The Heirloom Orchardist

White Winter Pearmain: Like a worthless friend?

In my last post, a book review, I mentioned the differences in how writers describe fruit.  Sure, the older descriptions are adequate.  They do the trick.  But in my opinion, they are flawed by their accuracy.  Here’s a sample piece of Charles Downing’s (The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America) description of the White Winter Pearmain, ca. 1881:

"Basin uneven.  Skin pale yellow, with slight blush or warm cheek, thickly sprinkled with minute brown dots.  Flesh yellowish, tender, crisp, juice very pleasant subacid.  Very good."

Okay, Okay.  Downing is trying to be objective.  He knows that beauty (and flavor) is in the eye of the beholder.  He’s describing the characteristics of hundreds of fruit varieties in his book, and he must use uniform terminology.  But I’d like to know something about the life of this apple!  The personality!  Give me some metaphors!  Consider the following, written about the same time,  by J.M. Hasness, the Secretary of the Holt County Horticultural Society, for the Report of The Missouri State Horticultural Society, 1884:

"Some varieties, like men, start off well, make a brilliant record for a few years, than so utterly fail as to disgust their warmest friends and admirers.  Of such is the White Winter Pearmain, famous in Northwest Missouri fifteen years ago, and at that time really a fine, delicious variety, but now I pronounce it worthless."

Now, there’s an opinionated comment. It sounds as though Mr. Hasness has been let down a few times by the people in his life.  Poor guy.  He then got an axe, went out to his orchard, and took out his frustrations on his worthless White Winter Pearmains.

Of course I’m not being fair.  These two writers were trying to accomplish two very different things with their words.  As I said, Downing’s words are deliberately dry, in order to give an objective description.  But in doing that, he doesn’t express the passion in horticulture.  This time of year, I find myself every morning walking into my backyard garden simply to see what may have popped up from the soil.  I’m checking the buds on my pear trees every day, to see if they’ve opened.  Whether you grow fruit or flowers, there’s too much emotion in horticulture to ignore.

A Baldwin Graft Experiment by P.L. Converse

On March 21 (“Ira’s Columbian Pippin”), I explained that many heirloom apple varieties were biennial bearers.  That is, they don’t fruit heavily every year, but tend to alternate years.  If the Heirloom Orchardist could figure out a way to trick half of his trees to produce on the odd years, and half on the even years, he could plan his production (and cash flow) a lot better.  Here’s an observation from a Mr. Converse, published in 1851:

New England Farmer and Boston Rambler
Boston, Saturday, April 5, 1851
Vol. VI, Number 14

Grafting in Odd and Even Years.
Mr. Cole:  In looking over the 2nd vol. of the N.E. Farmer, I noticed at page 30th, a call for facts in relation to the year of grafting having an influence on the year of bearing of apple-trees, and as I have a little practice in point, it is at your service.
In the spring of 1845, I took scions from a Baldwin apple tree that bore invariably in odd years and inserted them into a standard.  The next year I took scions from the same tree as before, and inserted them into another standard.  The result is as follows: The tree first grafted bore fruit in 1848, '50.
On the second tree about one-half the scions bore fruit in 1849, the other half in 1850.  The trees grafted were natural fruit of the same variety, and great bearers every year.

Yours, P. L. CONVERSE.
Woburn, MA, March 21, 1851.

So, what’s the conclusion?  Mr. Converse seems to imply that by grafting the odd-year bearing Baldwin on its bearing year (1845), he’d managed to switch the Baldwin’s timing to that of an even bearing tree.  Then, when he grafted Baldwin scions on the even (non-bearing) year, he produced both even and odd bearing trees.  Got it?  My slow brain had to think about it a couple times.  In the end, I think P.L. Converse needs to give this more time.  He should've reported back every year.

Grafting and budding are at the heart of growing heirloom apples, since no apple comes "true to seed."  That is, if you grow an apple seed that comes from a Baldwin Apple, you're not going to get a tree producing Baldwins.  To get that, you need to graft a piece of a tree (a scion or a bud) that you know produces Baldwins, onto another apple tree.  Grafting is a fun craft, and it's easily done...with practice.  Here's a link.

Ira's "Columbian Pippin"

On March 9, 1835, Ira Cole wrote to the Yankee Farmer about three varieties of apple.  We continue with his description of the third apple, which he calls the “Columbian Pippin:”

The Yankee Farmer
No. 6, Vol. 1
Cornish, Maine, March 16, 1835

     Mr. Cole, - Agreeably to your request, I improve the first opportunity in describing a few varieties of apples, which I consider among the most valuable.

     Columbian Pippin. - This apple is equalled by few, and surpassed by none, in its season: the tree is large, thrifty and hardy, but delights in a rich strong soil; the fruit is of large size delightfully fair, thin delicate skin, pale straw color, conical form, and semitransluscent.  It is of a very mild sour, rich, juicy, and of a spicy delicious flavor.  It is in use from Sept. to Nov. and equally valuable for cooking or the desert.  In alternate years it bears in great abundance and in the intermediate years, lightly.  It originated in the same Orchard with the Table Greening.

     Yours Respectfully,
     IRA COLE
     Limerick, Maine, March 9, 1835.

So here’s another apple, which originated along with his “Table Greening,” in Ira’s own orchard located in Cornish Maine.  An internet search tells us that Columbian Pippin was being grown by a couple orchardists in 1848, and 1850. So, apparently Ira managed to sell some scions, and the name Columbian Pippin stuck for a while before this variety faded away.  Here are a couple new terms a new Heirloom Orchardist can learn from Ira’s description:

Pippin:  I love this term.  A “pippin” is an old English word derived from the French word for 'seedling'.  But in slang, “pippin” is also something or someone that is very much admired.  So, it is understandable that an old orchardist could want to call every new apple in his orchard a Pippin.

Biennial Bearing apple:  In alternate years, the Columbian Pippin "bears in great abundance."  Many heirloom apple trees tend to be biennial bearers.  Apparently, the Columbian Pippin was such a variety.  This tendency means that they may bear a heavy crop of fruit every other year and a small crop in “off” years.

Esq. Plummer's "Black Russet"

On March 9, 1835, Ira Cole wrote to the Yankee Farmer about three varieties of apple.  We provide his description of the “Black Russet”:

The Yankee Farmer
No. 6, Vol. 1
Cornish, Maine, March 16, 1835

     Mr. Cole, - Agreeably to your request, I improve the first opportunity in describing a few varieties of apples, which I consider among the most valuable.
     Black Russet. - This is a very fine fruit, of a large size, good flavor, and keeps a year; it is a good bearer, but to flourish well, requires a strong rich soil.  It is unquestionably among the first apples of our country, but will not cook.  I have been informed by an intelligent orchardist, that it originated in the orchard of one Esq. Plummer of N.H.

     Yours Respectfully,
     IRA COLE
     Limerick, Maine, March 9, 1835.

Ira doesn’t give much of a description of the Black Russet.  This is because he doesn’t need to.  The name tells it all.  In Ira’s day, both “black” apples and “russeted” apples were common.  They still are…amongst heirloom varieties.  The old orchardists growing apples knew intuitively what a Black Russet would look like.  Here’s a quick primer on these two terms:

Black:  An apple is said to be black when it displays a color so darn deep red/blue/purple, that it almost looks black.  An artist or someone accustomed to looking at paint chips will tell you it’s not really black.  But to someone who breeds plants for their colors, it is.  Think of the “black” tulips that are available nowadays…they’re not really black, but boy…that’s about as black as any plant is really gonna get.

Russet:  Simply put, this is rough skin.  It has been described as similar to the skin of a potato.  Perhaps you’ve seen a patch of russeting on a McIntosh you picked-up at the supermarket.  And what did you do?  You put that apple back on the pile, and picked another.  That’s why we don’t see many apples in the supermarket with this naturally occurring condition.  Commercially, russeting is considered today to be undesirable.  (There are other reasons.  Russeting can cause the skin to crack, which is a BIG problem to a grower.)  But russeting is frequently found in the Heirloom Orchard.

I haven't been able to find any other reference to the "Black Russet" apple.  It may not have spread far beyond the orchard of “one Esq. Plummer” of New Hampshire.  But it’s also possible that some clever orchardist re-named it, and we know this apple today as an heirloom variety with a catchier name.

The "Table Greening" apple of Cornish, Maine

On March 9, 1835, Ira Cole wrote to the Yankee Farmer about three new varieties of apple.  We publish his description of the Table Greening here:

The Yankee Farmer
No. 6, Vol. 1
Cornish, Maine, March 16, 1835

     Mr. Cole, - Agreeably to your request, I improve the first opportunity in describing a few varieties of apples, which I consider among the most valuable.
     Table Greening. - This apple, I consider before any other now cultivated, for keeping.  The tree is most luxuriant in its growth, handsome in its appearance, acquires an enormous size, and will bear any situation or exposure.  The fruit is of a very large size, extremely fair, handsome shape, and of a beautiful grass green color, with a purple cheek next the sun.  It is in use from April till October, but may be kept two years with common care.
     This fruit is coarse grained and extremely crisp, and possesses the very rare and valuable property of keeping a great length of time, without growing insipid, or losing its fine flavor.  It is excellent for cooking or for the desert.  It bears every year; in alternate years it is a good, though not profuse bearer; but in the intermediate years, it is rather a shy bearer.  It originated in a very old orchard which I now own in Cornish.  It is as yet but little disseminated.  I count it altogether the most valuable apple that I raise, or that I ever have seen.
     Yours Respectfully,
     IRA COLE
     Limerick, Maine, March 9, 1835.

A.J. and Charles Downing identify the Table Greening in the 1900 issue of their classic Fruits and Fruit Trees of America.  So, presumably it was still a known variety around the turn of the century.  I haven’t been able to find another reference, or description.  Please contact me, or comment on this post if you are familiar with this heirloom variety.  We’d like your comment to become part of the database.

I suspect there’s some clever marketing going on here in the Yankee Farmer.  Perhaps there was a relationship between S.W. Cole, (the “editor and proprietor” of the Yankee Farmer), and Ira Cole, the informant on the Table Greening…Ira is from Limerick, Maine, and states the Table Greening originates from an orchard in Cornish, Maine.  Cornish is also the place where the Yankee Farmer is published.  A later issue of the Farmer contains the above ad for scions.

Origin of the Baldwin (Pecker) and the Russeting Apples

Not only were many of our old Heirloom Apple varieties simply discovered, or stumbled upon (as opposed to the current process of designing hybrids), the naming of these classic varieties was also an informal affair.  Here's an interesting brief account on the origins of the Baldwin and Russeting apples as provided in 1825 by our "obedient servant," a Mr. Joseph Harrington:

The New England Farmer
Boston, Friday, March 24, 1825
Vol. IV, No. 35

In the New England Farmer of the 17th instance I noticed an interesting account of various fruits giving their true names.  Some embarrassment, it was stated, has arisen by reason of two names being given to the same kind of fruit, and particularly, the Baldwin Apple.  I beg leave to explain this difficulty.  This name was given to this apple, in honor of the discoverer.  The grandfather of the present Col. BALDWIN was surveying in the wilderness late in autumn, when he discovered an apple tree baring this fruit; upon examination he found its qualities so superior, that he procured scions from it and introduced it into better company.  This tree was defective on one side, and a wood-pecker had made a hole into it.  Mr. BALDWIN from this circumstance, named the apple the Pecker apple.

The Russeting was first found on the farm in Roxbury belonging to the WARREN family, and on which were born the late Dr. WARREN, and his brother the General, so conspicuous in our revolutionary history.  Hence this valuable fruit is sometimes called the Warren Russeting.  Names are of little importance if the things intended to be made known by them are well understood.  But when the reasons are at hand why things important in life are understood by different names, it may be well to give them; and though the intelligent will not be edified by the information, yet the ignorant, who have yet to learn the history of the most common things, may be essentially benefited.

Your ob't serv't,    JOS. HARRINGTON

"Kane" Spitzenburgh?

Here we find that the famous Esopus Spitzenburg had a cousin found in Dr. Kane's orchard in the 1820's ("more than sixty years" prior to 1881).  Esopus apparently won out, and Mr. Warren gives some reasons.  BTW, how do we spell Spitzenburg (berg) (burgh)?

The Cultivator and Country Gentleman
Albany, NY
February 17, 1881;  Vol. XLVI, No. 1464

(In a previous issue, M.H. inquires) about a Spitzenburgh apple. I think it is our old "Kane Spitzenburgh." The grafts from which it was started here were taken by Mr. John Ewalt from the orchard of Dr. Kane of New Jersey more than sixty years ago. The apple bears the description given by M. H., but has not kept its position with nurserymen from the fact that its early growth is slow; the small twigs of the nursery stocks twist around, are small and look uninviting to purchasers of nursery stock. The tree, however, when grown up and matured is a fine and well shaped tree, and the fruit (now scarce from lack of propagation by nurserymen) is considered among the best of our winter apples - better than the Esopus Spitzenburgh.  F.K. Warren, Trumbull Co., O.

Highland Beauty Apple

Here’s a typical example of how new apple varieties came to be in the good ol’ days.  No complex breeding.  No cloning.  Just dumb luck.  Apples, as you know, do not come true to seed.  So orchardists would occasionally stumble upon some really good tree in their orchard, or elsewhere.  Then, if they had the energy, they’d  promote it.  This promotion may start with a letter like the one that follows.  Most of the time, I imagine the apple wouldn’t turn out to be as good as they thought.  It’s interesting to note that there is emphasis on how the apple “keeps.”  Today, we can get many of our commercial apples any time of the year.  We tend to forget that how well (how long) an apple would keep in storage, was an important trait.

The Cultivator and Country Gentleman
Albany, NY
February 3, 1881;  Vol. XLVI, No. 1462

A Seedling Apple.

I send you herewith a few specimens of my new seedling apple, Highland Beauty, a seedling from the Lady apple.  I have no suitable place to keep apples, and these have been kept in a room where they have been subject to alternations of heat and cold.  Properly cared for, they may be had in good condition until May.
- E.  P.  H.  Cornwall, N.  Y. 

The apples sent varied in size from that of a large Lady apple to that of a very large Tewksbury Winter Blush.  In coloring it resembles these varieties, but in shape it is flattened, and the cavity and basin are very large, and in some specimens quite irregular in shape.  The apple is very tender, mild sub-acid in flavor, and similar to Rambo in quality.  The core is small, and the flesh white.  It is very attractive in appearance, and worthy of extended trial.
- Ed., The Cultivator and Country Gentleman

And a couple years later, we find this in The Gardener's Monthly and Horticulturalist of June 1883: "HIGHLAND BEAUTY APPLE. We have some specimens before us, on the 9th of April, in good ; preservation. They confirm the opinion we have given of it heretofore—that it is a pretty looking apple, an excellent keeper, though by no means a first class eating variety." We can expect that the Highland Beauty didn't get too far.