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Apple Varieties 2
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Bailey Sweet
Bailey Sweet
Grown by: John Kilcherman
Northport, Michigan 1998

from Apples of New York- S.A. Beach:

“This is a very beautiful red apple, distinctly sweet and of very good quality. It is in season from October to January or sometimes later. It is not a very good keeper. In some localities the fruit is apt to be rather scabby and knotty, and unless it is well sprayed the percentage of unmarketable and low-grade fruit runs rather high. The tree is reliably productive but it does not excel either in vigor, health or hardiness. It is not recommended for cultivation.

 

 
At A Glance
name: Bailey Sweet
origin: Perry, New York
date: ca. 1840
parentage: unknown
harvest: October
season: October-February
Historical:
"Bailey Sweet was introduced under this name from Perry, Wyoming county, New York, more than 60 years ago. Whether it originated there or was an old variety brought in from the East is uncertain. Although it has long been known and widely disseminated, there is no section of the state where it is grown in large quantities.

Tree:
"Tree uptight, somewhat spreading, rather open, not dense; branches moderately stout or slender. Twigs rather slender, nearly straight; internodes medium to short. Bark rather dark brownish-red marked with thin gray scarf-skin; sparingly pubescent. Lenticels numerous, medium to below, usually oblong, conspicuous, somewhat raised. buds medium to large, broad, acute to somewhat obtuse, appressed; somewhat pubescent. Leaves often rather broad and large; foliage not dense.
"In the nursery the development of the root system is rather light or weak. In the orchard the tree makes a rather slow or moderately vigorous growth and does not become large. It is a reliable cropper with a tendency to annual bearing. The fruit hangs well to the tree.

Fruit:
"Fruit sometimes as large as Baldwin or larger and averages above medium. Form roundish to roundish conic, or somewhat oblate, ribbed obscurely if at all, rather symmetrical, sides somewhat elliptical; pretty uniform in size and shape. Stem short to medium, rather slender to thick. Cavity acute, usually rather deep, somewhat furrowed, sometimes with sides compressed or lipped, often partly covered with a thin golden-brown russet. Calyx closed or sometimes partly open, small to medium with short obtuse to acute loves. Basin somewhat shallow to very shallow, medium to narrow, obtuse to rather abrupt, often slightly furrowed or slightly corrugated, with a tendency to develop mammiform protuberances.
"Skin rather tender, nearly smooth, clear bright yellow largely covered with deep red, mottled or obscurely striped with darker red. Often irregularly netted marking and dots of whitish or russet-gray contrast conspicuously with the red surface. Whitish scarf-skin sometimes radiates from the cavity. Prevailing effect attractive bright red.
"Calyx tube funnel-shape, medium length with a rather wide limb. Stamens median.
"Core axile, medium in size, closed; core lines clasping. Carpels elliptic to roundish cordate, emarginate. Seeds medium to rather large, long, acute.
"Flesh tinged with yellow, firm, moderately coarse, moderately crisp, rather tender, moderately juicy to juicy, decidedly sweet, agreeable in flavor, very good in quality.
"Season October to January or later."

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Baldwin
Baldwin
Grown by: John Kilcherman
Northport, Michigan 1998

from Apples of New York- S.A. Beach:

"The Baldwin is a bright red winter apple, above medium in size or large, and very good in quality when grown under favorable conditions. It stands handling well because of its firm texture and thick skin. It is a favorite market variety because of its desirable season, good size, attractive red color and good quality.
"The Baldwin is preeminently the leading variety in the commercial orchards in New York, New England, certain regions in Southern Canada, in the southern peninsula of Michigan and on the clay soils of Northern Ohio. In many localities in Northern New York it is apt to winter-kill, especially in the higher altitudes. For the same reason it also fails in portions of Michigan and west of the Great Lakes. In the South and Southwest it is not desirable because it there becomes a fall apple and also because it does not attain as good quality as it does in the Baldwin belt. From Colorado to Washington it is more or less grown in many localities.
Not only is the Baldwin a standard fruit in American markets but it is one of the leading apples used for export trade. It is one of the principal varieties handled in cold storage. The apples of this variety which are unsuitable for barrelling supply a large part of the evaporator stock in New York state, and are also used to some extent by canneries.
"The tree is a strong grower, long-lived and vigorous. The accompanying view illustrates the vigorous development of mature Baldwin trees, as also does the frontispiece. It is somewhat slow in reaching bearing maturity, but when mature it bears very abundantly. In fact, one of the faults of this variety is its habit of producing an overload of fruit biennially and bearing little or none on alternate years. On rather light, sandy or gravelly soils the fruit is apt to have a better color, or at least to color earlier in the season, than it does when grown on heavy clay lands. Some hold that fruit from the lighter or more gravelly soils ripens earlier and consequently scalds earlier in storage than do the duller colored Baldwins grown on heavier soils. The Baldwin is grown successfully on various soils and under various climatic conditions. Besides the other good points of the Baldwin which have been noticed above, it has the advantage of yielding a pretty uniform grade of fruit with a low percentage of culls, when kept free from injurious insects and fungous diseases.
"The Baldwin foliage and fruit are often much injured by the apple scab fungus. It has often been remarked that the prevention of fungus diseases and of the attacks of insects, by proper spraying, not only increases the yield of marketable fruit but improves the quality as well The Baldwin Spot is the name given to brown flecks in the flesh of Baldwin apples. This is not caused by either insects or fungi. It is a physiological defect which is more apt to appear in overgrown than in medium-sized fruit. No remedy is known.

At A Glance
name: Baldwin
origin: Wilmington, Massachusetts
date: 1740
parentage: chance seedling
harvest: October
season: October-February
Historical
"Soon after 1740 the Baldwin came up as a chance seedling on the farm of Mr. John Ball, Wilmington, near Lowell, Mass., and for about 40 years thereafter its cultivation was confined to that immediate neighborhood. The farm eventually came into the possession of a Mr. Butters, who gave the name Woodpecker to the apple because the tree was frequented by woodpeckers. The apple was long known locally as the Woodpecker or Pecker. It was also called the Butters. Deacon Samuel Thompson, a surveyor of Woburn, brought it to the attention of Col. Baldwin of the same town, by whom it was propagated and more widely introduced in Eastern Massachusetts as early as 1784. From Col. Baldwin's interest in the variety it came to be called the Baldwin.
"In 1817 the original tree was still alive but it perished between 1817 and 1832. A monument to the Baldwin apple now marks the location.
"Coxe in his work on fruits in 1817 makes no mention of the Baldwin. Thacher's American Orchardist, published in Boston in 1832, gives it very brief but favorable mention. Flay in his American edition of Lindely, Guide to the Orchard, New York, 1833, does not mention it, but in the appendix to the 1846 edition he describes the Baldwin and state that "in the Eastern States (New England) it is well known, highly esteemed, and extensively cultivated." Kendrick's New American Orchardist, Boston, 1833, says, "No apple in the vicinity of Boston is so popular as this, at the present day. It is raised in large quantities for the market * * * and is recommended for extensive cultivation."
"Hovey in 1852 published an extended description of Baldwin with colored plate. He remarks, "The Baldwin is the most popular apple of New England, and is cultivated to a much greater extent than any other variety. Several large and fine orchards are to be found in the vicinity of Boston, some of which produce about one thousand barrels of fruit every bearing year. for exportation it is much sought after; and the large number of fifteen hundred barrels have been sent to the East Indies in one season."
"Prior to 1850 the Baldwin was but little known in New York state. After that date, with the extension of the planting of commercial orchards, it came rapidly into popularity and gained the supremacy among the commercial apples of New York which it still holds.

Tree
"Tree large, very vigorous; branches large, strong. Form upright spreading, eventually becoming rather round and somewhat dense. Twigs long, straight, or somewhat crooked, moderately stout; internodes medium to long. Bark dark brownish-red mingled with olive-green and faintly conspicuous, raised, usually oblong, sometimes large. Buds medium to large, broad or roundish, acute, pubescent, free or nearly so. Leaves often broad and large to very large; foliage rather dense.

Fruit
"Fruit sometimes large to very large; usually above medium; pretty uniform in size. Form roundish inclined to conic, varying to roundish oblong; often faintly ribbed or somewhat irregular; symmetrical; fairly uniform in shape. Stem usually medium, to long. Cavity acute, medium to rather deep, rather broad, often somewhat furrowed, sometimes compressed, sometimes lipped, often russeted, with outspreading rays of russet or deep green. Calyx small to rather large; closed or somewhat open; lobes long, acute to acuminate. Basin abrupt, narrow to moderately wide; often distinctly furrowed; slightly corrugated.
Skin tough, smooth, light yellow or greenish, blushed and mottles with bright red, indistinctly striped with deep carmine. Flecks of russet, or even broken russet lines, may occasionally be seen on the base of the fruit. Dots gray or whitish, depressed, small and numerous toward the basin, more scattering, conspicuous, large, irregular, or elongated towards the cavity. Prevailing effect is bright red.
"Calyx tube conical, rather short and wide with projection of fleshy pistil point into its base. Stamens basal.
"Core medium or below, nearly axile, closed or partly open; core lines meeting. Carpels roundish ovate, emarginate, somewhat tufted. Seeds variable, often abortive; when normally developed they are large, long, acute, and dark brown.
"Flesh yellowish, firm, moderately coarse, crisp, rather tender, juicy to very juicy, agreeably subacid, sprightly, somewhat aromatic, good to very good.
"Season November to March or April in common storage; to May or later in cold storage."


 

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