Plate VIII. 
8. SAM’S CRAB. 
[Syn : Longvilles Kernel^ 
This Apple, according to Mr. Lindley, “was originated in Herefordshire, where,” he adds, 
curiously enough and very erroneously, “ it is at present but little known.” It is, on the contrary, 
well known in Herefordshire, widely distributed, and very highly esteemed as a very early dessert 
fruit. It is used also for cooking, and for cider. 
Description. —Fruit, conical or roundish ovate, even and regular in its outline. Skin, 
beautifully streaked with crimson, and yellow on the side next the sun, and less so on the shaded 
side, where it is more yellow. Eye, closed, with connivent segments, set in a pretty deep, round, 
and somewhat plaited basin; tube, funnel-shaped ; stamens, median. Stalk, about an inch long, 
slender, inserted in a deep cavity, which is tinged with green. Flesh, yellowish, tender, juicy, 
sweet, and of good flavour. It is tinged with red at the base of the eye, at the base of the stalk, 
and round the carpels. Cells of the core, open ; cell-walls, ovate. 
Mr. With’s analysis, season 1878, gives these characters :— 
Density of Fresh Juice... ... ... ... rc>37 
Ditto after 24 hours’ exposure to air ... ... i'c>46 
100 parts by weight of the juice contained :— 
Sugar ... ... ... ... ... I0’i40 
Tannin, Mucilage, Salts, &c. ... ... ... 4 * 37 ° 
Water ... ... ... ... ... 85 ’490 
Sam’s Crab is one of the most useful of all our early Apples. It requires a warm soil and 
sunny situation to bring its fruit to perfection In unfavourable situations it could hardly be 
recognised as the same Apple. When well ripened it has a rich aroma, and a juicy, sweet, and 
piquant flavour that is seldom equalled. It is a prime favourite with all Herefordshire school 
children (no mean judges of a good Apple), and it is equally attractive to birds and insects, who 
revel in its sweetness. There are undoubtedly two varieties of this Apple, or, as was quaintly 
expressed by a great admirer of the fruit, “ There are two sorts of Sam’s Crab : a basket full of one 
kind is eaten the same day, but the same basket full of the other kind lasts three or four days.” 
