444 Report of the Department of Horticulture of the 



in New York, is smaller and not as richly colored as the western 

 grown fruit but is even better in quality — at least, so the Easterners 

 think. All who have tasted Delicious — and who has not? — agree that 

 its rich, distinctive flavor is its chief asset, though it has size and 

 beauty as well. Contrary to the usual behavior of apples, the 

 fruit of this variety, on the Station grounds, seems to increase in 

 size and color as the trees grow older. In New York, the faults 

 of Delicious are susceptibility to water-core and to softening of 

 the flesh about the core and readiness to infection by the spores 

 of apple scab. Delicious cannot be unqualifiedly recommended to 

 commercial apple-growers in New York but it is well worth planting 

 in a probationary way for money-making and every man should 

 plant it in his home orchard. 



Delicious was found in 1881 by Jesse Hiatt of Peru, Madison 

 County, Iowa, and the original tree is still nourishing. Mr. Hiatt 

 states that in 1896 while three-fifths of his orchard was injured by 

 cold and drought, the Delicious has withstood the winter perfectly. 

 " Haw T keye " was the name given by the Hiatt family to the apple 

 and it was usually so called locally. Mr. Hiatt sold the variety 

 to Stark Brothers of Louisiana, Missouri, about 1894 and it was 

 commercially introduced by that firm in 1895 under the name 

 " Delicious." 



Tree large, vigorous, spreading, hardy, productive; branches smooth, stout; leaves 

 large, thick, dark green. Fruit large, uniform, roundish-conic to oblong-conic, 

 ribbed; stem long, medium thick; cavity deep, broad, often furrowed, flaring, greenish; 

 calyx medium, nearly closed, with long, narrow, acute lobes; basin moderately deep, 

 wide, abrupt, very strongly furrowed and corrugated; skin very thick, tough, smooth; 

 color light yellow, nearly to almost entirely overspread with dark, attractive red, 

 splashed and mottled with carmine; dots numerous, small, yellow; core medium in 

 size; seeds of medium size; flesh yellowish, firm, a little coarse, tender, juicy, aromatic, 

 pleasantly subacid, good to very good; season December to last of February. 



Opalescent is one of the most attractive apples grown. It is 

 large, shapely, nearly or quite covered with brilliant red on a yellow 

 background — a veritable feast to the eye. In quality, too, it 

 is excellent. While a comparatively new variety, Opalescent is 

 well known by professional pomologists and now deserves more 

 notice from fruit-growers. Its season ends in January, rather short 

 for a commercial variety, but it ought to prove profitable for late 

 fall and early winter. Cold storage, too, would prolong the season. 

 The young trees on our grounds are hardy, vigorous and productive — 

 all characters thus marking it as a promising variety for New York 

 fruit-growers. We know of no other apple better endowed with 

 characters fitting it to compete with the showy fruit from the West. 



About 1899 McNary and Gaines, Xenia, Ohio, found a number 

 of apple seedlings growing in an old orchard. One was saved and 

 planted in a vacancy in a nearby row with the idea of top-grafting 

 it when large enough. Fruit borne by this tree attracted attention 



