.

There are several other varieties which are cultivated under this appellation, to which local specific names are attached; but as I have not seen any of these, they will be found among the “additional varieties” at the end of that portion of this work which treats on the apple.

275. POMEWATER.--Gerard.

IDENTIFICATION.--Ger. Herb. Park. Par. 587. Raii. Hist. ii. 1447.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and two inches and a half high; roundish, and narrowing a little towards the apex, distinctly five-sided, and terminating at the crown in five prominent ridges. Skin smooth, yellowish-green, tinged with thin brownish-red in the shade; but covered with dark dull red on the side next the sun. Eye, closed, placed in a rather deep and angular basin. Stalk, stout, an inch long, inserted in a round and even cavity. Flesh, greenish-white, firm, crisp, and pleasantly flavored.

A culinary apple; in use from December to January.

I think there is little doubt that this is the Pome Water of Gerard. It is still grown in Lancashire, and on the borders of Cheshire, of which county Gerard was a native, and with the fruits of which, he was, in all probability, best acquainted.

276. PONTO PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 594.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and a half wide, and the same in height; conical, narrow at the eye. Skin, pale greenish-yellow in the shade; but red on the side next the sun, and strewed all over with spots and dots of dark russet. Eye, small and closed, set in a narrow and irregular basin. Stalk, short, set in a wide and shallow cavity. Flesh, greenish-white, crisp, tender, juicy, sugary, with a brisk and rich flavor.

A dessert apple, of good, though not of first-rate quality; it is in use from November to February.

277. POPE’S APPLE.--H.

[Illustration]

Fruit, large; ovate, handsomely and regularly formed. Skin, clear yellow, tinged with greenish patches, and strewed with dark dots; on the side next the sun it is marked with a few faint streaks of crimson. Eye, large and open, like that of the Blenheim Pippin, and set in a wide and plaited basin. Stalk, short, deeply inserted in a round cavity, which is lined with rough russet, and with an incipient protuberance on one side of it. Flesh, yellowish, tender, crisp, sugary and juicy, with a rich and excellent flavor.

A very valuable apple either for the dessert or culinary purposes; it is in use from November to March.

This variety has all the properties of the Blenheim Pippin, and is much superior to it, keeps longer, and has the great advantage of being an early and abundant bearer.

This excellent apple is as yet but little known. I met with it in the neighbourhood of Sittingbourne, in Kent, where it is greatly esteemed and now extensively cultivated for the supply of the London markets. The account I received of it was, that the original tree grew in the garden of a cottager of the name of Pope, at Cellar Hill, in the parish of Linstead, near Sittingbourne. It was highly prized by its owner, to whom the crop afforded a little income, and many were the unsuccessful applications of his neighbours for grafts of what became generally known as _Pope’s Apple_. The proprietor of this cottage built a row of other dwellings adjoining it, in the gardens of which there were no fruit trees; for the sake of uniformity, and in spite of Pope’s importunities and the offer of twenty shillings annual increase in the rental, the tree was condemned, and cut down in 1846, at which period it was between 50 and 60 years old. A few days after it was destroyed, Mr. Fairbeard, a nurseryman at Green Street, procured a number of the grafts which he was successful in propagating, and it is to him I am indebted for this variety.

278. POWELL’S RUSSET.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 748. Lind. Guide, 95. Rog. Fr. Cult. 74,

FIGURE--Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xiii. f. 9.

Fruit, small, two inches wide, and an inch and three quarters high; roundish, and regularly formed, broad and flattened at the base, and narrowing a little towards the eye. Skin, almost entirely covered with pale brown russet; but where any portion of the ground color is visible, it is greenish-yellow on the shaded side, and tinged with brown where exposed to the sun. Eye, open, placed in a round, even, and shallow basin. Stalk, about half-an-inch long, inserted in a rather wide, and shallow cavity. Flesh, yellow, firm, very juicy and sugary, with a rich and highly aromatic flavor.

A dessert apple of the very first quality; it is in use from November to February.

279. PROLIFEROUS REINETTE.--H.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and the same in height; oval, with ten obscure ribs, extending from the base to the apex, where they form five small crowns. Skin, of a dull yellow ground color, marked with small broken stripes or streaks of crimson, and thickly covered with small russety specks. Eye, closed, placed in a shallow, plaited, and knobbed basin. Stalk, from half-an-inch to three quarters long, deeply inserted the whole of its length in a round and smooth cavity. Flesh, yellowish-white, very juicy and sugary, with a rich and brisk flavor.

A very fine, briskly flavored dessert apple; in use from October to December.

I received this variety from the garden at Hammersmith, formerly in the possession of the late Mr. James Lee.

280. QUEEN OF SAUCE.--H.

Fruit, large, three inches and a quarter broad, and two inches and a half high; obtuse-ovate, broad and flat at the base, narrowing towards the crown, and angular on the sides. Skin, greenish-yellow on the shaded side; but on the side exposed to the sun it is flushed with red, which is marked with broken streaks of deeper red; it is strewed all over with patches of thin delicate russet, and large russety specks, those round the eye being linear. Eye, open, set in a deep and angular basin, which is russety at the base. Stalk, about a quarter of an inch long, deeply inserted in a round cavity, which is lined with coarse russet. Flesh, yellowish, firm, crisp, juicy and sugary, with a brisk and pleasant flavor.

A culinary apple of first-rate quality, and not unworthy of the dessert; it is in use from November to January.

281. RABINE.--Hort.

Fruit, above medium size, three inches and a quarter wide, and two inches and a quarter high; roundish, and much flattened, ribbed on the sides, and undulated round the margin of the basin of the eye. Skin, greenish-yellow, marked with a few faint, broken streaks and freckles of red, and strewed with grey russety dots on the shaded side; but dark dull red, marked and mottled with stripes of deeper red, on the side next the sun. Eye, partially open, with broad flat segments, and placed in an angular basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a deep and uneven cavity, from which issue a few linear markings of russet. Flesh, yellowish, tender, crisp, very juicy and sugary, with a brisk and pleasant flavor.

An excellent apple, suitable either for culinary purposes or for the dessert, but more properly for the former; it is in use from October to Christmas.

282. RAMBO.--Coxe.

IDENTIFICATION.--Coxe View. 116. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3. Down. Fr. Amer. 93.

SYNONYME--Romanite, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3. American Seek-no-farther, _Ibid._ Bread and Cheese Apple, _acc. Down. Fr. Amer._

Fruit, above medium size, three inches wide, and two inches and a quarter high; roundish oblate. Skin, smooth, pale yellow on the shaded side; but yellow, streaked with red, on the side next the sun, and strewed with large russety dots. Eye, closed, set in a wide, rather shallow, and plaited basin. Stalk, an inch long, and slender, inserted more than half its length in a deep, round, and even cavity. Flesh, greenish-white, tender and delicate, with a brisk and pleasant flavor.

An American apple, suitable either for the dessert or for culinary purposes; and esteemed in its native country as a variety of first-rate excellence; but with us of inferior quality, even as a kitchen apple; it is in use from December to January.

283. RAMBOUR FRANC.--Duh.

IDENTIFICATION.--Duh. Arb. Fruit. i. 307, pl. x. Mill. Dict. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 615. Down. Fr. Amer. 94.

SYNONYMES.--Frank Rambour, _Switz. Fr. Gard._ 135. _Lind. Guide_, 15. Rambour Gros, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 844. Rambour Blanc, _Merlet. Abrégé_. Rambour, _Quint. Inst._ i. 202. _Dahur. Traité_. 115. Le Rambour, _Bret. Ecole_, ii. 470. Rambourg, _Riv. et Moul. Meth._ 190. Rambourge, _Gibs. Fr. Gard._ 353. Pome de Rambures, _Rea Pom._ 210. Rambour d’été, _Poit. et Turp._ Rambour d’été or Summer Rambour, _Coxe View_. Cambour, _Bauh. Hist._ i. 21. Charmant Blanc, _Zink Pom._ No. 10. t. 2. Pomme de Nôtre Dame, _acc. Dahuron_. Früher Rambourger, _Mayer Pom. Franc._ No. 18, t. 13. Weisse Sommerrambour, _Sickler Obstgärt._ ix. 25. Lothinger, _Saltz. Pom._ No. 5. Lothinger Rambour, _Diel Kernobst._ i. 93.

FIGURES.--Jard. Fruit. ed. 2, pl. 94. Sickler Obstgärt. ix. t. 3.

Fruit, very large, four inches broad, and three inches high; roundish and flattened, with five ribs on the sides which extend to the eye, forming prominent ridges round the apex. Skin, yellow, marked with thin pale russet on the shaded side; but streaked and mottled with red on the side next the sun. Eye, closed, and deeply set in an angular basin. Stalk, short, deeply inserted in a round, even, and regular cavity, which is lined with russet. Flesh, yellow, firm, and of a leathery texture, brisk and sugary, with a high flavor.

A good culinary apple; in use during September and October.

This is an old French apple which must have been long cultivated in this country; as it is mentioned by Rea so early as 1665. It is supposed to take its name from the village of Rembures, in Picardy, where it is said to have been first discovered.

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

284. RAVELSTON PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. iv. p. 522. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 622. Lind. Guide, 9.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and two inches and a half high; roundish, irregular in its shape, caused by several obtuse ribs which extend into the basin of the eye, round which they form prominent ridges. Skin, greenish-yellow, nearly covered with red streaks, and strewed with russety dots. Eye, closed, and set in an angular basin. Stalk, short and thick, inserted in a round cavity. Flesh, yellow, firm, sweet, and pleasantly flavored.

A dessert apple, of such merit in Scotland as to be generally grown against a wall; but in the south, where it has to compete with the productions of a warmer climate, it is found to be only of second-rate quality. Ripe in August.

285. RED ASTRACHAN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. iv. p. 522. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 17. Lind. Guide, 6. Down. Fr. Amer. 75. Rog. Fr. Cult. 33.

FIGURES.--Pom. Mag. t. 123. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. v. f. 2.

Fruit, above the medium size, three inches and a quarter wide, and three inches high; roundish, and obscurely angular on its sides. Skin, greenish-yellow where shaded, and almost entirely covered with deep crimson on the side exposed to the sun, the whole surface covered with a fine delicate bloom. Eye, closed, set in a moderately deep and somewhat irregular basin. Stalk, short, deeply inserted in a russety cavity. Flesh, white, crisp, very juicy, sugary, briskly and pleasantly flavored.

An early dessert apple, but only of second-rate quality. It is ripe in August, and requires to be eaten when gathered from the tree, as it soon becomes meally.

This variety was imported from Sweden, by William Atkinson, Esq., of Grove End, Paddington, in 1816.

The tree does not attain a large size, but is healthy and vigorous, and an abundant bearer.

286. RED INGESTRIE.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. i. 227. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 358. Lind. Guide, 23. Down. Fr. Amer, 95. Rog. Fr. Cult. 81.

FIGURES.--Pom. Mag. t. 17. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. i. f. 6.

Fruit, small, two inches and a half wide, and two inches and a quarter high; ovate, regularly and handsomely shaped. Skin, clear bright yellow, tinged and mottled with red on the side exposed to the sun, and strewed with numerous pearly specks. Eye, small, set in a wide and even basin. Stalk, short and slender, inserted in a small and shallow cavity. Flesh, yellowish, firm, juicy, and highly flavored.

A dessert apple of first-rate quality; in use during October and November.

This excellent little apple was raised by Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq., from the seed of the Orange Pippin impregnated with the Golden Pippin, about the year 1800. It, and the Yellow Ingestrie, were the produce of two pips taken from the same cell of the core. The original trees are still in existence at Wormsley Grange, in Herefordshire.

287. RED-MUST.--Evelyn.

IDENTIFICATION.--Evelyn Pom. Worl. Vin. 162. Pom. Heref. Lind. Guide, 109.

FIGURE.--Pom. Heref. t. 4.

Fruit, nearly, if not quite, the largest cider apple cultivated in Herefordshire. It is rather broad and flattened, a little irregular at its base, which is hollow. Stalk, slender. Crown, sunk. Eye, deep, with a stout erect calyx. Skin, greenish-yellow on the shaded side, with a deep rosy color where exposed to the sun, and shaded with a darker red.--_Lindley._

The Red Must has at all periods been esteemed a good cider apple, though the ciders lately made with it, unmixed with other apples, have been light, and thin; and I have never found the specific gravity of its expressed juice to exceed 1064.--_Knight._

288. RED-STREAK.--Evelyn.

IDENTIFICATION.--Evelyn Pom. Worl. Vin. 164. Nourse Camp. Fel. 143. Fors. Treat. 123. Lind. Guide, 110. Pom. Heref. t. 1. Down. Fr. Amer. 146.

SYNONYMES.--Herefordshire Red-Streak, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3, n. 625. Scudamore’s Crab.

FIGURES.--Pom. Heref. t. 1. Brook. Pom. Brit. pl. xciii. f. 4.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and two inches and a quarter high; roundish, narrowing towards the apex. Skin, deep clear yellow, streaked with red on the shaded side; but red, streaked with deeper red on the side next the sun. Eye, small, with convergent segments, set in a rather deep basin. Stalk, short and slender. Flesh, yellow, firm, crisp, and rather dry.

Specific gravity of the juice, 1079.

A cider apple, which at one period was unsurpassed, but now comparatively but little cultivated.

Perhaps there is no apple which at any period created such a sensation, and of which so much was said and written during the 17th century, as of the Red Streak. Prose and verse were both enlisted in its favor. It was chiefly by the writings of Evelyn it attained its greatest celebrity. Philips, in his poem--_Cyder_, says

“Let every tree in every garden own The Red Streak as supreme, whose pulpous fruit, With gold irradiate, and vermilion, shines Tempting, not fatal, as the birth of that Primæval, interdicted plant, that won Fond Eve, in hapless hour to taste, and die. This, of more bounteous influence, inspires Poetic raptures, and the lowly muse Kindles to loftier strains; even I, perceive Her sacred virtue. See! the numbers flow Easy, whilst, cheer’d with her nectareous juice, Her’s, and my country’s praises, I exalt.”

but its reputation began to decline about the beginning of the last century, for we find Nourse saying, “As for the liquor which it yields, it is highly esteemed for its noble colour and smell; ’tis likewise fat and oily in the taste, but withal very windy, luscious and fulsome, and will sooner clog the stomach than any other cider whatsoever, leaving a waterish, raw humour upon it; so that with meals it is no way helpful, and they who drink it, if I may judge of them by my own palate, will find their stomachs pall’d sooner by it, than warm’d and enliven’d.”

The Red Streak seems to have originated about the beginning of the 17th century, for Evelyn says “it was within the memory of some now living, surnamed the Scudamore’s Crab, and then not much known save in the neighbourhood.” It was called Scudamore’s Crab, from being extensively planted by the first Lord Scudamore, who was son of Sir James Scudamore, from whom Spencer is said to have taken the character of Sir Scudamore in his “Fairie Queen.” He was born in 1600, and created by Charles I. Baron Dromore and Viscount Scudamore. He was attending the Duke of Buckingham when he was stabbed at Portsmouth, and was so affected at the event that he retired into private life, and devoted his attention to planting orchards, of which the Red-Streak formed the principal variety. In 1634 he was sent as ambassador to France, in which capacity he continued for four years. He was a zealous royalist during the civil wars, and was taken prisoner by the parliament party, while his property was destroyed, and his estate sequestered. He died in 1671.

289. RED STREAKED RAWLING.--H.

SYNONYME AND FIGURE.--Rawling’s Fine Redstreak. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. x. f. 2.

Fruit, large, three inches wide by two and a quarter deep; roundish, and slightly angular. Skin, yellow, streaked with red on the shaded side; but entirely covered with clear dark red, and striped with still darker red on the side exposed to the sun. Eye, small and closed, set in a narrow and plaited basin. Stalk, long and slender, inserted in a wide and deep cavity, which is lined with russet. Flesh, yellowish, tender, sweet, juicy and well flavored, abounding in a sweet and pleasant juice.

A culinary apple, well adapted for sauce; it is in use from October to Christmas.

This is an old Devonshire apple, and no doubt the _Sweet Rawling_ referred to in a communication to one of Bradley’s “Monthly Treatises,” from which the following is an extract. “We have an apple in this country called a Rawling, of which there is a sweet and a sour; the sour when ripe (which is very early) is a very fair large fruit, and of a pleasant taste, inclined to a golden color, full of narrow red streaks; the Sweet Rawling, has the same colours but not quite so large, and if boiled grows hard; whereas the sour becomes soft. Now what I have to inform you of is, _viz._: I have a tree which bears both sorts in one apple; one side of the apple is altogether sweet, the other side sour; one side bigger than the other; and when boiled the one side is soft, the other hard, as all sweet and sour apples are.”

290. REINETTE DE BREDA.--Diel.

IDENTIFICATION.--Diel Kernobst. i. 110. Sickler Obstgärt. ix. 212.

FIGURE.--Sickler Obstgärt. ix. t. 9.