
                                                                       No 67                                                                     167
Timothy Matlacks
No 4 Cider fruit
House or Greyhouse.

The  character of this apple is very high as
a cider fruit at Marcus hook in Delaware
County Pennsylvania, also in many other parts of our county.
It is of rather small size, round fully even form, smooth skin dull
red colour, mixed with a small proportion of
red in streaks [illegible] with little flavor
still [illegible] as a
dessert fruit  but excellent for culinary uses.
The flesh is firm and rather dry when fully ripe
It takes twelve bushels to make a barrel of
cider which is strong clear and high flavored.
The tree never grows very large from its fruitfulness.

In the nursery
when young in the orchard
it is a vigorous
[illegible] tree but -

it has generally a drooping appearance
after it begins to bear fruit is
not handsome in its growth or form. It
succeeds well on sandy soils, and like
almost all great bearers seldom produces
great crops for two successive years. It is
a good fall and winter fruit for house use.  It is
a native apple, originating in the County 
of Delaware State of Pennsa [Pennsylvania] and first
propagated from a natural tree by a Mr
Roman.  I am informed by the son of Judge Reily of Delaware
who is a bottler in Phil [Philadelphia] that the superior excellence of one of his fathers
orchards is supposed to arise from an under stratum of mud, it is on a point
projecting into the Delaware.  This information I received after extensively
using the same kind of mud as a manure for my apple trees on my
sandy grounds.

[sketch of apple]
        