148 The Apples of New York. 



Pippin,'' received from Mordecai Debnam, at Sandy Point, were " ingrafted 

 by P. Morton," and in March, 1778, he noted that the grafted trees were 

 planted out at Monticello. 



Prior to 1803 Forsyth said of the variety in England,! " The New-Town 

 Pippin is a fine apple in good season, but seldom ripens with us. It is held 

 in great esteem in America." McMahon,2 in 1806 included Newtown Pippin 

 in his select list of " Long-keeping apples " and also in a list of " Cyder 

 apples." 



Previous to 1817 we have no record that more than one type of the New- 

 town v,as recognized, but Coxe,3 whose work appeared in that year, described 

 as distinct varieties the " Large Yellow Newtown Pippin " and the " Green 

 Newtown Pippin," characterizing the latter as " a variety of the preceding 

 kind." Since the time of Coxe the two types have been recognized as distinct 

 by our leading American pomologists, though fruit growers are by no means 

 unanimous on this point. 



The original seedling tree of Newtown Pippin is alleged to have stood 

 near a swamp on the estate of Gershom Moore, in Newtown, Long Island, 

 until about 1805, when it died from excessive cutting of cions and exhaustion. 

 Its origin is credited to the early part of the eighteenth century. It is not 

 clear at this time whether the original tree was of the "green" or the "yellow" 

 type, nor has any record of a distinct origin of the two been discovered. 



The Yellow Newtown has for many years been considered the better apple 

 for exportation, however, and in commercial orchards has alnx)st superseded 

 the Green Newtown on account of its larger size, brighter color, and better 

 keeping quality. 



Both sorts are exceedingly variable and susceptible to the influence of soil, 

 climate, elevation above sea level, etc. They are successfully grown in but 

 few portions of the apple-producing area of the United States at the present 

 time, the principal localities being the lower portion of the Hudson River 

 valley in New York, the Piedmont and mountain regions of Virginia and 

 North Carolina, and portions of California, Oregon and Washington. 



Though first grown in commercial orchards in New York, New Jersey 

 and Pennsylvania, the excellent quality of the fruit from " some of the Patow- 

 mack counties of Virginia " was noted as early as the time of Coxe. 4 



In Albemarle county, Va.. where it reached a high degree of perfection, it 

 became known as the "Albemarle Pippin" at an early day, and was for many 

 years considered a distinct variety, of local origin, and was so propagated. 



An export trade in the fruit from Albemarle county was inaugurated under 

 favorable auspices by a happy circumstance which occurred in the first year 

 of the reign of Queen Victoria. The account below5 is kindly furnished by 

 Mr. Samuel B. Woods, president of the Virginia Horticultural Society. 



^Cobbett, A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees. Edition with 

 American Notes, 1803 :s8. 



^McMahon, B., The American Gardener's Calendar, 1806:585. 



"Coxe, 1817:142, 143. 



■•Coxe, 18l7:i43. 



'Letter April 30, 1898. The true history of the matter is that in the first year of 

 Queen Victoria's reign Andrew Stevenson, whose home was on a mountain side in 

 Albemarle, was minister to the Court of St. James. He had Albemarle Pippins sent 

 over for his own use and presented the Queen with several barrels. She was delighted 

 with the perfect flavor and excellence of the fruit, and, as a graceful acknowledgment of 

 the courtesy of Mr. Stevenson, removed from Albemarle Pippins a small tax which then 



