EXCELSIOR 



LARGE RED SIBERIAN 



73 



EXCELSIOR. Fig. 67. Excelsior is one 

 of the few good dessert crabs, if, indeed, it 

 should be called a crab, for its maternal parent 

 was Wealthy and the other the Cherry crab. 

 The fruits are large and handsome, especially 

 in coloring yellow shaded and splashed with 



67. Excelsior. 



bright red, the latter giving the apples their 

 prevailing color. Besides being a good dessert 

 fruit, it is excellent for culinary purposes. The 

 trees are exceptionally vigorous, hardy, 

 healthy, and come in bearing young, but are 

 productive only in alternate seasons. The 

 crop ripens earlier than that of any other crab. 

 The variety originated with Peter Gideon, 

 Excelsior, Minnesota, and was first described 

 in 1880. 



Tree large, spreading, dense, with long, stout branches. 

 Fruit very large, round-ovate to round-oblate, sym- 

 metrical ; stem long and slender, sometimes bracted ; 

 cavity small, acute, narrow, shallow, often russeted ; 

 calyx large, closed ; lobes reflexed ; basin shallow, broad, 

 obtuse, furrowed ; skin smooth, yellow, shaded and 

 splashed with red ; dots numerous, russet ; calyx-tube 

 wide, cone-shape ; stamens median ; core large, abaxile ; 

 cells unsymmetrical, wide open ; core-lines clasping ; 

 carpels elongated-ovate, sometimes tufted ; seeds long, 

 narrow, acute, tufted ; flesh white, firm, coarse, crisp, 

 juicy, subacid, with Siberian crab flavor ; good to very 

 good ; early September. 



FLORENCE. Florence ia remarkable for 

 the beauty and high quality of its fruit and 

 the fruitfulness of its treesdesirable in every 

 way for an early crab for either home or 

 market plantations. Possibly, the fruits fail 

 somewhat in being somewhat austere and 

 astringent, but still they are rated by all as 

 good in quality. This is another of Peter 

 Gideon's crabs and was first described in 1886. 



Tree vigorous, upright, drooping. Fruit medium in 

 size, uniform in size and shape, oblate, faintly ribbed ; 

 stem very long, slender ; cavity acute, deep, symmetrical, 

 russeted ; calyx variable, small, closed ; basin very 

 shallow, wide, obtuse, furrowed ; skin thin, tough, 

 smooth, yellowish-white overspread with brilliant red, 

 sometimes with white bands radiating from the cavity, 

 overspread with faint bloom ; dots minute, white ; calyx- 

 tube long, wide, urn-shape or funnel-form ; stamens 

 marginal ; core large ; cells closed ; core-lines clasping ; 

 carpels broadly obovate, emarginate ; seeds small, wide, 

 flat, obtuse ; flesh yellow, coarse, crisp, tender, juicy, 

 very brisk subacid, astringent ; good ; late August and 

 early September. 



GENERAL GRANT. This crab has been 

 under cultivation since about 1890, and, while 

 nowhere generally grown, it is still offered by 

 several nurserymen in the East. On the 



grounds of the New York Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, it is not nearly so desirable 

 as several other crab-apples, having two rather 

 serious faults: the fruits rot badly at the core, 

 and the color is too dull to be attractive. The 

 origin is not known. 



Tree vigorous, of rapid growth, rather small, compact, 

 with a slender trunk and slender branches. Fruit small 

 to medium, oblate, slightly ribbed, uniform in size and 

 shape ; stem very long ; cavity acute, deep, russeted ; 

 calyx closed, pubescent, large ; basin shallow, obtuse, 

 deeply furrowed ; skin thin, tender, smooth, greasy ; 

 color greenish-yellow, almost entirely covered with a 

 deep, dull scarlet, striped and splashed with red ; dots 

 small to large, scattering, greenish-russet ; core abaxile, 

 small, with clasping core-lines ; calyx-tube very long, 

 conical ; seeds medium sized, flat on one side, obtuse ; 

 flesh firm, coarse, tender, moderately juicy, subacid ; 

 quality rather poor ; September. 



GIBB. Gibb is another cross between the 

 common apple and the crab-apple, with char- 

 acters that make it somewhat doubtful with 

 which of its parents, Yellow Siberian and Fall 

 Greening, it should be placed. The fruits 

 are large, yellow, blushed with dull red, with 

 remarkably yellow flesh, which is juicy, pleas- 

 antly acidulous, and very good. The trees are 

 slow growing but eventually attain large 

 growth, and are very hardy and fruitful. Gibb 

 originated with George P. Peffer, Pewaukee, 

 Wisconsin. The variety was first described 

 in 1884. 



Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, slow in growth, very 

 hardy and very productive. Fruit large, round-oblate ; 

 stem short, thick ; cavity wide, deep, regular ; calyx of 

 medium size, open ; basin very wide, shallow, wrinkled ; 

 skin thin, yellow, blushed with dull red ; dots white, 

 minute ; flesh remarkably yellow, firm, crisp, juicy, 

 pleasant acid, astringent, sprightly ; fair to good ; early. 



HYSLOP. Hyslop has long been one of the 

 standard American crab-apples, and is widely 

 distributed and extensively cultivated. The 

 apples are a brilliant, dark red with heavy 

 blue bloom, and are thickly borne in large 

 clusters. The flesh is yellow with a tinge of 

 red next the skin, firm, fine-grained, juicy, but 

 eventually becoming dry and mealy. The 

 trees are vigorous, hardy, and fruitful. The 

 origin of the variety is unknown; Warder first 

 set forth its good qualities in 1869. 



Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open. Fruit medium 

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

 obovate, sometimes oblong, regular or obscurely ribbed, 

 symmetrical ; stem short to very long, slender ; cavity 

 acuminate, small, shallow, narrow, sometimes furrowed, 

 often russeted ; calyx closed ; lobes long, narrow, acumi- 

 nate, reflexed ; basin shallow, wide, distinctly fur- 

 rowed and wrinkled ; skin pale yellow overspread with 

 dark red shading to deep carmine and covered with 

 thick bloom ; dots small, numerous, pale ; calyx-tube 

 short, narrow, cone-shape to urn-shape ; stamens median ; 

 core medium size, axile ; cells symmetrical, closed ; core- 

 lines meeting ; carpels elongated-ovate, emarginate ; 

 seeds small, narrow, short, plump, obtuse, brown ; flesh 

 yellow, sometimes with tinge of red next the skin, very 

 firm, fine, at first juicy but becoming dry and mealy, 

 subacid, astringent ; very good ; late September and 

 October. 



LARGE RED SIBERIAN. This old sort, 

 an improvement on Red Siberian, is, in its 

 turn, being superseded by varieties having 

 larger and handsomer fruits. Large Red Si- 

 berian differs from Red Siberian in being 



