Chapter 51
=Mangum.=
A first rate southern fruit. Tree thrifty, and very productive.
Fruit medium, oblate, slightly conic, angular; skin yellowish, striped and mostly shaded with red, thickly sprinkled with whitish and bronze dots; Stem short and small, inserted in a broad cavity surrounded by russet; Calyx partially closed; Basin slightly corrugated; Flesh yellow, very tender, juicy, mild sub acid, excellent, highly prized in Georgia and the South; October and November. Carter of Alabama may prove the same.--[C. Downing.]
=Melon.=
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 133.--MELON.]
Origin East Bloomfield, New York. Tree sufficiently vigorous, spreading, round-headed.
Fruit large, oblate, somewhat conical, angular; Surface smooth, waxen yellow, nearly covered with marbled and mixed scarlet, striped distinctly with darker shade; Dots minute.
Basin, wide, medium depth; Eye medium, open.
Cavity deep, acute, wavy, green and brown; Stem medium.
Core regular, heart-shaped, wide, partially open, clasping; Seeds numerous, medium, angular; Flesh yellow, tender, fine grained, juicy; Flavor acid, sub-acid, aromatic, rich; Quality almost best; Use, table, market and kitchen; Season, November to January.
=Muster.=
This very nice apple was introduced to my attention by my very good friend Calvin Fletcher, Jr., of Indianapolis, in which neighborhood it grows. Its origin and history are unknown, nor do any satisfactory responses come to the oft-repeated question--What is this delicious apple?
Fruit large, oblate, angular; Surface yellow, mostly covered with mixed red and splashes of crimson; Dots scattering, large, yellow and gray.
Basin moderately deep, folded; Eye medium, open.
Cavity medium, regular, brown; Stem medium to short.
Core small, closed; Seeds plump, dark; Flesh yellow, fine-grained, tender, juicy; Flavor sub-acid, aromatic; Quality best for dessert; Season, August and
=Pennsylvania Winesap.=--[Local Name.]
Origin unknown; Grown in Wayne County, Indiana.
Fruit large, conical-oblate, truncated, angular.
Surface smooth, yellow, blushed, very little splashed; Dots scattered, minute.
Basin medium, folded, wavy; Eye medium, closed.
Cavity medium, wavy; Stem medium or short, stout, fleshy.
Core regular, closed; Seeds few, plump; Flesh yellowish-white, tender, fine-grained, juicy; Flavor sub-acid; Quality good; Use, table; Season, December, January.
=Wagener.=
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 134.--WAGENER.]
This beautiful and useful apple originated at Penn Yan, Yates County, New York; was described and figured in the Transactions of the State Agricultural Society.
Tree thrifty, upright, productive, and very early bearer.
Fruit large, oblate or globular-oblate, pentangular; Surface very smooth, yellow, well covered with mixed bright red, stripes not distinct; Dots scattered, yellow.
Basin wide, abrupt, regular; Eye small, closed.
Cavity regular, brown; Stem medium, green.
Core regular, wide, heart-shaped, closed, meeting the eye; Seeds numerous, large, angular; Flesh yellowish-white, tender, fine-grained, juicy; Flavor mild sub-acid; Quality good; Uses, market, table and kitchen; Season, November and December.
CLa.s.s I.--FLAT APPLES.
+ORDER II.--IRREGULAR.+
SECTION 2.--ACID.
SUB-SECTION 3.--RUSSET.
=Cranberry Russet.=
This apple was introduced to the notice of the Ohio Pomological Society by its Vice-President, J. Austin Scott, of Toledo, Ohio.
Fruit medium to large, oblate, flattened at the sides, irregular; Surface rough, russeted, blushed carmine, uneven; Dots numerous, large, gray, prominent.
Basin shallow, uneven; Eye small, partially open.
Cavity deep, acute, green; Stem long, slender, k.n.o.bby.
Core wide, regular, closed; Seeds long, angular, brown; Flesh breaking, tender, not very juicy; Flavor quite acid; Quality second rate, but said to be superior for cooking; Season, November and December.
=Roxbury Russet.=
BOSTON RUSSET.--PUTNAM RUSSET.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 135.--ROXBURY RUSSET.]
This standard apple is perhaps as widely known and as much admired as any other in the catalogue. It was brought to the West by different routes--by the Ohio River and by the lakes--and has been universally distributed. Those brought to the mouth of the Muskingum River, and propagated by Mr. Putnam, had the name changed to that of the Marietta and the Putnam Russet; and at the same time the appearance of the fruit was so altered by increase in the russeting, that it was long thought to be a different variety, until the question was at length settled by interchange of grafts; and when these fruited the ident.i.ty was proved.