A culinary apple of first-rate quality; in use from October to January.
The tree attains a pretty good size, is hardy, vigorous, and a good bearer.
This is a very old and favorite apple, first mentioned by Ray, and enumerated in the list of Leonard Meager, as one of the varieties then cultivated in the London nurseries, in 1670. Mortimer made a sad lamentation on the fancied degeneration of the Kentish Pippin, which I have quoted in treating of the Golden Pippin.
196. KERRY PIPPIN.—Hort.
- Identification.—[Hort. Trans.] vol. iii. p. 454. [Hort. Soc. Cat.] ed. 3, n. 380. [Lind. Guide], 19. [Down. Fr. Amer.] 88. [Rog. Fr. Cult.] 79.
- Synonyme.—Edmonton’s Aromatic Pippin, acc. [Hort. Soc. Cat.]
- Figures.—[Hook. Pom. Lond.] t. 20. [Pom. Mag.] t. 107. [Ron. Pyr. Mal.] pl. iv. f. 3.
Fruit, below medium size; oval, sometimes roundish-oval. Skin, smooth and shining, greenish-yellow at first, but changing as it ripens to a fine clear pale yellow color, tinged and streaked with red, on the side next the sun; but sometimes when fully exposed, one half of the surface is covered with bright shining crimson, streaked with deeper crimson; it is marked on the shaded side with some traces of delicate russet. Eye, small and closed, with broad, erect, and acuminate segments, set in a shallow basin, which is generally surrounded with five prominent plaits. Stalk, slender, three quarters of an inch long, obliquely inserted in a small cavity, by the side of a fleshy protuberance. Flesh, yellowish-white, firm, crisp, and very juicy, with a rich, sugary, brisk, and aromatic flavor.
An early dessert apple of the highest excellence; It is in use during September and October.
The tree is a free grower, hardy, and a good bearer, attaining about the middle size. It is well adapted for grafting on the paradise stock, and being grown either as a dwarf, or espalier.
This variety was introduced chiefly through the instrumentality of Mr. Robertson, the nurseryman of Kilkenny, in Ireland.