334 THE APPLES OF NEW YORK. 



the top should be made sufficiently open so that the foliage may be 

 kept in good working condition throughout the tree. The tree is 

 not an early bearer, but when it comes into bearing it is a reliable 

 cropper. In many cases it is inclined to overbear and produce a 

 considerable amount of undersized fruit Some few hold that two 

 pickings should be made on account of the tendency of the fruit 

 to drop, but others report that it hangs to the tree well enough so 

 that but one picking is needed if the fruit is gathered before it is 

 too far advanced in maturity The fruit has a tough skin, stands 

 heat well before going into storage and remains sprightly and 

 crisp till late in the season As grown in Western New York it 

 ordinarily conies into season in November and may be held in 

 common storage till April first or in cold storage till May fifteenth 

 (10). It sells well in markets where there is any considerable 

 demand for a red winter apple of sweet flavor. It is often shipped 

 to Baltimore, Washington and other southern markets. 



Historical. Downing described Sweet Winesap in 1869 as a variety from 

 Pennsylvania (.3), with Henrick Sweet as a synonym. In 1879 fruit of the 

 variety commonly known in Western Ne\v York as Henrick Sweet was identi- 

 fied by Charles Downing for William J. Edmunds, of Brockport. N. Y., as 

 undoubtedly Sweet Winesap. Mr. Edmunds has very kindly supplied us with 

 some of his Sweet Winesap fruit which certainly is identical with the apple 

 grown at Geneva and in other parts of the state as Henrick Sweet or Hendrick 

 Sweet. He has also presented us with Downing's letter, the text of which is 

 here given in full. " In looking over the apples you sent me a month or more 

 since, I am now certain it is the Sweet Winesap which is described in Down- 

 ing's second revised edition, page 378. Many years since the late Isaac Hild- 

 reth. a nurseryman at Geneva, sent me a barrel of this kind which he said 

 went by the name of Henricks Sweet and as you say, they kept through the 

 winter into March with very little waste. Ladies Sweet keeps still later and 

 is one of the best of its season." 



Sweet Winesap has long been cultivated in Western New York under the 



Henrick Sweet and Hendrick Sweet. In some localities, particularly 



in \\ aync county, it is known as Rose Sweet. Occasionally it is erroneously 



Ladies Sweet, Lady Sweet or Lady Sweeting. Since it bears some 



semblance to the true Lady Sweet it is not strange that it is sometimes thus 



'..fused with that variety. Warder listed it under the separate names of 



t Winesap and Henrick Sweet. Thomas in 1875 followed Downing in 



Sweet Winesap as a variety from Pennsylvania and notices Henrick 



is a separate variety. Evidently he was not familiar with this variety 



ie name Sweet Winesap, but he must have recognized that it was 



cal w,th the apple commonly known in his own section as Henrick 



The 1897 edition of Thomas (8), makes Henrick Sweet a synonym 



t Pearmam, but Lyon doubted the correctness of this decision (n) 



