RIBSTON 



ROMAN STEM 



55 



largest size, have wide-spreading, drooping 

 branches, rejoice in health and vigor, load 

 themselves with fruit, and are long-lived. The 

 faults of the fruits are that they bruise rather 



48. Rhode Island Greening. (X%) 



easily, are often disfigured by apple-scab, and 

 scald badly in cold storage. The trees fail in 

 not always holding their load well, in suscepti- 

 bility to apple-scab, and in tenderness to cold. 

 The variety is more fastidious to climate than 

 to soil, refusing to flourish either in extreme 

 northern or in southern apple regions. It 

 prefers the fertile intervale lands of New York 

 or Michigan, whether sandy loam or clayey 

 loam, requiring always good drainage. The 

 name commemorates the state of its nativity, 

 but when and where in Rhode Island it first 

 grew is not known. Its cultivation dates back 

 nearly 200 years. 



Tree large, vigorous, wide-spreading, drooping. Leaves 

 large, broad, foliage dense. Fruit large or very 

 large, uniform in shape and size, round or round- 

 obldte, sometimes conic, regular or a little elliptical, 

 sometimes obscurely ribbed, symmetrical or sides slightly 

 unequal ; stem medium in length, green, pubescent ; 

 cavity acute, medium in depth and width, symmetrical 

 or rarely lipped, smooth, sometimes russeted and with 

 narrow, outspreading russet rays ; calyx large, closed, 

 sometimes partly open, pubescent ; lobes long, acute ; 

 basin small, shallow, obtuse, regular or furrowed ; skin 

 thick, tough, smooth, waxy, green or yellow, sometimes 

 with brownish-red blush which rarely deepens to red ; 

 dots greenish-white or russet, especially numerous toward 

 the basin and often submerged ; prevailing effect green 

 or yellow ; calyx-tube wide, cone-shape with fleshy pistil 

 point projecting into the base ; stamens median ; core 

 small, abaxile ; cells uniform, symmetrical, closed or 

 partly open ; core-lines meeting ; carpels thin, flat, 

 emarginate, round to round-cordate, sometimes tufted ; 

 seeds few, often abortive, large, narrow, long, acute, 

 sometimes tufted ; flesh yellow, firm, fine-grained, crisp, 

 tender, juicy, rich, sprightly subacid ; very good in 

 quality ; November to March. 



RIBSTON. Essex Pippin. Ribston Pippin. 

 Ribston is one of the few exotic apples 

 worth growing in America. The apples are 

 not attractive in appearance, but have a fine 

 rich flavor, a pleasant aroma, and firm, fine, 

 crisp flesh that fit them admirably for dessert. 

 The trees are hardy, vigorous, and long-lived, 

 come in bearing young, and are annually fruit- 

 ful, though not sufficiently productive nor do 

 they hold the crop well enough to make a mar- 

 ket variety. Ribston originated in Yorkshire, 

 England, over two centuries ago, and has been 

 grown in America for at least a century, thriv- 



ing best in New York, New England, and 

 Canada. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, with stout, 

 stocky branches. Fruit medium or large, uniform in 

 size and shape, round, broad and flattened at the base, 

 narrowing toward the basin, occasionally round-oblong, 

 often broadly and obscurely ribbed ; stem pubescent, 

 short, occasionally slender, more often thick, sometimes 

 irregularly swollen or inserted under a lip ; cavity large, 

 acute, deep, wide, sometimes furrowed or compressed, 

 russeted and with outspreading russet rays ; calyx vari- 

 able, small, closed or partly open ; lobes separated at 

 the base, erect, tips usually reflexed ; basin small, shal- 

 low, narrow, abrupt, or occasionally obtuse, often 

 furrowed and wrinkled ; skin smooth or roughened with 

 russet, yellow overspread with dull red which in highly- 

 colored specimens deepens to bright red, with obscure 

 carmine stripes and splashes ; dots scattering, con- 

 spicuous toward the base, more numerous and smaller 

 toward the basin, pale, often areolar with russet center ; 

 calyx-tube wide, cone-shape ; stamens basal ; core small, 

 axile or with a narrow, hollow cylinder at the axis ; cells 

 regular, closed ; core-lines clasping ; carpels elliptical, 

 emarginate, tufted ; seeds variable, some abortive, light 

 and dark brown, large, wide, long, obtuse, sometimes 

 slightly tufted ; flesh yellow, firm, very crisp, juicy, 

 pleasantly aromatic, rich, sprightly subacid ; very good ; 

 September to December. 



RICHARD GRAFT. Red Spitzenberg. 

 Strawberry. Wine. Richard Graft is a product 

 of the Hudson Valley, New York, and at pres- 

 ent is grown only there. It is a fall apple, 

 superior because choicely good in quality, but 

 suitable for a home product only, as the crop 

 ripens in a succession of several weeks. The 

 trees are satisfactory except in bearing bien- 

 nially. The variety was introduced in 1860 

 by E. G. Studley, Claverack, New York. 



Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright, open. Fruit 

 of medium size, round-oblate ; stem of medium length, 

 slender ; cavity small, closed ; basin of medium size ; 

 skin yellow, covered with stripes and splashes of deep 

 red ; flesh yellow, very tender, juicy, aromatic, subacid ; 

 very good ; September. 



ROLFE. Macpmber. Rolfe is a somewhat 

 popular variety in cold regions because of 

 superior hardiness, though it is above the 

 average in both fruit- and tree-characters. The 

 variety originated in the town of Guilford, 

 Maine, about 1820, and is said to be a seedling 

 of Blue Pearmain. 



Tree large, vigorous, spreading and drooping, dense ; 

 laterals slender, willowy. Fruit sometimes large, uniform 

 in shape and size, round or round-oblate, regular or 

 angular, symmetrical ; stem short to medium, slender ; 

 cavity acute, deep, wide, sometimes furrowed or com- 

 pressed ; calyx small, medium, closed ; lobes short, wide, 

 acute ; basin large, regular, shallow, narrow, abrupt, 

 wrinkled ; skin thin, tough, glossy, pale yellow, some- 

 times blushed or in well-colored specimens shaded and 

 striped with red ; dots numerous, inconspicuous, small ; 

 prevailing effect yellow ; calyx-tube narrow, short, 

 funnel-shape ; stamens median ; core variable, medium 

 to large, abaxile ; cells usually symmetrical, wide open ; 

 core-lines clasping ; carpels markedly concave, broadly 

 ovate, emarginate, tufted ; seeds large, long and narrow, 

 plump, acute, light brown ; flesh yellow, fine-grained, 

 crisp, tender, juicy, brisk subacid ; good ; late Septem- 

 ber to January. 



ROMAN STEM. French Pippin. This 

 apple, described as early as 1817, is still more 

 or less grown in the South, in the Mississippi 

 Valley, and in the Pacific states. In the try- 

 ing climate of the Great Plains, it is hardier 

 than almost any other excepting Russian 

 apples. The fruits are suitable for home use 



