208 THE APPLES OF NEW YORK. 



Historical. The original tree was a chance seedling that grew on the land 

 of Peter Bellinger in the village of Herkimer or rather on the line fence divid- 

 ing two of the original tracts of land granted by the Crown in 1725, and being 

 a tree that neither party could claim it was called the Middle apple tree. 1 

 Charles Downing included a description of it in his first revision of Fruits 

 and Fruit Trees of America in 1857 (i). Warder (2) reports that it was 

 introduced into Ohio by John Ludlow of Springfield in 1854 and propagated at 

 the Oakland nurseries. In New York it remains practically unknown to fruit 

 growers outside the vicinity of its origin. 



FRUIT. 



Fruit medium to nearly large, rather uniform. Form varies from elongated 

 ovate or oblong conic to roundish conic, often elliptical or somewhat angular; 

 axis often somewhat oblique. Stem medium in length, rather slender. Cavity 

 acute to acuminate,, usually moderately deep, narrow to moderately broad 

 often compressed or lipped and often with outspreading russet. Calyx medium 

 to rather large, open. Basin often oblique, usually obtuse, shallow to medium 

 in depth, medium in width to narrow, slightly furrowed or wrinkled, some- 

 times compressed. 



Skin rather thin, moderately tender, somewhat rough, at first green but 

 later becoming more or less marbled or shaded with yellow, sometimes lightly 

 mottled with red or having red dots ; often roughened at the base with broken 

 russet. Dots numerous, russet. 



Calyx tube small, conical or somewhat funnel-form with truncate cylinder. 

 Stamens median. 



Core medium to rather large, axile ; cells symmetrical, closed or sometimes 

 partly open ; core lines meeting or somewhat clasping. Carpels thin, tender, 

 deeply emarginate, roundish or varying to elongated ovate, much tufted. Seeds 

 numerous, small to medium, rather narrow, acute. 



Flesh yellowish, breaking, rather fine, crisp, juicy, rather sprightly subacid, 

 somewhat aromatic, very good. 



Season December to February or March; often some portion of the fruit 

 may be kept till late spring. 



MDLAM. 



REFERENCES, i. Phoenix, Horticulturist, 4:470. 1850. 2. Kennicott, Ib., 

 7:431. 1852. 3. Elliott, 1854:174. 4. Robey, Horticulturist, 11:89. 1856. 5. 

 Downing, 1857:217. 6. Hooper, 1857:60. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1862. 8. 

 Warder, 1867:503. fig. 9. Downing, 1869:275. 10. Fitz, 1872:158. n. Barry, 

 1883:349. 12. Thomas, 1885:236. 13. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rft., 1890:294. 

 14. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:244. 15. Budd-Hansen, 1903:127. 



SYNONYMS. Blair (6, 8, 9). Harrigan (i, 3, 5, 9). Thomas (9). Winter 

 Pear main of some (i, 3, 5, 9). 



A medium sized dessert apple which has something of the appearance of a 

 highly colored Rails. In season from November to March. The tree is 

 thrifty and in favorable localities becomes productive when it is mature. 

 Thousands of trees of this variety have been propagated from sprouts for it 

 sprouts readily from the roots (i, 8). 



'Letter, Will E. Kay, 1901. 



