The tree is very hardy and an abundant bearer.
11. ASHMEAD’S KERNEL.—Lind.
- Identification.—[Lind. Guide], 86. [Ron. Pyr. Mal.] 63, but not of [Hort. Soc. Cat.] ed. 2.
- Synonyme.—Dr. Ashmead’s Kernel, in Gloucestershire.
- Figure.—[Ron. Pyr. Mal.] pl. xxxii. f. 5.
Fruit, below medium size; round and flattened, but sometimes considerably elongated; the general character, however, is shown in the accompanying figure. Skin, light greenish yellow, covered with yellowish brown russet, and a tinge of brown next the sun. Eye, small and partially open, placed in a moderately deep basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a round and deep cavity. Flesh, yellowish, firm, crisp, juicy, sugary, rich, and highly aromatic.
A dessert apple of the very first quality, possessing all the richness of the Nonpareil, but with a more sugary juice. It comes into use in November, but is in greatest perfection from Christmas till May.
The tree is very hardy, an excellent bearer, and will succeed in situations unfavorable to the Nonpareil, to which its leaves and shoots bear such a similarity, as to justify Mr. Lindley in believing it to be a seedling from that variety.
This delightful apple was raised at Gloucester, about the beginning of last century, by Dr. Ashmead, an eminent physician of that city. The original tree existed within the last few years, in what had originally been Dr. Ashmead’s garden, but was destroyed in consequence of the ground being required for building. It stood on the spot now occupied by Clarence Street. It is difficult to ascertain the exact period when it was raised; but the late Mr. Hignell, an eminent orchardist at Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire, informed me, that the first time he ever saw the fruit of Ashmead’s Kernel, was from a tree in the nursery of Mr. Wheeler, of Gloucester, in the year 1796, and that the tree in question had been worked from the original, and was at that time upwards of thirty years old. From this it may be inferred that the original tree had attained some celebrity by the middle of last century. The Ashmead’s Kernel has long been a favorite apple in all the gardens of West Gloucestershire, but it does not seem to have been known in other parts of the country. Like the Ribston Pippin it seems to have remained long in obscurity, before its value was generally appreciated; it is not even enumerated in the catalogue of the extensive collection which was cultivated by Miller and Sweet, of Bristol, in 1790. I find it was cultivated in the Brompton Park Nursery, in 1780, at which time it was received from Mr. Wheeler, nurseryman, of Gloucester, who was author of “The Botanist’s and Gardener’s Dictionary,” published in 1763, and grandfather of Mr. J. Cheslin Wheeler, the present proprietor of the nursery, to whom I am indebted for specimens of the fruit, and much valuable information connected with the varieties cultivated in that district.
12. AUGUSTUS PEARMAIN—Hort.
- Identification.—[Hort. Soc. Cat.] ed. 3. p. 30.