VARIETIES OF CRAB-APPLES 281 



Tree small, compact, spreading, moderately vigorous and productive. 

 Fruit very large, round; skin i)ale yellow, blushed or mottled on the sunny 

 side and overspread with thin white bloom; tiesh white, firm, crisp, juicy, 

 fine-grained, mild subacid or nearly sweet, slightly astringent; quality good; 

 September and October. 



436. Excelsior (Fig. 107) is one of the few good dessert crabs, 

 if, indeed, it should be called a crab, for its 



maternal parent was Wealthy and the other 

 the Cherry crab. Besides being a good des- 

 sert fruit, it is excellent for culinary pur- 

 poses. The trees are exceptionally vigorous, 

 hardy, healthy, and come in bearing young, 

 but are productive only in alternate seasons. 

 The crop ripens earlier than that of any other fig. 107. Excelsior, 

 crab. The variety originated with Peter 

 Gideon, Excelsior, Minnesota, and was first described in 1880. 



Tree large, spreading, dense, with long stout branches. Fruit very large, 

 round-ovate to round-oblate, symmetrical; stem long and slender, sometimes 

 bracted; cavity small, acute, narroAv, shallow, often russeted; calyx large, 

 closed; lobes reflexed; basin shallow, broad, obtuse, furrowed; skin smooth, 

 yellow, shaded and splashed with red; dots numerous, russet; calyx-tube 

 wide, cone-shape; stamens median; core large, abaxile; cells unsymmetrical, 

 wide open ; core-lines clasping ; carpels elongated-ovate, sometimes tufted ; 

 seeds long, narrow, acute, tufted; flesh white, firm, coarse, crisp, juicy, 

 subacid, with Siberian crab flavor; good to very good; early September. 



437. Yellow Siberian is almost identical with Red Siberian, 

 except in color and size of fruit. The fruits are larger than 

 those of Red Siberian and of clear golden-yellow color. The 

 trees come into bearing young and are reliable croppers, yielding 

 very heavy crops annually. The trees are very hardy but some- 

 times suffer from blight. The season is September. 



438. Hyslop has long been one of the standard American crab- 

 apples, and is widely distributed and extensively cultivated. 

 The apples are a brilliant dark red with heavy blue bloom, and 

 are thickly borne in large clusters. The flesh is yellow with a 

 tinge of red next the skin, firm, fine-gi'ained, juicy, but eventu- 

 all becoming dry and mealy. The trees are vigorous, hardy, and 

 fruitful. The origin of the variety is unknown ; Warder first set 

 forth its good qualities in 1869. 



