P.S.--Query, from whom did the present possessor obtain it?
_The Ribston Pippin_ (Vol. vii., p. 436.).--The remarks of your
correspondent H. C. K., respecting the uncertain origin of the Ribston
pippin, reminded me of a communication which I received about fifty years
ago, from one of the sisters of the late Sir Henry Goodricke, the last of
the family who possessed Ribston. Though it leaves the question concerning
the origin of that excellent apple unsettled, yet it may not be
uninteresting to {487} H. C. K. and some others of your numerous readers. I
therefore send a transcript:
"_Tradition of the Ribston Pippin Tree._
"About the beginning of the last century, Sir Henry Goodricke, father of
the late Sir John Goodricke, had three pips sent by a friend in a letter
from Rouen in Normandy, which were sown at Ribston. Two of the pips
produced nothing: the third is the present tree, which is in good health,
and still continues to bear fruit."
"_Another Account._
"Sir Henry, the father of the late Sir John Goodricke, being at Rouen in
Normandy, preserved the pips of some fine flavoured apples, and sent them
to Ribston, where they were sown, and the produce in due time planted in
what then was the park. Out of seven trees planted, five proved decided
crabs, and are all dead. The other two proved good apples; they never were
grafted, and one of them is the celebrated original Ribston pippin tree."
The latter tradition has, I believe, always been considered as the most
correct.