14 
THE NATIONAL NURSERILAIAN 
THE DELICIOUS APPLE 
By PROF. H. E. VAN DEMAN^ 
Ex-U. S. Pomologist ^ 
Among the tlioiisands of varieties of the apple that 
liave been brought to public notice, there are very 
few that finally find their way into general use. There 
is one thing or another that conies up as serious ob¬ 
jections as time proves what they really are. It takes 
many years of actual test in the orchards and mar¬ 
kets to tell what is in any fruit. Tlie Delicious 
is an apple that has stood all these tests far better 
than is usually the case with one out of a thousand 
that have been at first thought to be worthy of cul¬ 
ture. 
This variety orginated at Peru, Iowa, which is 
sprout or sucker—does not succumb to blight, and 
has never shown signs of tenderness. During the last 
eight years drought and cold have killed three-fifths 
of my orchard, but Delicious withstood it. Bears 
annually, yielding large quantities of luscious fruit, 
both beautiful and delicious. Praised by all who 
liave tasted it. Has a peculiar quality that cannot 
be surpassed nor described and a delicious fragrance. 
Brilliant dark red, often mingled with gold near blos¬ 
som end. Splendid winter keeper, equal to Ben 
Davis. All declare it to be the best apple in the 
world. ’ ’ 
Delicious Apples, showing cross sections of the fruit. 
near Des Moines, the capitol of that State, on the 
premises of Jesse Hiatt, a veteran horticulturist, as 
a chance seedling, about 1880. The tree grew up so 
health)^ and vigorous that it attracted his attention 
and began to bear at an early age. The apples had a 
bright red color and tasted so good that it was soon 
discovered that this was a variety wortliy of further 
notice. As time passed, the fruit was given to others 
to test and all pronounced it excellent. The hardi¬ 
ness of the tree in that cold climate, where it was not 
unusual to experience 30 degrees below zero was also 
a noticeable fact. This is what Mr. Hiatt wrote in 
1895 of the variety, and it is well that he did so be¬ 
fore he passed to the life beyond: 
“The original tree of Delicious is now about 15 
years old and is 13 inches in diameter at ground. 
Makes strong, vigorous growth, similar to Winesap, 
except branches are stronger and need little or no 
pruning. Both tree and fruit are perfect models. 
The tree is strong, has finely molded limbs which are 
adapted to bearing great weights of fruit. Does not 
He sent specimens to the Stark Brothers and they 
were so much pleased with the fruit and what they 
heard of the behavior of the tree that the 
then senior member of the firm, Mr. C. M. 
Stark, made a trip to see it and look crit¬ 
ically into its history and all the facts about 
the variety. The result was that Stark Broth¬ 
ers bought outright the exclusive right to propagate 
it, registered the name Delicious in the U. S. Pat¬ 
ent Office, and in 1894 introduced it to the public 
from the nurserv. Therefore, it has been nearly 
twenty years since the first young trees were planted. 
They have gone about all over the apple planting 
world, not only in this country, but in Europe, Korea, 
Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. I have seen 
Delicious trees growing and bearing from the At¬ 
lantic to the Pacific, and the variety certainly has a 
great record for reliability as well as high quality of 
the fruit. Really, I do not know of any of the re¬ 
gions where apples are grown with success, commer¬ 
cially, that it has not won a liigli place in the estima- 
