CHAPTER VIII 

 VARIETIES OF APRICOTS 



In America, the apricot is distinctly a Cali- 

 fornian fruit; more than four million trees 

 have been planted in that state. Indeed, it 

 may be said that California has a monopoly of 

 the apricot industry, furnishing America with 

 fresh fruits and the whole world with the cured 

 and canned product. Elsewhere in the United 

 States, the apricot is grown for the occasional 

 crop the trees may produce, but chiefly as an 

 ornamental, for few other trees are handsomer 

 than an apricot-tree with its dark-green, 

 luxuriant, heart-shaped leaves and large white 

 blossoms. Apricot-culture is confined to Cali- 

 fornia on this continent for the reason that 

 the blossoms appear so early first of all tree- 

 fruits that elsewhere they are usually caught 

 by spring frosts, so that the industry is pre- 

 carious, indeed, except in favored California. 

 The Russian apricots are not so often injured 

 by frosts at blooming-time, but the fruits are 

 hardly worth having after they are in hand. 

 There is a great field for the development of 

 late-blooming apricots for America. But 

 thirty-three varieties of this fruit are de- 

 scribed, and these less satisfactorily to the 

 author than the varieties of any other fruits, 

 since opportunities to study this fruit have 

 been comparatively few. 



ALBERGE. This is an old French sort so 

 vigorous in growth that the tree is commonly 

 used as a stock for other French apricots. For 

 this purpose it is grown from seed, and since 

 it comes nearly true to seed, there are many 

 strains of the variety. The trees of all types 

 are noted as prolific producers, and for their 

 large size. The product of Alberge is very 

 popular in Europe for drying and preserving. 

 One of the strains is remarkable in France for 

 its sweet kernels, which are said to be nearly 

 as good as those of the best sweet almonds. 



Tree large, vigorous, productive, hardy. Flowers mid- 

 season, 1% inches in diameter, white. Fruit 1% inches 

 in diameter, round-oblate ; suture very shallow ; yellow 

 or pale orange which is marked in the sun with many 

 red spots ; skin adherent, thick and rough ; pubescence 

 short, thin, fine ; stem inserted in a deep, narrow cavity ; 

 flesh orange colored, firm, vinous, brisk subacid, per- 

 fumed ; good in quality ; stone large, flat, clinging to 

 the flesh ; kernel bitter. 



ALEXANDER. Alexander is a Russian 

 apricot recommended for the Middle West. 

 It is not worth growing where better sorts 

 thrive. Alexander is often confused with 

 Nicholas. The history of the variety is un- 

 known, but it has been grown in the United 

 States for at least a generation. 



_ Tree vigorous, upright, hardy, healthy, very produc- 

 tive, new growth markedly red ; leaves large ; petiole 1 

 inch in length, bearing several globose glands. Flowers 

 large, white, very early. Fruit ripening in New York 



about August 1st ; small, oblong, flattened ; suture 

 marked but not prominent ; color light orange-yellow 

 with a light flush ; flesh orange-yellow, firm, coarse, juicy 

 sweet ; poor in quality ; stone large, free. 



BARRY. This variety is listed by Wickson 

 as desirable for the central coast valleys of 

 California. As grown in some parts of Cali- 

 fornia, Barry is identical with Royal. The 

 fruit is described as follows by Ltoyd Austin, 

 a student in the University of California: 



Fruit midseason ; large, round, sides but little com- 

 pressed ; cavity medium deep ; suture shallow ; color 

 pale orange, sometimes with a red cheek ; flesh orange ; 

 quality good ; stone large, round-oval, free ; kernel bitter. 



BERGETTI. This apricot is said by Wick- 

 son of California to be "an undetermined 

 variety introduced by Mr. Bergetti and widely 

 distributed under his name in the San Joa- 

 quin." 



BLACK. This is the only variety of Prunus 

 dasycarpa. It has little horticultural value, 

 though it might be grown for the sake of va- 

 riety in regions too cold for the apricots of 

 commerce, since this sort is as hardy as an 

 apple. It reproduces from seed. For a full 

 description, see the discussion of the species 

 on page 119. 



BLENHEIM. Fig. 105. Shipley. Blenheim 

 is one of the popular apricots in California for 

 canning, standing in popularity next to Royal, 

 which it closely resembles. It is grown in 



105. Blenheim. 



every part of the state where the apricot is 

 grown. This is an old sort raised by a Miss 

 Shipley, Blenheim, England. Shipley is no 

 doubt the proper name, but the variety is so 

 well established as Blenheim in the great apri- 

 cot regions of California that it is not advisable 

 to attempt a correction. Loose and Knobel 

 are selected strains growing in Santa Clara 

 Valley, California. 



Tree vigorous, a regular and productive bearer, hardy. 

 Flowers early, large, white. Fruit midseason ; 2 inches 

 in diameter, round-oblong or round-oblate, sides com- 



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