Hubbard’s Pearmain was first introduced to public notice by Mr. George Lindley, at a meeting of the London Horticultural Society in 1820. “This,” says Mr. Lindley, “is a real Norfolk apple, well known in the Norwich market; and although it may be found elsewhere, its great excellence may have caused its removal hence. The merits of Hubbard’s Pearmain as a table apple are unrivalled, and its superior, from the commencement of its season to the end, does not, I am of opinion, exist in this country.”
182. HUGHES’S GOLDEN PIPPIN.—Hooker.
- Identification.—[Hook. Pom. Lond.] t. 26. [Hort. Soc. Cat.] ed. 3, n. 284. [Lind. Guide], 18. [Rog. Fr. Cult.] 85.
- Synonyme.—Hughes’s New Golden Pippin, [Fors. Treat.] 108. [Diel Kernobst.] x. 97.
- Figures.—[Pom. Mag.] t. 132. [Ron. Pyr. Mal.] pl. xviii. f. 4.
Fruit, below medium size, two inches and a half wide, and two inches high; round, and flattened at both extremities. Skin, rich yellow, covered with large, green, and russety dots, which are thickest round the eye. Eye, open, with short, flat, acuminate segments, which are generally reflexed at the tips, and set in a wide, shallow, and plaited basin. Stalk, very short, and not at all depressed, being sometimes like a small knob on the flattened base. Flesh, yellowish-white, firm, rich, brisk, juicy, sugary, and aromatic.
A dessert apple of first-rate quality; in use from December to February.
The tree is hardy, and healthy, though not a strong grower, the shoots being long and slender. It is also an excellent bearer.
183. HUNT’S DEUX ANS.—Hort.
- Identification.—[Hort. Soc. Cat.] ed. 3, n. 201.
Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, by two inches and a half high; somewhat conical, irregularly formed, and angular. Skin, greenish, and covered with grey russet on the shaded side; but redish-brown covered with grey russet, and large russety dots, on the side exposed to the sun. Eye, large, and open, with long, spreading, acuminate segments, placed in a deep, angular, and irregular basin. Stalk, half-an-inch long, inserted in a deep, oblique cavity, and not extending beyond the base. Flesh, yellowish-white tinged with green, firm and leathery, juicy and sugary, with a rich and highly aromatic flavor, very similar to, and little inferior to the Ribston Pippin.
A dessert apple of the first quality, whether as regards its long duration, or the peculiar richness of its flavor: it is in use from December to March; but according to Mr. Thompson—no mean authority—it will keep for two years. It may, however, be a question whether or not this is identical with the Hunt’s Deux Ans of the Horticultural Society, which Mr. Thompson regards as only a second-rate fruit. If it is the same, the climate of Somersetshire, whence I had both trees and specimens of the fruit, is more adapted for bringing it to perfection than that of Chiswick.