134 



MOORPARK 



ROYAL 



juicy and agreeably acid, but when well ripened it is 

 highly perfumed ; stone impervious, roundish ; kernel 

 bitter." 



MOORPARK. Fig. 110. Moorpark is 

 probably the most widely and the most fre- 

 quently grown of all apricots. Some English 

 horticulturists say that Peach and Moorpark 

 are identical, but the majority believe that 

 there are two distinct varieties under these 

 names. The merits of the variety are chiefly 

 to be found in the fruits, which are of largest 



110. Moorpark. (XV 2 ) 



size, handsome appearance, and best quality; 

 they have long been the standard of excellence 

 in both appearance and quality. The trees 

 have several faults: they are a little tender 

 to cold; are uncertain and irregular bearers; 

 and the crop ripens unevenly. This is a favor- 

 ite variety in some of the California apricot 

 regions, but is not popular in southern Cali- 

 fornia. Moorpark is an old English variety, 

 but is said to have been introduced from 

 France to England at an early date. 



Tree very large, with long, strong shoots, tender to 

 cold, sometimes very productive, but often shy and 

 uncertain and not always healthy. Fruit large, more 

 than 2 inches in diameter, round with truncate base 

 and compressed sides ; cavity small ; suture shallow, 

 dividing the fruit into unequal hal\es; color pale orange, 

 deeper orange and a distinct blush on side next to sun, 

 with brown and red dots ; flesh deep orange, firm, juicy, 

 sweet, rich; best in quali.y; sto.ie free, large, rough, 

 thick ; kernel slightly bitter. 



NEWCASTLE. Several valuable apricots 

 have originated in California which meet local 

 conditions rather better than foreign sorts. 

 One of the best of these is Newcastle, which 

 sprang up in Newcastle, Placer County, in 

 1881. Its especial value is in the earliness of 

 its fruits, which are three to four weeks earlier 

 than Royal, although the trees have the merits 

 of being productive and regular bearers. New- 

 castle grows as follows in New York: 



Tree of medium vigor ; upright in growth, produc- 

 tive. Fruit very early ; round-oblate, smaller than 

 Royal ; cavity deep, narrow ; suture shallow or a line, 

 deep at the cavity ; color lemon yellow, darker on 

 the side to the sun with a blush of red ; pubescence 

 fine, obscure ; skin thick, tough ; flesh deep yellow, 

 juicy, firm, tender, sweet, rich ; quality very good but 

 not as good as Royal ; stone free, large, flat, ovate, 

 pitted. 



OULLINS EARLY. Oullins Early' was 

 introduced from Oullins, France, but Le Roy, 

 one of the best French pomologists, says it is 

 identical with Moorpark. Hogg, the English 



pomologist, says it is an early form of the 

 Peach apricot, a variety very similar to Moor- 

 park. Wickson, a Californian authority, agrees 

 with Hogg, and says it "ripens in Amador 

 county four weeks earlier than Peach." On 

 the grounds of the New York Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, Geneva, New York, three 

 distinct peaches have grown under this name. 

 With this confusion, the author hesitates to 

 describe the variety. 



PEACH. This is one of the oldest and best- 

 known apricots, having been grown in France 

 for at least three centuries. As might be ex- 

 pected with so old a variety, and a name so 

 likely to be used, there is much confusion in 

 the apricots passing under this name. The 

 one here described is the apricot accepted for 

 this name by Hogg, who says it is very similar 

 to Moorpark but not identical. This is prob- 

 ably the apricot grown under this name in 

 California, where the fruit has been a favorite 

 in the Sacramento Valley for canning and 

 drying, but is being discarded because the crop 

 ripens too rapidly, and the conserved product 

 is inferior in appearance. The following is 

 Hogg's description: 



"Fruit large, oval, and flattened, marked with a deep 

 suture at the base, which gradually diminishes towards 

 the apex ; skin pale yellow on the shaded side, and with 

 a slight tinge of red next the sun ; flesh reddish yellow, 

 very delicate, juicy, and sugary, with a rich and some- 

 what musky flavor ; stone large, flat, rugged, and 

 pervious along the back ; kernel bitter." 



ROUTIER PEACH. Apricot-growers of 

 California speak very highly of this variety, 

 which seems to be especially valuable in Sacra- 

 mento and San Joaquin valleys. A notable 

 characteristic is that the tree blooms a week 

 later than that of Peach, which was probably 

 its parent. The variety originated near Sacra- 

 mento, California, with Joseph Routier nearly 

 a generation ago. The fruit is described by 

 Wickson as follows: 



"Large, yellow in the shade ; deep orange, mottled 

 and splashed with red in the sun ; flesh juicy and rich, 

 high flavor and a good market variety." The tree is 

 reported as being especially satisfactory in the regions 

 in which the variety is grown. 



111. Royal. (XV2) 



ROYAL. Fig. 111. Royal is now the lead- 

 ing apricot in the great apricot-growing re- 

 gions of California. In quality of fruit, it is 

 somewhat inferior to Moorpark, but the trees 

 do not have the several serious faults of 



