The Ghost Orchard
Page 10
Hazel: From a catalogue of 1838, where the only description is that the apple is “possibly a pear.”4
Henhouse: A yellow apple with tender flesh of a pleasant quality and a good taste. It was listed in an 1880 catalogue.
Hoary Morning: A large English apple of oblate to conical shape and with red-striped yellow skin. The white flesh was fine, with a brisk sub-acid taste, and the quality was good. This was a kitchen apple and ripened midseason.
Hog Snout: A medium to large North Carolina apple that was red-striped, had good flavour and was late season.
Hornet: A large, yellow Pennsylvania apple of good flavour.
Indiahoma: This Texas variety was described in a nursery catalogue from 1920 as having “originated in the old Indian Territory. Large, oblong, of excellent flavor; red. Well adapted to southwestern planting. Ripe in July. Trade-marked.”5
Indian Winter: A southern yellow apple with sub-acid flavour and good quality. It had a very late season.
Iron: A large, oblate green apple with yellow blush from Nova Scotia. The yellow-white flesh was fine and juicy, and the quality was good to very good. It was a late-season apple.
Jane: This Pennsylvania apple with yellow blush and of medium size was listed in 1856. The yellow flesh was crisp and juicy, with a mild sub-acid flavour. Quality was good and the apple was late season.
Jessup: Also known as Jessup’s Seedling and listed in an Indiana catalogue in 1866, but with no further description. There is some possibility that it originally derived from Ann Jessop.
Jiles: A winter apple of medium size that was “a great favorite in Tidewater, Virginia”6 in the early nineteenth century.
Jones Cider: A North Carolina apple, listed from 1877, it was said to “make the finest cider, keeping sweet through the entire winter.”7
Keep Forever: A Tennessee apple that was listed in 1860.
Kitchen: An Ohio apple with yellow skin and of medium to large size. It had good flavour and was late season.
Kittageskee: This was a Cherokee apple from North Carolina and Georgia. It was a small, bright yellow apple that had excellent flavour. It was a prolific bearer, late season and late keeper. Trees were sent to France in 1860, and according to S. A. Beach, the apple was still being produced in France up until the Second World War.
La Salle: A Canadian apple, listed in 1901, it was greenish-yellow with red stripes and an oblong to conical shape.
Large White Sweet: A North Carolina apple, listed in 1855. Ripe in August.
Ledge: An apple from New Hampshire, of medium size and oblate shape. It was a whitish-yellow colour with red stripes, and the yellow flesh was tender, juicy and mild. The taste was sweet and the quality was good to very good. Used as a kitchen apple, it was late season.
Lopside: An Ohio apple of medium to large size and covered with red stripes. It was oblate in shape and had good flavour. A late-season apple.
Lorne: Also known as the Marquis of Lorne, this apple was from Nova Scotia and was large to very large in size and round to oblate in shape. It was whitish-yellow with red stripes and had white flesh that was described as crisp, tender and juicy. It had a brisk sub-acid flavour and the quality was good to very good. A midseason apple.
Lucy Red: Also known as Lucy’s Red Cheek, this was a California apple of round to oblate shape and of medium to large size. It was red-striped and ripened early to midseason.
Mamma: Also known as the Mammy Apple, this southern variety was of oblate shape and medium to large size, with yellow flesh of rich sub-acid flavour. It was a midseason apple.
Maple: An Iowa apple that was medium-sized and oblate in shape. It was yellow with a sweet flavour and of very good quality. It ripened early in the season.
Marsh: This apple was grown from a seed of the Buff apple (an old Cherokee apple) in Tennessee in 1876. It was a round green apple with red stripes. The flesh was greenish-white, very juicy and tender. The apple ripened in winter.
McAfee: A Kentucky apple, also known as Gray Apple, Gray’s Keeper, Hubbardston, Indian, Indian Ladies’ Favorite, Large Striped Pearmain, Large Striped Winter Pearmain, McAfee Missourian, McAfee’s Nonsuch, McAfee’s Red, Missouri Keeper, Missouri Superior, New Missouri Nonsuch, Park, Park Keeper, Russian Snorter, Stephenson, Storr’s Wine, Striped Pearmain, Striped Sweet Pippin, Striped Winter Pearmain, Uncle Zeeke, Valandigham Wine, White Crow, White Pearmain, Wyandotte and Zeeke. No other apple besides the Nickajack has more names than this, which says much about its popularity over a period of time. This large apple was round to oblate to conical in shape and had yellow, green, red-striped and crimson skin. The yellow-white flesh was tender and crisp, the flavour mild sub-acid and the quality good to very good. It was a dessert and market apple, and was midseason to late season.
Miller Cherokee: Also known as Miller’s Cherokee, this was a large Utah apple with a very late season.
Montreal Peach: A Quebec apple that was also known as Peach of Montreal, it had an oblong to conical shape, was medium to large in size and had yellow skin. The flavour was sub-acid and the quality was very good. It was a dessert and market apple and ripened midseason.
Mount Gilead: An Ohio apple that was reported to have been planted by Johnny Appleseed, it was medium in size and had yellow-red skin. The taste was sub-acid and the season was late.
Muscat: Also known as Muscat Reinette, this was a medium-sized German apple with red-striped yellow skin and juicy yellow-white flesh. It had a rich sub-acid flavour and was midseason to late season.
Nantahalee: This apple was named by the pomologist Jarvis Van Buren, but it was found before 1855 on “an old Indian farm”8 in Alabama. It was medium to large in size, oblate to conical in shape and had yellowish-green skin. The white flesh was tender and juicy, and the apple ripened early.
Nova Scotian: This apple was listed in catalogues in 1877 as being from, as the name suggested, Nova Scotia. It was round to oblate to conical in shape and was a large yellow apple with red stripes. The yellow- white flesh was tender and juicy, with sub-acid flavour. The quality was very good to best, and it was a late-season apple. (Rarely was an apple described as “best” in terms of quality, so this must have been a very good apple indeed.)
November: Listed in 1855, this North Carolina apple ripened in November.
Nutmeg: A red-striped Indiana apple of very good quality that ripened midseason.
Oneida: Also known as Oneida Chief, this was a New York State apple.
Ontario: As the name suggests, this apple came from Ontario and was oblate to conical in shape, large in size and had a whitish-yellow skin with red stripes on it. The white-yellow flesh was fine, tender and juicy, and the flavour was sub-acid. The season was very late.
Oostanaula: A Tennessee apple that was found in a field in 1886, it was greenish yellow with a faint blush on one side and tender yellow flesh. It had a sweet flavour and ripened early. The apple could be used for fresh eating, cooking and drying.
O’Toole’s Indian Rareripe: Listed in 1870 in Kentucky, this was a large, round to conical apple with greenish-yellow skin and a blush. The flesh was greenish white, tender and sub-acid. It was an early to midseason apple. It was also referenced in 1874 in Kirkland, New York, as follows: “The native Indian Orchard in Stockbridge, Madison County, furnished several excellent varieties of fruit, one of the best being the summer apple, known as O’Toole’s Indian Rareripe.”9
Ox: A large Pennsylvania apple with a blushed white skin and white flesh that was crisp, tender and juicy. The apple was of good quality and ripened midseason to late season.
Peach Pond: Also known as Peach Pond Sweet and Peach Pound Sweet, this was a New York apple of medium size and round to oblate to conical in shape. It was red-striped and had mild, juicy flesh. The quality was very good. It was primarily a dessert and market apple that ripened midseason.
Pioneer: From Pennsylvania, California and New Zealand, this was a medium apple of round to oblate to conical shape with a greenish-yellow skin and juic
y whitish-yellow flesh. The flavour was pleasant and sub-acid, and the quality was good to very good. This apple ripened midseason to late season.
Pleasegood: Also known as the Pleasegood Nonsuch, this was an Ontario apple that was round to oblate. It was large in size, with red-striped yellow skin and tender, juicy yellow flesh. It was a dessert apple of very good quality and ripened midseason.
Poorhouse: Also known as Winter Green and Winter Queen, this large Tennessee apple was round to oblate, with yellowish-green russeted skin. The yellow flesh was crisp, mild and juicy, and the flavour was sub-acid. The quality of the apple was very good, and it was late season. A single apple from this tree could weigh one and a half pounds.
Prairie Gem: An Ontario apple from 1837 that was round to oblate in shape and yellow to crimson in colour. The flesh was fine, crisp and juicy, with sub-acid flavour, and the quality of the apple was good. It was a kitchen apple. Season not specified.
Proliferous: Also known as Proliferous Reinette, this was a medium-sized English apple with juicy yellow-white flesh with a rich, brisk sub-acid flavour. It was a midseason apple.
Pucker End: A large New York apple with pale yellow skin that had a crimson blush. The yellow flesh was crisp and juicy, and the flavour was sub-acid. The apple was of good quality and ripened midseason.
Quaker: A Pennsylvania apple listed in 1856, it was medium in size and had a round to conical shape. The white flesh was crisp and juicy, and the flavour was pleasant and sub-acid. The quality was good, and the apple was primarily a market apple. It was midseason to late season.
Quebec: Also known as the Quebec Sweet and Quebec Winter Sweet, this was a medium yellow-red apple of very good quality that ripened in late season.
Red Warrior: A large Georgia apple, listed in 1871, with juicy white flesh and a very late season. It was “a native Indian seedling.”10
Republican Pippin: A large, oblate Pennsylvania apple with red-striped yellow skin and tender, juicy white flesh. It had a pleasant sub-acid flavour. It was listed in the catalogues in 1840 as a good-quality kitchen apple that ripened midseason to late season.
Rochelle: Listed in 1894, this Quebec apple was large and round to oblate, with red-striped yellow-green skin and a late season.
Rough and Ready: This North Carolina apple was listed in 1853 as round and pale red, and it ripened very late. Another apple by the same name was listed in a 1927 South Carolina catalogue, where it was described as “the best, most prolific, late winter apple; will keep until May.”11
Saint James: A Canadian apple that was medium to large in size and oblong in shape. It was listed in an 1886 catalogue, where it was described as having yellow-red skin with russeting and fine, tender, juicy yellow flesh. The flavour was sub-acid.
Schoolfield: An apple from either Arkansas or Tennessee, it was listed in a catalogue in 1873 with the note that it was late season.
Seager: Also known as the Townsend and the Hocking, this was a Pennsylvania apple of First Nations origin. In the Downings’ book on apples, a Charles Sitgreave, Esq., provided the following history: “The original tree grew on a tract of land owned by Indians near Lumberville, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and was of enormous size anterior to the Revolutionary war, when the tract was sold by the Indians, with a reservation ‘that the fruit of this tree should be free to all, as it had been to them and to their fathers.’”12 The fruit was large and round to oblate, with greenish-yellow skin that was covered in brown or red patches. The white flesh was tender and juicy, with a rich and pleasant flavour. The apple was early season.
Seneca: Also known as the Seneca Favorite, this was listed in an 1849 catalogue as being from New York.
Skeleton: An apple from Arkansas, listed in 1895, it was large and yellowish white, with red stripes and a round to conical shape. The yellow flesh was tender and juicy, and the flavour was rich and sub-acid. It was an early apple of good quality.
Stormproof: As the name suggests, this Texas tree was not easily damaged by storms. Listed in 1923, it had medium apples of a light green colour and sweet taste that kept well.
Summer Harvey: A New Brunswick apple with a round to oblate shape and a large size. It had a greenish-yellow skin with a blush, and the white flesh was tender and juicy. The flavour was brisk sub-acid, and the apple was of overall good quality. It ripened early to midseason.
Sweet Seeknofurther: A New Hampshire apple of medium to large size and with a round to conical shape. The skin was yellow and green with a blush, and the flesh was fine and juicy and sweet. The apple was good quality and ripened very late.
Ten Shillings: A medium-sized, round to oblate apple with a russet covering greenish-yellow skin. The yellow-white flesh was tender and the flavour was sub-acid. The apple was midseason.
Thinskin: Listed in a catalogue of 1896, this apple was given no description.
Tippecanoe: A large apple from Indiana with yellow skin and a blush on one side. The yellow flesh was fine, crisp and juicy, and the flavour was sub-acid. The apple was listed in 1895 and described as having good quality and ripening midseason.
Trippe’s Railroad: A Georgia apple, listed from 1858 and said to have been found near a railroad track. This small apple was round with red skin and of very good quality. It was a midseason apple. (There are often apple trees growing along rail tracks because of cores tossed from long-ago trains by long-ago passengers.)
Turn-off Lane: Also known as the Strawberry, Turn in the Lane and Winter Strawberry, this New Jersey apple was small to medium in size and oblate to conical in shape. The skin was yellow, red and scarlet, and the white flesh was tender. The apple had a brisk sub-acid flavour and was described as being of good quality. It ripened very late season.
Uncle Archy: This apple from Ohio, listed in 1846, was of medium to large size, with a round to conical shape. The skin was green with russet patches, and the yellow flesh was tender and juicy. It was of very good quality and ripened in late season.
Uncle John: Also known as Uncle Richard’s Graft, this Pennsylvania oblong apple was of medium size and was white with red stripes. The white flesh was tender and juicy, and the flavour was sub-acid. The quality was good to very good, and it ripened midseason.
Underleaf: An English apple, also known as Hertfordshire Underleaf, it was large and conical with yellow skin, a sub-acid flavour and an early to midseason.
Valley: Also known as the Queen of the Valley, this Connecticut apple was medium to large in size, round to conical in shape and had yellow skin covered in red stripes. The white flesh was juicy and tender, and the flavour was pleasant sub-acid. The quality was good to very good, and the apple was midseason.
Verbena: This large Wisconsin apple, listed in 1895, was of medium size and oblate shape. The skin was yellow, red and scarlet, and the yellow flesh was fine and juicy. The flavour was sub-acid, and the quality was very good. The apple ripened in late season.
Victuals and Drink: Also known as the Big Sweet, Fall Green Sweet and Green Sweet, this large apple from New Jersey was listed in 1845 and had an oblong to conical shape and yellow skin covered with russet. The yellow flesh was tender, and the flavour was brisk, rich and sweet. It was of very good quality and was used as a dessert and kitchen apple. It ripened midseason.
Virgin Mary: Listed in Georgia in 1861 but originally from Kentucky, this yellow-white apple had sweet flesh and ripened early.
Volunteer: Also known as Wilson’s Volunteer, this Ohio apple was large and round to oblate, with red-striped yellow skin and tender, juicy greenish-yellow flesh. The flavour was sub-acid and the quality was good, and it was used primarily as a kitchen apple. It was late season and described as “not fit to eat till the New Year. Must be stored in a damp place to obtain perfection, then it becomes mellow with a musky flavor.”13
War Woman: This Georgia apple was listed in 1905 and described as medium in size with yellow skin that was covered by red marbling and large grey dots. The flesh was mild and sub-acid, and the apple was very late ri
pening—going from December to April.
Warren: This was a winesap seedling, listed in a Texas catalogue in 1920. It was a large, red, flavourful midseason apple that was “a favourite among southern orchardists.”14
White Apple: This apple was from Kentucky and was described as being oblong in shape and having, oddly, yellow and not white skin. It was a late-season apple.
White Doctor: Listed in 1853, this large Pennsylvania apple had a round to oblate shape and greenish-yellow skin. The white flesh was tender, and the flavour was brisk sub-acid. The quality was good, and the apple was used for both kitchen and market. It ripened midseason.
Whitney: Also known as the Whitney Russet and Whitney’s Russet, this was probably a Canadian apple, of small size and an oblate to conical shape. It was yellow with a russet blush and tender, juicy yellow flesh. The flavour was rich sub-acid, and the quality was described as very good. The Whitney was used as a dessert apple and had a very long season.
Winter Cheese: A large, oblate Virginia apple with red stripes and sub-acid flavour, it was of good quality and was harvested late season.
Winter Rose: Listed in 1896, this Ontario apple was large and oblate, with greenish-red skin and mild, juicy white flesh of a sub-acid flavour. It was of good quality and was a late-season apple.
Witch: Also known as Lancaster Witch, it was possibly from Ohio.
Woodpile: Listed in 1895, this large apple from Tennessee was round to conical with red stripes and yellow-white skin. The flesh was yellow, tender and juicy, and the flavour was sub-acid. The quality of the apple was very good, and it ripened midseason.
Yellow Forest: This was a wild apple, found by a soldier in Louisiana, who transplanted it from the woods to his nearby home. It was sold in Louisiana nurseries from 1887, and was used to make “cider almost as clear as water”15 and also for drying, as the flesh did not darken when exposed to air. It was medium to large in size, round to oblate in shape, and had greenish-yellow skin and tender, juicy flesh that had a sub-acid flavour and was very aromatic. An early to midseason apple that was a good keeper.