CROSBY
1. U. S. D. A. Rpt. 391, Pl. VIII. 1891. 2. Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt. 2:58. 1895. 3. Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 224 fig. 1896. 4. Ohio Hort. Soc. Rpt. 58, 59. 1896-97. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 21. 1897. 6. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:211. 1899. 7. Can. Hort. 23:379. 1900.
Excelsior. 8. Am. Gard. 12:699. 1891. 9. Rural N. Y. 50:736. 1891. 10. Am. Gard. 13:47. 1892.
Of the several virtues which entitle Crosby to the esteem of fruit-growers, possibly the most notable is hardiness in tree and bud so marked that it is often called the "frost-proof" peach. It is doubtful, however, whether it is hardier than other peaches of its kind as Chili, Smock and Heath Cling. Besides hardiness, the trees have to recommend them vigor, health and productiveness, the latter character offset somewhat by small size. The quality of the fruit is excellent. The rich, yellow, freestone flesh is delicious to the taste either as a dessert or as a culinary fruit. In these days of showy fruits, however, Crosby falls far short in appearance, the peaches running small, being somewhat irregular and covered with dense tomentum. Still, at its best, in soils to which it is perfectly suited, the peaches are often handsome. But there lies another fault, the variety accommodates itself but poorly to trying soils and climates, failing especially in hungry soils and dark climates. The variety is noted for its willowy growth, small leaves, small flowers, small pits and, as has been said, hardiness. It is an ideal home sort.
Crosby was sent out about 1876 by a Mr. Crosby, a nurseryman of Billerica, Massachusetts. Later the Massachusetts Agricultural College propagated and distributed it in a small way in northern Massachusetts where it was known as Excelsior. The fact that there was another variety called Excelsior made a change necessary and the peach was renamed in honor of Mr. Crosby. The American Pomological Society placed Crosby on its list of recommended varieties in 1897.
CROSBY
Tree small, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, with lower branches slightly drooping, unusually hardy, very productive; trunk thick; branches of medium size, smooth, reddish-brown overspread with light ash-gray; branchlets slender, inclined to rebranch, long, olive-green almost overspread with dark red, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous large and small, conspicuous lenticels.
Leaves rather small and narrow, five and three-fourths inches long, one and one-fourth inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate, thin; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light grayish-green; margin finely serrate or crenate, tipped with dark brownish-red glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, with two to seven rather small, reniform, greenish-yellow glands variable in position.
Flower-buds small, short, conical, pubescent, appressed; flowers appear in mid-season; blossoms pale pink, darker near the edges, nearly one inch across, well distributed; pedicels very short, thick; calyx-tube dull reddish-green, orange-colored within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, narrow, acute, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals oval, tapering to long, narrow claws often red at the base; filaments three-eighths inch long, equal to the petals in length; pistil pubescent at the ovary, equal to or sometimes longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures late; two and three-fourths inches long, two and three-eighths inches thick, roundish or roundish-oblate, slightly compressed, bulged near the apex, with unequal sides; cavity deep, abrupt or flaring, sometimes splashed with red; suture shallow, becoming deeper near the apex and extending beyond; apex roundish, with a sunken, mucronate tip; color orange-yellow, often blushed over much of the surface with dull red, splashed and striped with darker red; pubescence long, thick, coarse; skin thick, tough, adherent to the pulp; flesh deep yellow, stained with red near the pit, juicy, stringy, firm but tender, sweet, mild, pleasant flavored; very good in quality; stone free, one and five-sixteenths inches long, one inch wide, oval, plump, bulged near the apex, with pitted and grooved surfaces; ventral suture with shallow furrows along the sides; dorsal suture deeply grooved, winged.