CHAPTER IV 

 VARIETIES OF CRAB-APPLES 



Books and magazines dealing with fruits list 

 fifty or sixty crab-apples, but not more than 

 fifteen or eighteen are mentioned in nursery 

 catalogs. In the cold Northwest, the culture 

 of hardy fruits is being encouraged, and the 

 crab-apple, therefore, is receiving much atten- 

 tion, new varieties being introduced almost 

 annually. The number is certain to increase 

 greatly in the near future. Unfortunately, 

 these new varieties seem not to have been 

 described, so that a few cannot be portrayed 

 at all in this text, while others have but brief 

 discussions compiled from the catalogs of 

 nurserymen. Nearly all of the varieties ad- 

 mitted to this list, however, are growing at 

 Geneva, New York, and full descriptions have 

 been made from these plants. 



BRIER. Brier's Sweet Crab. Van Wyck. 

 Brier is a cross between the Bailey apple and 

 Siberian crab. The variety has no remarkable 

 qualities, and is grown only in Wisconsin, in 

 which state it originated, at Baraboo, soon 

 after the Civil War. 



CHERRY. This crab is remarkable for the 

 large size, productiveness, and regularity in 

 bearing of the trees, which may be further dis- 

 tinguished by their long, slender, curved 

 branches. The fruits are small, red, and 

 rather too coarse to be wholly acceptable. 

 Cherry is an old variety of unknown origin. 



Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open, with long, 

 slender, curved branches. Fruit small, oblate-round, 

 ribbed ; stem long to very long, slender, bracted ; cavity 

 broad, shallow, obtuse, russeted ; calyx medium to large, 

 usually closed, eventually deciduous ; basin wide, shallow, 

 obtuse, wrinkled ; skin pale yellow covered with bright 

 red, often striped with carmine and overspread with 

 thin bloom ; dots distinct, numerous, large, white or 

 russet ; calyx-tube funnel -form ; stamens marginal ; core 

 large, axile ; cells closed ; carpels broadly round or 

 elliptical, emarginate, mucronate ; flesh yellow, coarse, 

 juicy, crisp, mild subacid, astringent ; fair ; August to 

 October. 



CORAL. Coral takes its name from the 

 brilliant color of the fruit yellow, blushed 

 with bright scarlet. The flavor is a little too 

 mild, almost insipid. The fruit is noted for 

 long keeping, its season being from October 



to February. It originated in the vicinity of 

 Marengo, Illinois, and was first described in 

 1869. 



Tree vigorous, spreading, comes in bearing young, 

 annually productive. Fruit 1% inches in diameter, 

 round or oblong, regular ; stem medium to long, slender, 

 bracted ; cavity acute, medium in width and depth, 

 regular, usually russeted ; calyx small, closed ; lobes 

 reflexed ; basin very shallow, broad, obtuse, or none ; 

 skin smooth, yellow, blushed with scarlet ; dots nu- 

 merous, small, gray or russet ; calyx-tube long, narrow, 

 funnel-form ; stamens median ; core small, axile with 

 narrow cylinder in the axis ; cells closed ; core-lines 

 clasp the funnel cylinder ; carpels round-ovate ; seeds 

 compactly fill the cells, small, obtuse, plump, dark ; 

 flesh yellow, breaking, juicy, crisp, sprightly, mild 

 subacid to nearly sweet ; fair to good ; October to 

 February. 



CURRANT. Currant is little more than a 

 curiosity, its small fruits being borne in 

 currant-like clusters. It is said to be one of 

 the hardiest of the crabs, and, since the trees 

 are vigorous, come in bearing young, and are 

 remarkably productive, the variety might well 

 be used in breeding. The flesh lacks the 

 juiciness of a good crab, and the flavor does 

 not commend it. Downing first described the 

 variety in 1857. 



Tree vigorous, upright-spreading or round, open, with 

 long, slender, curved branches. Fruit small, oblate, 

 regular, uniform ; stem medium to long, slender ; cavity 

 obtuse, deep, broad, symmetrical, frequently . russeted ; 

 calyx sometimes deciduous, closed ; lobes narrow, acute ; 

 basin deep, wide, abrupt, obscurely furrowed ; skin 

 thin, tough, smooth, glossy, yellow, striped with bril- 

 liant red, overspread with bloom ; dots numerous, small, 

 pale ; calyx-tube broadly cone-shape, short ; stamens 

 marginal ; core medium to large, axile ; cells closed ; 

 core-lines clasping ; carpels round to elliptical, emargi- 

 nate ; seeds light brown, medium to large, wide, obtuse ; 

 flesh yellow, firm, fine, tender, dry, subacid ; poor ; 

 October and November. 



DARTMOUTH. The fruits of Dartmouth 

 are large and brilliantly colored, very prepos- 

 sessing in appearance, and of fine flavor, but 

 ripen too early for either market or home use. 

 The trees are none too vigorous and bear only 

 in alternate years. The variety originated in 

 New Hampshire and was first described in 

 1883. 



Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open, with long, 

 stout, crooked branches. Fruit medium to large, oblate 

 or round-oblate, ribbed ; stem long and slender, often 

 bracted ; cavity acute, broad, deep, russeted ; calyx 

 small ; lobes long, reflexed ; basin broad, shallow ; skin 

 pale yellow, overlaid with bright red deepening to a 

 dark red on the exposed side, dotted with yellow and 

 covered with heavy bloom ; calyx-tube elongated-cone- 

 shape ; stamens marginal ; core large, abaxile ; cells 

 open; core-lines clasping; flesh yellow, tinged with red 

 next the skin, fine-grained, juicy, mild subacid ; good ; 

 August. 



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