PLATE LIV. 
5. ASHMEAD’S KERNEL. 
This excellent variety was raised in the city of Gloucester, in the garden of Dr. Ashmead, 
an eminent physician there, at the beginning of last century (c. 1700). The original tree existed 
until within the last few years, when the ground on which it stood was sold to build the houses 
which now form Clarence Street. It had obtained very considerable celebrity in the locality by the 
middle of the century, but like the Ribston Pippin , it was a long time before it became generally 
appreciated. It was cultivated in the Brompton Park Nursery, in 1780, at which time it had been 
received from Mr. Wheeler, the Nurseryman at Gloucester; but it is not mentioned in the 
catalogue of the extensive collection of apples cultivated, by Miller and Sweet, of Bristol, in 1790. 
Description. —Fruit : below medium size, round and flattened, but sometimes considerably 
elongated. Skin : light greenish yellow; covered with yellowish brown russet, and with a tinge of 
brown next the sun. Eye : small and partially open, placed in a moderately deep basin. Stalk : 
short, inserted in a round and deep cavity. Flesh : yellowish, firm, crisp, juicy, sugary, rich and 
highly aromatic. 
Ashmeads Kernel is a dessert apple of the very first quality. It has all the richness of the 
Nonpareil , but it is more sweet and juicy. It is in season from November until May. 
The tree is very hardy and bears well. It is so similar in its mode of growth, its shoots and 
leaves to the Nonpareil , that Dr. Lindley believed himself justified in considering it a seedling from 
that variety. It is, however, more hardy, and will succeed in situations unfavourable to the 
Nonpareil. It should be found in every good garden. 
