We are under obligations to Mr. T. C. Robinson, of Owen Sound, for
calling our attention to an article written for the _Rural New Yorker_,
by Dr. S. H. Hoskins, in which he describes some apples recently
discovered through the exertions of the Montreal Horticultural Society,
and which are as yet mostly unpropagated, although many of them have
been long known among the French population of the Province of Quebec.
Several of these apples are regarded by Dr. Hoskins as belonging to the
Fameuse or Snow Apple class, and seem to be descendants of that well
known and highly esteemed apple. The descriptions given are those of Dr.
Hoskins as they appear in the extract sent by Mr. Robinson.
FAMEUSE SUCRE.—This is an inviting blackish-red little dessert apple,
it is of the same size as Fameuse, but much darker in color than the
reddest of that very variable variety in respect of color; form
roundish, or slightly oblate; flesh white, deeply stained with red; and
very crisp, yet tender, at once mildly sub-acid and sugary, with an
aroma of the most peculiar, penetrating, and enduring quality, more like
that of some spicy foreign grape than of an apple. I am bold to say that
no known apple equals Fameuse Sucre in delicacy and piquancy of taste.
It is a true revelation, in apples, of a capacity for flavor which we
might look for in some rare tropical fruit, than in an apple from the
extreme north. It is not a sweet apple, it is a deliciously sugared
apple, as its name indicates, with a distinct aromatic acidity beneath
the saccharine, like, yet unlike, the highest flavored strawberry. The
season of Fameuse Sucre is from the middle of September until the last
of October, or later. The tree seems as hardy as Fameuse; it is upright
in growth, it spreads but gradually, its branches bear the bright gloss
of health. Like Fameuse, it bears light and heavy crops alternately;
those who have it say it equals Fameuse in yield.
ROSEAU.—This is not the Roseau of any of the books. The fruit is of
even, medium size, oblate, basin wrinkled; color, a very dark red; flesh
white, stained with red, crisp, juicy, sub-acid, high flavored. Season,
September. Tree hardy and long lived, a moderate grower, with an upright
close head; an early, yearly, moderate bearer.
MOUNTAIN BEET.—This is, in some respects, the most singular apple I
ever saw. It is of medium size, roundish-conical, very dark-red, almost
black, yet with the clear red shining through. But the curious thing
about it is its flesh, as deeply red to the core as a blood-beet, with a
red juice, staining the fingers like that of a strawberry. The fruit has
the aroma, but not the sugared quality of the Fameuse Sucre—a sort of
“country cousin” of that variety. This tree is in the hands of at least
one nurseryman, is regarded as productive and hardy, and is being set
for profit in the well-known fruit growing town of Abbotsford, P. Q. It
is the only variety in this list of which I have yet been able to
procure cions. Season of fruit, October and November.
CANADA BALDWIN.—Fruit, size of Fameuse; roundish-oblate, overspread
with streaks and splashes of dark, over light red, with many distinct
grey specks. Flesh white, often much stained with red, tender, crisp,
juicy, mildly sub-acid. Keeps till May or June. The tree is a vigorous
grower, with a somewhat upright though gradually spreading head. It has
fruit spurs distributed evenly along its branches, and bears as young as
the Fameuse, in alternately heavy and light crops. This variety has got
out of the hands of the French, and is propagated and planted to some
extent. It has the fault, on light soils, of sunscalding upon the bark,
but is otherwise hardy. Would probably do well top-grafted.
POMME DE FER.—This is the late keeper of the Province of Quebec. There
is a tradition that it was brought from Philadelphia over a hundred
years ago, by the Seigneur of Chambly; but this is improbable, as it is
not recognized as much resembling any American apple, while its
seedling, the Canadian Baldwin described above, is of the distinct
Canadian type. Tree fairly hardy, a moderate bearer. Fruit, above
medium, roundish to a roundish-oblong, dull-red, with many very distinct
grey dots, somewhat like the Flushing Spitzenburg. Flesh yellow, very
firm, moderately juicy, mildly sub-acid, somewhat aromatic. This apple
keeps till June or July, but is not highly recommended by the Montreal
Society.
STRAWBERRY OF MONTREAL.—This is none of the “Strawberry” apples of the
books. The tree is extra hardy, and its stout and vigorous growth, and
clean, glossy bark, show it to be especially adapted to the cold north.
It is erect in growth, without having a dense head. Fruit above medium
in size, sometimes large, roundish-conic, yellowish, mostly splashed
with red. Flesh yellowish, tender, moderately juicy, mildly sub-acid. It
ripens with the Duchess of Oldenburg, but is a better dessert apple.
Placed by many growers among the best five for profit, and I recommend
it to the attention of your readers in the cold north-west.
DECARIE.—Regarding this apple tree, I make the following extract from
the invaluable report of the Fruit Committee of the Montreal
Horticultural Society for 1876:—“The original tree, producing this
noble apple, stood in Jeremie Decarie’s orchard in Coteau St. Pierre,
east of the Cote St. Luke road, which orchard is now owned by his
grandson of the same name. It was cut down a few years ago. It was then
about a hundred years old, had a butt as large as a flour barrel, and
was of a height so remarkable as to be compared to an elm. The tree is a
vigorous grower, and forms an erect head, which spreads but very
gradually, so that though it attains great size, yet it may be planted
fairly close. We have seen eighty, if not one hundred of these trees,
planted fifteen years ago on the Coteau, and growing in sandy loam, and
from these we judge the tree to be hardy and healthy. It bears light and
heavy crops alternately. We once saw seven barrels under one tree which
had been fifteen years planted. Mr. Lortie, after marketing them for
many years, says they are very profitable. Fruit, on trees grown in
grass, even when they have suffered from want of drainage, large; but
when the soil was cultivated, very large, and commanding marked
attention. Form, roundish-conic to oblong-conic, often deeply ribbed,
with a deep, narrow, russety cavity, and a basin which, though medium in
depth, is wrinkled and obscurely ribbed. Color, light or dark red,
sometimes very dark all over, and covered with a beautiful bluish-white
bloom, with many medium sized gray dots. Flesh whitish, rather firm,
juicy, with, says Downing, a slight peculiar quince-like flavor. Season,
September fifteen to October first.”
With regard to the FAMEUSE SUCRE, the Fruit Committee of the Montreal
Horticultural Society say that it is “an inviting, blackish-red, little
dessert apple. There are about a dozen trees of it in the orchard of the
Hon. E. Prud’homme, at Coteau, St. Pierre. They have been planted some
seven or eight years, but some of them are twenty years old. It has
proved profitable, but is not among the five best kinds for profit. Its
chief merit is as a dessert apple, for which purpose it comes in just
before the middle of September.” Of the POMME DE FER, the Committee say
that it is not likely to be planted in future except in limited
quantities for home use. They say of the =Strawberry of
Montreal= that they know nothing of its origin, the oldest tree
known to them is a grafted tree, planted by the late Charles Bowman, at
Forden, Cote St. Luke, about the year 1835. Of late years, Messrs.
Lacombe, Bigarreau, and Desmarchais, of Cote des Neiges, have propagated
it largely. On the whole, they think it deserves more extensive
cultivation as a hardy tree, whose fruit, ripening at the same time as
the Duchess of Oldenburg, is yet superior to it in quality, and commands
a ready sale in the market. The Committee say of DECARIE, that amateurs
should grow this handsome fruit; but though it is hardy, saleable, and a
heavy bearer, yet commercial orchardists name five other apples to be
preferred before it. They do not mention the =Mountain Beet=,
which is a singular fact, in-as-much as one of the members resides at
Abbotsford, where Dr. Hoskins says it is planted for profit.
The varieties which this Committee name as the best for profit in that
section of the country are, first the Fameuse, which holds the first
place without a rival, especially on account of its adaptability to
various soils, and being their heaviest cropper, selling at $5 per
barrel; second, the St. Lawrence, which brings, in the city market,
thirty per cent. more than the Fameuse, in this way compensating for its
smaller crop, which is from one-half to three-fourths that of the
Fameuse; third, the Alexander, which bears about two-thirds as much as
the Fameuse, and sells for $5 per barrel; fourth, the Red Astracan,
which sells at $2 per bushel; and fifth, the Duchess of Oldenburg, which
bears very nearly as well as the Fameuse, and sells in the city at from
$1.50 to $2 per bushel.
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