46 SUMMER APPLES IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. 



The tree is a vigorous, spreading grower, fairly productive, but the crops are mostly 

 alternate. The fruit is medium size or above; oblate conic; pale yellow, striped with 

 red; subacid; good to very good in quality. The fruit usually is well colored by the 

 last of July or the first of August in this section and drops as soon as colored. The 

 ripening period lasts for a month or six weeks. By those who know the variety the 

 fruit is esteemed for home use on account of its high dessert quality, but it ripens 

 too irregularly to make it a desirable market sort. 

 Trenton Early. 



The early history of this apple is obscure; it is known, however, to have been in 

 cultivation for a long time. It was listed by Heikes & Wharton, a Pennsylvania 

 nursery firm, in their catalogue for 1823. It is quite widely disseminated, but, as is 

 the case with so many varieties, it is in comparatively few orchards. It would seem 

 probable that it is in some of the older orchards in the New Jersey section of this 

 region, though in the course of these investigations no trees of it have been found in 

 this section. One or two orchards in the Chesapeake peninsula section contain it, 

 but it is not common. 



The fruit is large; conical; greenish yellow, sometimes with bronzed blush; pleas- 

 ant subacid; good to very good. Its season in the sections named would probably 

 begin the last of July or early in August. 

 Wealthy. 



The exact date of origin of this variety is uncertain, but it was about the year 1861. 

 The fruit was first described in 1869. The original tree is stated to have been grown 

 from a collection of crab-apple seed which Mr. Peter M. Gideon, of Excelsior, Minn., 

 obtained from Bangor, Me. There is very little about the variety, however, either 

 in tree or fruit to suggest that it is of crab parentage. On the other hand, it is said 

 that some of its seedlings show crab characteristics. This would appear to give some 

 support to the claim regarding its parentage. 



It is one of the most important late fall and early winter varieties in the upper 

 Mississippi Valley, where cold endurance of the tree is of paramount importance. 

 In recent years it has become quite widely disseminated. It has been planted con- 

 siderably in the New Jersey section, though rarely^ejsewhere in this region. It is 

 becoming an important variety here to supplement the earliest ripening sorts. 



The tree grows well, with rather long slender branches when young. The foli- 

 age is sometimes rather small and weak, though apparently not especially subject 

 to fungous diseases. The fruit is medium to large; roundish oblate; yellowish white 

 under color, heavily striped and splashed with red when well colored; flesh tender, 

 juicy, subacid; quality very good; desirable either for cooking or dessert. In the 

 New Jersey section it is fully ripe from the latter part of August to the first of September, 

 but the variety usually bears heavily and the fruit develops to a sufficiently large size 

 for culinary purposes relatively early. Hence marketing of the green fruit begins 

 frequently the last of July or the first of August, the picking being so done as to thin 

 the fruit on the overloaded trees. By such methods the green fruit is made a source of 

 some revenue, and that which is allowed to remain until later is improved as a result 

 of the thinning. In this way the fruit may be handled throughout the month of 

 August. The variety is generally regarded by those who have it in the New Jersey 

 section as a very desirable and profitable sort to grow. 



Williams. Synonyms: Williams Early, Williams Red, Williams Early Red, Williams 

 Favorite. 



This variety has been in cultivation since about the middle or latter part of the 

 eighteenth century. It originated at Roxbury, Mass., and was first exhibited in 1830 

 at a meeting of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. It is grown considerably in 

 the North and East and to a lesser extent in some other sections.^ 



a For further historical information and a detailed description of this variety, see 

 the Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1908, p. 476. 

 194 



