\ DISCUSSION OF VARIETIES. 39 



The fruit is medium to large; oblong conic; yellow, in some cases having consid- 

 erable blush on the side exposed to the sun; very good to best quality. Its season is 

 about August 1 to 15. 



It bears fairly well in New Jersey, though not as regularly as many other sorts. The 

 fruit does not "take" well on the market, even though of good size and attractive 

 appearance. It is therefore not a profitable apple to grow. It is a variety primarily 

 for home use, either for dessert or culinary purposes. 

 Primate. 



Until quite recently the origin of this variety was obscure, but investigations made 

 within the past few years have apparently been successful in tracing it to its original 

 source. In this connection the following quotation is of interest: 



"The first tablet in New York State in memory of any apple was erected in the 

 town of Camillus, Onondaga County, on the original site of the Primate apple tree. 

 John T. Roberts, Syracuse, N. Y., on the 11th of September, 1903, caused a bronze 

 tablet to be erected there. On this tablet is the following inscription: 



On this farm Calvin D. Bingham, about 1840, produced the marvelous 



Primate Apple. 



Named by Charles P. Cowles, 



God's earth is full of love to man. 



"The ceremony called together a goodly number of people. It was a beautiful 

 thing thus to commemorate an apple that is famous throughout New York State. "a 



This variety is quite common through the North and East, though not grown 

 extensively. So far as observed, it is confined to the New Jersey section of this region. 

 It is, however, in only a small number of orchards. Here the tree is not a strong 

 grower, being considered somewhat tender and rather short lived. It is only moder- 

 ately productive. 



The fruit is medium in size or above; greenish white with slight blush on exposed 

 side; subacid; and good to very good in dessert quality. Its season is about the 

 middle of July, but it frequently extends considerably later as the fruit does not 

 mature uniformly. The fruit is tender fleshed, hence not considered a good sort for 

 shipping to distant markets, though good prices are reported when it is well handled. 

 Its high dessert quality recommends it, however, for home use. 

 Randolph. Synonym: Unknown. 



Though the exact origin of this variety is not known, a single tree, or at most, two 

 trees of it, standing on a farm in Newcastle County, Del., were the first to receive 

 recognition. This occurred in 1869. What was the source of this tree or trees, if 

 there were more than one, has never been determined. & 



The variety has been distributed in a limited way in the middle latitudes in the 

 East and Middle West, but is not grown extensively. In this region, so far as observed, 

 it is confined to orchards in Kent County, Del. But here it is not considered an 

 important variety at the present time. 



The tree is a vigorous grower, but in most orchards where it has been observed it 

 is inclined to be less prolific than is desirable, and the foliage is often injured by some 

 of the leaf-blight fungi. The fruit is small to medium in size; white, washed with 

 crimson and striped with darker crimson; firm texture; mild subacid flavor, but not 

 of high quality. Its season begins about the middle of July, continuing for about 

 two weeks. 



« Proceedings of the Fifty-third Annual Meeting of the Western New York Horti- 

 cultural Society, 1908, p. 151. 



& For further historical information and detailed description of this fruit, see Year- 

 book for 1902, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, p. 472. 

 194 



