Part 8

The Costard is one of our oldest English apples. It is mentioned under the name of “Poma Costard,” in the fruiterers’ bills of Edward the First, in 1292, at which time it was sold for a shilling a hundred. The true Costard is now rarely to be met with, but at an early period it must have been very extensively grown, for the retailers of it were called Costardmongers, an appellation now transformed into Costermongers. It is mentioned by William Lawson, in 1597, who, in his quaint style, says, “Of your apple-trees you shall finde difference in growth. A good Pipping will grow large, and a Costard-tree: stead them on the north side of your other apples, thus being placed, the least will give sunne to the rest, and the greatest will shroud their fellowes.”

Modern authors make the Costard synonymous with the Catshead, chiefly, I think, on the authority of Mr. George Lindley, who has it so in the “Guide to the Orchard;” but this is evidently an error. All the early authors who mention both varieties regard them as distinct. Parkinson describes two varieties of Costard--the “Gray,” and the “Greene.” Of the former, he says, “it is a good great apple, somewhat whitish on the outside, and abideth the winter. The Green Costard is like the other, but greener on the outside continually.” Ray describes both the Catshead and Costard as distinct, and Leonard Meager enumerates three varieties of Costard in his list--the white, grey, and red; but which of these is identical with that described above, it is difficult now to determine.

Some etymologists, and Dr. Johnson among the number, consider this name to be derived from _Cost_, a head; but what connection there is between either the shape or other appearance of this apple, and a head, more than any other variety, must puzzle any one to discover. Is it not more probable that it is derived from Costatus (_Anglice_, costate, or ribbed), on account of the prominent ribs or angles on its sides? I think this a much more likely derivation.

83. COUL BLUSH.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. vii., p. 340. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 184 Mem. Cal. Hort. Soc. iv. 556.

Fruit, medium sized; roundish, and angular on the sides. A good deal resembling the Hawthornden. Skin, pale yellow, marked with dull red next the sun, and streaked and dotted with deeper red. Stalk, slender. Flesh, yellowish, crisp, juicy, brisk, and well-flavored.

An excellent culinary apple, in use from October to February. It is said to be of finer flavor than the Hawthornden, and to be even a good dessert apple.

The tree is hardy, a strong, vigorous, and upright grower, and an abundant bearer. It is well suited for all northern and exposed situations.

This is one of the varieties raised by Sir G. S. Mackenzie, Bart., of Coul, Rosshire.

84. COURT OF WICK.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 187. Lind. Guide, 42. Down. Fr. Amer. 105. Rog. Fr. Cult. 87.

SYNONYMES.--Court of Wick Pippin, _Fors. Treat._ 98. Court de Wick, _Hook. Pom. Lond._ Rival Golden Pippin, _acc. Ron. Pyr. Mal._ Fry’s Pippin, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Golden Drop, _Ibid._ Wick’s Pippin, _Ibid._ Wood’s Huntingdon, _Ibid._ Wood’s Transparent, _Ibid._ Kingswick Pippin, _Ibid._ Phillip’s Reinette, _Ibid._

FIGURE.--Hook. Pom. Lond. t. 32. Pom. Mag. t. 32. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xii f. 23.

[Illustration]

Fruit, below medium size; oblato-ovate, regular and handsome. Skin, when fully ripe, of a fine clear yellow, with bright orange, which sometimes breaks out in a faint red next the sun, and covered all over with russety freckles. Eye, large and open, with long, acuminate, and reflexed segments, set in a wide, shallow, and even basin. Stalk, short and slender, inserted in a smooth and even cavity, which is lined with thin russet. Flesh, yellow, tender, crisp, very juicy, rich, and highly flavored.

One of the best and most valuable dessert apples, both as regards the hardiness of the tree, and the rich and delicious flavor of the fruit, which is not inferior to that of the Golden Pippin. It is in use from October to March.

The tree attains the middle size, is healthy, hardy, and an abundant bearer. There is scarcely any description of soil or exposure where it does not succeed, nor is it subject to the attacks of blight and canker. It grows well on the paradise stock, producing fruit much larger than on the crab, but not of so long duration.

This variety is said to have originated at Court of Wick, in Somersetshire, and to have been raised from a pip of the Golden Pippin. It is first mentioned by Forsyth, but I have not been able to discover any facts relative to its history.

85. COURT-PENDU PLAT.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 185. Down. Fr. Amer. 105. Gard. Chron. 1846, 100.

SYNONYMES.--Courtpendû, _Lind. Guide_. 43. Court-pendû plat Rougeâtre, _Ron. Pyr. Mal._ pl. xii. _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 212. Court-pendû rond gros, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, n. 216. Court-pendû rond très gros, _Ibid._ n. 218. Court-pendu rond rougeâtre. _Ibid._ n. 317. Court-pendu rosat, _Diel Kernobst._ xii. 171. Court-pendû musqué, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, n. 209. Court-pendû rouge musqué, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Court-pendû rouge, _Rog. Fr. Cult._ 41. Courpendû vermeil, _Inst. Arb. Fr._ 154. Corianda Rose, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, n. 200. Rosenfarbiger, Kurtzstiel, _Diel Kernobst._ xii. 171. Courtpendû Rouge, _Knoop Pom._ 60, t. x. Courtpendû Rosaar, _Ibid._ 129. Reinette Courtpendû Rouge, _Ibid._ 129. Der Rothe Kurzstiel, _acc. Thomp._ Rode Korpendu, _Ibid._ Pomme de Berlin, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Princesse Noble Zoete, _Ibid._ Garnons, _Ibid._ Woolaton Pippin, _Ibid._ Wise Apple, _acc. Thomp._

FIGURE.--Knoop Pom. t. x. Pom. Mag. t. 66. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xii.

[Illustration]

Fruit, medium sized; oblate, regularly and handsomely shaped. Skin, bright green at first on the shaded side, but changing as it ripens to clear yellow, marked with traces of russet, and russety dots; but entirely covered with deep crimson, which is also marked with traces of russet on the side next the sun, extending even to some portion of the shaded side. Eye, open, with short segments, which are reflexed at the tips, and set in a wide, even, and deep basin. Stalk, very short, inserted in a wide and deep cavity, lined with russet, which extends over a portion of the base. Flesh, yellowish-white, firm, crisp, brisk, rich, and sugary, with an abundance of vinous and perfumed juice.

A valuable dessert apple of the first quality; in use from December to May.

The tree is of small habit of growth, but very hardy and an abundant bearer. It is well adapted for espalier training when worked on the paradise stock; and if grafted on the Pomme Paradis of the French, it may be grown in pots, in which it forms a beautiful and interesting object when laden with its beautiful fruit.

The bloom expands later than that of any other variety, and on that account is less liable to be injured by spring frosts, hence, according to Thompson, it has been called the _Wise Apple_.

This is not the Capendu of Duhamel, as quoted by Lindley and Downing; neither is it the Court-pendu of Forsyth and De Quintinye, that variety being the Fenouillet Rouge of Duhamel, _see No. 123_. The Courpendu of Miller is also a different apple from any of those just mentioned, and is distinguished by having a long and slender stalk, “so that the fruit is always hanging downwards.” The name of this variety is derived from _Corps pendu_ translated by some _Hanging Body_, whereas that of the variety above described, is from _Court pendu_, signifying _suspended short_, the stalk being so short, that the fruit, sits, as it were, upon the branch. The name Capendu or Capendua, is mentioned by the earliest authors, but applied to different varieties of apples. It is met with in Ruellius, Tragus, Curtius, and Dalechamp, the latter considering it the _Cestiana_ of Pliny. Curtius applies the name to a yellow apple, and so also does Ruellius; but Tragus considers it one of the varieties of Passe-pomme, he says, “Capendua magna sunt alba et dulcia, in quorum utero semina per maturitatem sonant, Ruellio _Passipoma_ apellantur.” They are also mentioned by J. Bauhin, “Celeberrimum hoc pomi genus est totius Europæ, sic dicta, quòd ex curto admodum pendeant pediculo.”

86. COWARNE RED.--Knight.

IDENTIFICATION AND FIGURE.--Knight, Pom. Heref. t. 28.

Fruit, of a pretty good size, a little more long than broad, but narrow at the crown, in which appear a few obtuse and undefined plaits. Eye, small, with very short converging segments of the calyx. Stalk, hardly half an inch long, very stiff and straight. Skin, a small part of it pale gold on the shaded side, and round the base, but of a bright red over a great part, and where fully exposed to the sun, of an intense, deep, purplish crimson; there are numerous short streaks, which mark the shady part of the fruit.

Specific gravity of its juice 1069.

A cider apple, which takes its name from the parish of Cowarne, near Broomyard, in Herefordshire, where it was raised about the beginning of the last century.--_Lindley._

87. CRAY PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. v., p. 401. Lind. Guide, 27.

Fruit, below medium size; conical, and angular on the sides. Skin, pale yellow with a tinge of red next the sun. Eye, small and closed, set in an even basin. Stalk, short, and deeply inserted. Flesh, yellow, crisp, sweet, and highly flavored.

An excellent dessert apple, ripe in October.

This variety was raised at St. Mary’s Cray, in Kent, by Richard Waring, Esq., and was exhibited at the London Horticultural Society, on the 15th of October, 1822.

88. CREED’S MARIGOLD.--H.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and two inches and a quarter high; roundish. Skin, fine deep rich yellow on the shaded side; but deep orange next the sun, and covered with beautiful red, which is striped with darker red, the whole marked with patches of thin and delicate brown russet, and thickly strewed with dark russety dots. Eye, open, with broad flat segments, and set in a narrow, shallow, and regularly plaited basin. Stalk, short, set in a deep cavity, which is lined with russet. Flesh, yellow, tender, crisp, juicy, sugary, and richly flavored.

An excellent dessert apple, in use during October and November, after which it becomes dry and meally but does not shrivel.

This variety was raised from a seed of the Scarlet Nonpareil, by Mr. Creed, gardener, at Norton Court, near Faversham, in Kent.

89. CREEPER.--H.

Fruit, rather below medium size, two inches and a quarter high, and about the same in width; somewhat conical or roundish-ovate. Skin, smooth and shining, at first of a fine dark green on the shaded side, and entirely covered with red, which is thickly marked with broken streaks of darker red on the side next the sun; but as it ripens, the shaded side changes to yellowish-green, and the exposed to crimson. Eye, open, set in a pretty deep basin. Stalk, very short, embedded in a shallow cavity. Flesh, white, tender, juicy, sweet, and pleasantly flavored, with a slight aroma.

A very good second-rate summer dessert apple; ripe in September.

This variety is very common in the Berkshire orchards.

90. DARLING PIPPIN.--Lind.

IDENTIFICATION.--Lind. Plan. Or. 1796. Lind. Guide, 68.

SYNONYMES.--Darling, _Rea Pom._ 210. _Raii Hist._ ii. 1448.

Fruit, of medium size; oblato-conical. Skin, bright lemon yellow, thickly set with small embedded pearly specks. Eye, small, and placed in a shallow basin, surrounded with prominent plaits. Stalk, short and slender, not deeply inserted. Flesh, yellowish, firm, crisp, juicy, and sugary, with a pleasant sub-acid flavor.

A dessert apple of good quality; in use from November to January.

This is one of our old English varieties. It is mentioned by Rea, in 1665, who calls it “a large gold yellow apple, of an excellent, quick, something sharp taste, and bears well.” It is also noticed by Ray as “Pomum delicatulum Cestriæ.”

91. DEVONSHIRE BUCKLAND.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 97.

SYNONYMES.--Dredge’s White Lily, _Fors. Treat._ 99. White Lily, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3. Lily Buckland, _Ibid._

Fruit, above medium size, three inches wide, and two inches and a half high; roundish and flattened, with irregular and prominent angles on the sides. Skin, dull waxen yellow, strewed all over with minute russety dots, which are larger on the side exposed to the sun. Eye, open, set in a plaited basin. Stalk, rather deeply inserted in a round cavity, from which issue ramifications of russet. Flesh, yellow, crisp, very juicy, brisk, sugary, and perfumed.

A very excellent apple; of first-rate quality as a culinary fruit, and suitable also for the dessert. It is in use from October to February.

The tree is quite hardy, and an excellent bearer.

92. DEVONSHIRE QUARRENDEN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Fors. Treat. 122. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 603. Down. Fr. Amer. 71.

SYNONYMES.--Quarrington, _Raii. Hist._ ii. 1448. Devonshire Quarrington, _Mort-Art._ ii. 290. Red Quarentine, _Miller and Sweet, Cat._ 1790. Red Quarenden, _Hook. Pom. Lond._ t. 13, _Lind. Guide_, 6. Sack Apple, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, n. 1012. Quarentine, _in Devonshire_.

FIGURES.--Hook. Pom. Lond. t. 13. Pom. Mag. t. 94. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. i. f. 7.

[Illustration]

Fruit, rather below medium size; oblate, and sometimes a little angular in its outline. Skin, smooth and shining, entirely covered with deep purplish red, except where it is shaded by a leaf or twig, and then it is of a delicate pale green, presenting a clear and well-defined outline of the object which shades it. Eye, quite closed, with very long tomentose segments, and placed in an undulating and shallow basin, which is sometimes knobbed, and generally lined with thick tomentum. Stalk, about three quarters of an inch long, fleshy at the insertion, deeply set in a round and funnel-shaped cavity. Flesh, white tinged with green, crisp, brisk, and very juicy, with a rich vinous, and refreshing flavor.

A very valuable and first-rate dessert apple. It ripens on the tree the first week in August, and lasts till the end of September. It is one of the earliest summer dessert apples, and at that season, is particularly relished, for its fine, cooling, and refreshing, vinous juice.

The tree attains a considerable size, it is particularly hardy, and a most prolific bearer. It succeeds well in almost every soil and situation, and is admirably adapted for orchard planting. In almost every latitude of Great Britain, from Devonshire to the Moray Frith, I have observed it in perfect health and luxuriance, producing an abundance of well ripened fruit, which, though not so large, nor so early in the northern parts, still possessing the same richness of flavor as in the south.

This is supposed to be a very old variety, but there is no record of it previous to 1693, when it is mentioned by Ray; and except by Mortimer, it is not noticed by any subsequent writer till within a very recent period. It seems to have been unknown to Switzer, Langley, and Miller; nor do I find that it was grown in any of the London nurseries before the beginning of the present century. The only early catalogue in which I find it is that of Miller and Sweet, of Bristol, in 1790.

93. DR. HELSHAM’S PIPPIN.--Lind.

IDENTIFICATION.--Lind. Guide, 8.

Fruit, medium sized; conical, more long than broad, eight or nine inches in circumference, a little angular on the sides. Eye, small, in a rather wide and oblique basin. Stalk, half an inch long, deeply inserted. Skin, yellowish-green, with several redish spots; on the sunny side of a fine clear red. Flesh, white. Juice sweet, with a slight aromatic flavor.

Ripe in August and beginning of September.

The branches of this tree droop in the manner of a Jargonelle Pear. It is an abundant bearer and deserves cultivation.

The original tree which is a large one, was raised by the late Dr. Helsham, and is now growing in the garden of Mr. Etheredge, of Stoke Ferry, in Norfolk.--_Lindley._

I have never met with this variety, but as Mr. Lindley recommends it as worthy of cultivation, and as it may be better known in Norfolk than elsewhere, I am induced to insert here with Mr. Lindley’s own description.

94. DOWELL’S PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. v. p. 268. Lind. Guide, 27. Hort Soc. Cat. ed. 3, p. 13.

Fruit, medium sized; roundish, narrowing towards the apex. Skin, green, almost entirely covered with thin delicate russet, tinged with brownish red next the sun. Eye, small and closed, set in a narrow and rather deep basin. Stalk, short, and deeply inserted. Flesh, yellow, tender, crisp, juicy, sugary, and finely flavored.

A dessert apple in use from October to January.

This variety was raised by Stephen Dowell, Esq., of Braygrove, Berkshire, from a pip of the Ribston Pippin, to which it bears a close resemblance both in shape and flavor.

95. DOWNTON PIPPIN.--Knight.

IDENTIFICATION.--Pom. Heref. Hort. Trans. vol. i., p. 145. Lind. Guide, 28. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 217. Down. Fr. Amer. 82.

SYNONYMES.--Elton Pippin, _Fors. Treat._ 135. Elton Golden Pippin, _Salisb. Or._ 130. Knight’s Pippin, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3. Knight’s Golden Pippin, _Ibid._ St. Mary’s Pippin, _Ibid._ Downton’s Pepping, _Diel Kernobst._ v. B. 37.

FIGURES.--Pom. Heref. t. 9. Pom. Mag. t. 113.

Fruit, small, two inches broad, and an inch and three quarters high; somewhat cylindrical, and flattened at the ends, bearing a resemblance to the Golden Pippin. Skin, smooth, of a fine lemon yellow color, and with a slight tinge of red next the sun, marked with a few traces of delicate russet, and strewed with numerous pale brown dots. Eye, large and quite open, with long, flat, acuminate segments, set in a wide, flat, and shallow basin. Stalk, slender, half-an-inch long, and inserted in a shallow cavity which is lined with delicate russet. Flesh, yellowish white, delicate, firm, crisp, and juicy, with a rich, brisk, vinous and somewhat aromatic flavor.

A dessert apple of first-rate quality, resembling the Golden Pippin both in size, shape, and color, as well as flavor. It is in use from November to January.

The tree is a strong, healthy, and vigorous grower, a most abundant bearer, and attains about the middle size. It may be grown as an open dwarf, and is well suited for espaliers. The fruit is also valuable for the cider it produces, the specific gravity of the juice being 1080.

This excellent variety was raised by Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq., of Downton Castle, from the seed of the Isle of Wight Orange Pippin, impregnated with the pollen of the Golden Pippin, and the original tree is still in existence at Wormsley Grange, Herefordshire.

96. DRAP D’OR.--Duh.

IDENTIFICATION.--Duh. Arb. Fruit, i. 290. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 219. Down. Fr. Amer. 71.

SYNONYMES.--Vrai Drap d’Or, _Duh. Arb. Fruit_, i. 290. Drap d’Or Vrai, _Poin. Ami. Jard._ i. 192. Bay Apple, _acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Bonne de Mai, _Ibid._ Goldzaugapfel, _Diel. Kernobst._ iii. p. 115.

FIGURES.--Duh. Arb. Fruit, t. i. xii. 4. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xxvi. f. 2.

Fruit, large, three inches and a quarter broad, and two inches and three quarters high; roundish, sometimes inclining to cylindrical, or rather oblato-cylindrical. Skin, smooth and shining, of a fine pale yellow color intermixed with a greenish tinge, which is disposed in faint stripes extending from the base to the apex, on the shaded side; but of a clearer, and deeper yellow on the side next the sun, the whole marked with patches of delicate, dark brown russet, and strewed with numerous russety dots; sometimes there is a faint tinge of red on the side next the sun. Eye, small and closed, with acuminate segments, which are covered with white tomentum, and set in a wide, deep, irregular and plaited basin. Stalk, very short, and somewhat fleshy, inserted in a wide, rather shallow, and smooth cavity. Flesh, yellowish-white, tender, crisp, and juicy, with a brisk, vinous, and sugary flavor.

A pretty good apple of second-rate quality, more suitable for culinary purposes than the dessert. It is in use from October to Christmas.

The tree is a healthy and free grower, attaining about the middle size, and is a free and early bearer, being generally well set with fruit buds. It requires a rich soil and warm situation.

There is another apple totally different from this to which the name of Drap d’Or is applied.--See _Fenouillet Jaune_.

97. DREDGE’S FAIR MAID OF WISHFORD.--Fors.

IDENTIFICATION.--Fors. Treat. 99. Rog. Fr. Cult. 55.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and two inches and a quarter high; oblato-cylindrical, with obtuse angles on the sides. Skin, yellow, covered with large patches and reticulations of thin brown russet, which is strewed with rougher russety freckles, and tinged with orange and a few streaks of red next the sun. Eye, rather large, with long acuminate segments, which almost close it; and set in a wide, angular, and pretty deep basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a narrow, angular and smooth cavity, which is tinged with green. Flesh, yellowish, firm, brisk, juicy, sugary, and richly flavored.

An excellent apple for culinary purposes, and even worthy of the dessert. It is in use from December to March.

This, with the following variety, was either raised or first brought into notice, by a Mr. William Dredge, of Wishford, near Salisbury. In a letter dated November, 1802, which is in my possession, he writes to the late Mr. Forsyth with specimens of these varieties, and of this he says, “not in eating till Easter, great bearer, most excellent flavor.”

The tree is a free grower, attaining about the middle size, and is an excellent bearer.

98. DREDGE’S FAME.--Fors.

IDENTIFICATION.--Fors. Treat. 100. Rog. Fr. Cult. 51.

[Illustration]

Fruit, above medium size; roundish, inclining to ovate, and furrowed round the eye. Skin, dull dingy yellow, with a tinge of green, covered with patches of thin russet, and large russety dots, particularly over the base; and mottled with pale red on the side exposed to the sun. Eye, closed, set in a deep and angular basin. Stalk, about three quarters of an inch long, inserted in a deep cavity which is lined with russet. Flesh, greenish-yellow, firm, crisp, juicy, brisk, and sugary, with a rich aromatic flavor.

This is a valuable and very excellent apple, suitable either for dessert use, or culinary purposes. It is in use from December to March. In his letter to Mr. Forsyth, referred to above, Mr. Dredge says, “This is the best apple yet known; in eating from Easter till Midsummer--most excellent.”

The tree is hardy, a vigorous grower, an early and abundant bearer, but according to Rogers, liable to be attacked by the woolly aphis; still I have never found it more susceptible of that disease than most other varieties.