The Apples of New York

Report of the New York Agriculture Experiment Station for the Year 1903
by Horticulturist S.A. Beach, Assistant Horticulturist N.O. Booth, and Foreman in Agriculture O.M. Taylor

The Small Farmer’s Journal Archives owns the two volume set of The Apples of New York which features many glorious color plates of apple varieties, some of them quite rare. Let us know if there is a variety you want information on. We might have it. We also own, thanks to John Reser, a complete set of USDA Agricultural yearbooks, some of which contain their own information and plates on apples as well as other fruit. Past issues of the SFJ have featured some these. LRM

Dudley

A very hardy and productive variety which is being planted to a considerable extent in Northern New England. The fruit is pretty large, bright greenish-yellow washed and splashed with red, quite attractive in appearance and good in quality. Munson says that it is perhaps now more widely grown than any other of the newer sorts that have originated in New England. He considers it a valuable acquisition as a winter fruit for northern localities. As fruited at Geneva it is in season in September and October, although it may sometimes be kept into the winter. It is recommended for trial particularly where a very hardy apple of its season is desired.

Fishkill

Fruit large, rather attractive in appearance, but not good enough in quality to displace standard sorts of its season either for culinary or dessert uses. Downing remarks that it is apt to decay on the tree, but this has not proved true in our experience with the variety. The tree comes into bearing rather early and is almost an annual bearer, yielding fair to good crops of uniformly large fruit. Should it possess superior hardiness it may be worthy of trial in those regions where this character is a prime requisite.

Maiden Blush

This is a beautiful apple of pale lemon-yellow color with crimson cheek. The flesh is white, sprightly, not superior in flavor but good in quality. It is valued especially for market and culinary uses. It makes very white evaporated stock. As grown in Western New York it is in season from September to November or December. It is recognized as a standard market variety and usually sells above the average prices for varieties of its class. In many localities it has proven a very satisfactory variety for the commercial orchard, because the tree is a fine grower, hardy, pretty long-lived, comes into bearing rather young and is a reliable cropper, yielding good to heavy crops biennially or almost annually.

Wealthy

This variety is particularly valuable for cold climates because the tree is very hardy and the fruit sells well, being bright red and good in quality for either dessert or culinary uses. It is in season from October to early winter or mid-winter. Wealthy is being planted for commercial purposes in many parts of the state, but in most localities the trees are as yet comparatively young; in some sections of the state it is being planted more than any other apple of its season. Trees that have become old enough to develop the tendency to produce rather small fruit are in some places being grafted over to other sorts. In other places fruit growers, by adopting such treatment as thinning the fruit and keeping the soil fertile, continue to produce apples of good marketable size when the trees are mature.