We give below a letter from Mr. Downing, long known as an eminent
pomologist and more recently yet more distinguished for his writings
upon Horticultural matters. Although a private letter, it is of
general interest, and he will, we hope, indulge the liberty taken.[13]
“HIGHLAND GARDENS, NEWBURGH, NEW YORK,
_Feb. 29th, 1845_.
“MY DEAR SIR: I thank you for the interesting article on
horticulture in the West, which appears in the last No. of
_Hovey’s Magazine_.
“My particular object in writing you at this moment is to
call your attention to the remarks you make on the ‘Golden
Russet,’ which you call ‘the prince of small apples.’ From
your description of this fruit it is the ’sheep-nose,’ or
‘Bullock’s Pippin’ of Coxe, well known here, and one of the
most melting and delicious of apples. I understand from
Professor Kirtland of Cleveland, that this is the apple
known by the name of Golden Russet in his region.
“Will you do me the favor, for the sake of settling the
synonyms, to send me two or three cuttings of the young
wood, by mail? I can then determine in a moment. The
Sheep-nose has long shoots of a peculiar _drab_ color. If
your apple proves the same, I think I shall cancel the title
’sheep-nose’—(a vile name), known only in New Jersey, and
substitute ‘American Golden Russet’[14]—this being its
common title in New England and the West. I speak now in
relation to my work on fruits, now in press.
“What do you mean by the ‘White Bell-flower of Coxe?’ The
Detroit I have carefully examined, and it is quite different
from the Yellow Bellflower. The Monstrous Bellflower—the
only other one Coxe describes—is a large autumn fruit, while
the Detroit keeps till April?
“My work on Fruits has cost me a great deal of labor, but
will still contain many imperfections. When it is out of
press—in about six weeks—I promise myself the pleasure of
sending it with the copy of each of my previous works for
the acceptance of your Horticultural Society. And I then
hope to be favored with your criticism. Hoping an early
answer to my queries herein,
“I am sincerely yours,
“A. J. DOWNING.
“H. W. BEECHER.”
We should have said “Monstrous Bellflower” instead of White.
The Bellflower here mentioned is the White or Green Bellflower of
Indiana, the _Ohio Favorite_ of western Ohio about Dayton, etc., the
_Hollow-cored Pippin of some_; and it has been inquired for, at Mr.
Alldredge’s nursery, as the _Cumberland Spice_. Mr. A—— considered,
from the description given, that the white Bellflower only could have
been meant. But from the following description of Cumberland Spice in
Kenrick, from Coxe, I am inclined to think that the true Cumberland
Spice may have been inquired for.
“The tree is very productive; a fine dessert fruit, large, rather
oblong, contracted toward the summit; the stalk thick and short; of a
pale yellow color, clouded near the base; the flesh white, tender, and
fine. It ripens in autumn, and keeps till winter, and shrivels in its
last stages.”
The fruit was brought to Wayne County, Indiana, by Mr. Brunson. He
came from New York to Huron county, Ohio, and thence to Wayne County,
Indiana. It is universally diffused through the eastern and central
parts of Indiana, and is esteemed a first-rate apple. The _tree_
strikingly resembles the Green Newtown Pippin, but its brush is not so
small, and there is less of it, the top being rather more open. The
wood is brittle, and, as the tree is a free and constant bearer, it
tends to break, and is troublesome to keep in good order. Mr. Ernst
and other gentlemen of Cincinnati suppose the variety to be the
_Detroit_. We cannot say one thing or another, except that it is of
the Bellflower family. The Detroit of New York is a widely different
fruit, of a bright scarlet color, and we never heard of any other
_Detroit_, until the name was applied to this apple.
There is not the least doubt that the _Golden Russet_ of the West is
the _Bullock Pippin_ and _Sheep-nose_ of New Jersey, and we hope that
the proposed name “_American Golden Russet_” will deliver us, for ever
after, from eating any more _sheep-noses_. Names are of importance in
classifying fruits, and there is a pleasure also in having a decorous
name to a good fruit. It is amusing to look through a catalogue of
singular names.
The _Hoss_ apple is popularly the _Horse_ apple, and when, on a
certain contingency a gentleman promised to eat a _hoss_ it was not so
hazardous a threat as some have imagined. The French, in naming their
fruits, exercise a freedom with things human and divine, to which we
occidentals are not accustomed (as, _Ah Mon Dieu! Grosse Cuisse
Madame_, etc.), and an innocent person, recapitulating his pears,
might, if overheard by neighbors understanding French, be thought very
profane, or worse. There are other names which have a tendency to make
the mouth water, as _Onion Pear_. One must have pleasing associations
while eating the _Toad Pear_. (See Prince’s Pom. Man. p. 24 and 34.)
The French _Bon Chrétien_ (or Good Christian) is called in these parts
the _Bon Cheat-em_. Then, there is the Demoiselle, the Lady’s Flesh,
and Love’s Pear (Prince, 58, 34, and 117)—very proper for young
lovers. Then, there is the _Burnt Cat_ (_Chat Bruslé_ of the French,
Prince 89), which undoubtedly has a musk flavor. We have less
objection to the _Priest’s Pear_ (_Poire de Prêtre_, Prince, 108).
Piscatory gentlemen would always angle in our nurseries for the
_Trout_ pear (Prince 130), and if they did not get a bite, the pear
_would_, as it is a fine variety. How did those who named pears,
_Louise Bonne de Jersey_, or _Van Mons leon le clerc_, expect common
folks to hold fast to the true name? But he must have a short memory
indeed, who forgets the emphatic name of _Yat_ or _Yut_.
But to return from our digression. We give the description of the
Golden Russet from three sources, and indorse their general accuracy: