A cider apple raised by T. A. Knight, Esq., and, along with the Foxley, considered by him superior to any other varieties in cultivation. It was produced from a seed of the Yellow Siberian Crab, fertilized with the pollen of the Golden Harvey, the juice of this variety is most intensely sweet, and is probably, very nearly what that of the Golden Harvey would be in a southern climate, the original tree produced its blossoms in the year 1807, when it first obtained the annual premium of the Herefordshire Agricultural Society.
331. SIELY’S MIGNONNE.—Lind.
- Identification.—[Lind. Guide], 98.
- Synonyme.—Pride of the Ditches, acc. [Lind. Guide].
Fruit, rather small, about one inch and three quarters deep, and the same in diameter; almost globular, but occasionally flattened on one side. Eye, small, with a closed calyx, placed somewhat deeply in a rather irregularly formed narrow basin, surrounded by a few small plaits. Stalk, half-an-inch long, slender, about one half within the base, in a narrow cavity, and occasionally pressed towards one side by a protuberance on the opposite one. Skin, when clear, of a bright yellow, but mostly covered with a grey netted russet, rendering the skin scabrous. Flesh, greenish-yellow, firm, crisp, and tender. Juice, saccharine, highly aromatic, and of a most excellent flavor.
A dessert apple, in use from November to February.
This neat and very valuable little apple, was introduced to notice about the beginning of the present century, by the late Mr. Andrew Siely, of Norwich, who had it growing in his garden on the Castle Ditches, and being a favorite with him he always called it the “Pride of the Ditches.” The tree is a weak grower and somewhat tender. It is therefore advisable to graft it on the doucin stock, and train it either as a dwarf or as an espalier in a garden.—Lindley.
332. SIR WILLIAM GIBBON’S.—Hort.
Fruit, very large, three inches and three quarters wide, and three inches high; calville-shaped, being roundish-oblate, with several prominent angles, which extend from the base to the apex, where they terminate in five or six large unequal knobs. Skin, deep yellow, tinged with green, and strewed with minute russety dots on the shaded side; but deep crimson, streaked with dark red, on the side exposed to the sun. Eye, open, with short ragged segments, set in a deep, wide, and irregular basin. Stalk, very short, imbedded in a deep and angular cavity, which is lined with russet. Flesh, yellowish-white, crisp, juicy, and slightly acid, with a pleasant vinous flavor.
A very showy and excellent culinary apple, in use from November to January.