73. COCCAGEE.—Hort.
- Identification.—[Hort. Soc. Cat.] ed. 3, n. 150. [Lind. Guide], 102.
- Synonymes.—Cockagee, [Fors. Treat.] 97. Cocko Gee.
Fruit, medium sized; ovate, and slightly angular. Skin, smooth, pale yellow, interspersed with green specks. Eye, small and closed, set in a deep, uneven, and irregular basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a narrow and shallow cavity. Flesh, yellowish white, soft, sharply acid, and austere.
One of the oldest and best cider apples. Although it is perhaps the most harsh and austere apple known, and generally considered only fit for cider, still it is one of the best for all culinary purposes, especially for baking, as it possesses a particularly rich flavor when cooked.
The name is said to be derived from Cocko-Gee signifying Goose-dung. In Langley’s “Pomona,” it is said, “This fruit is originally from Ireland, and the cyder much valued in that country. About sixteen or eighteen years since [1727] it was first brought over, and promoted about Minehead, in Somersetshire. Some gentlemen of that county have got enough of it now to make five, six, or eight hogsheads a year of the cyder; and such as have to spare from their own tables, sell, I am told, from four to eight pounds a hogshead. The cyder is of the color of sherry (or rather of French white wine), and every whit as fine and clear. I have tasted of it from several orchards in Somersetshire. It hath a more vinous taste than any cyder I ever drank, and as the sight might deceive a curious eye for wine, so I believe the taste might pass an incurious palate for the same liquor.”
74. COCKLE PIPPIN.—Hort.
- Identification.—[Hort. Soc. Cat.] ed. 3, n. 151. [Lind. Guide], 66. [Rog. Fr. Cult.] 96.
- Synonymes.—Cockle’s Pippin, [Fors. Treat.] 98. Nutmeg Pippin, acc. [Hort. Soc. Cat.] Nutmeg Cockle Pippin, Ibid. White Cockle Pippin, Ibid. Brown Cockle Pippin, acc. [Gard. Chron.] 1846, 148.
- Figure.—[Ron. Pyr. Mal.] pl. xxiii. f. 9.
Fruit, medium sized; conical, and slightly angular on the sides. Skin, greenish yellow, changing as it ripens to deeper yellow, dotted with small grey dots, and covered all over the base with delicate pale brown russet. Eye, small and slightly closed, set in an irregular, and somewhat angular basin. Stalk, an inch long, rather slender, and obliquely inserted in a round and deep cavity, which is lined with russet. Flesh, yellowish, firm, tender, crisp, juicy, and sugary, with a pleasant aromatic flavor.
An excellent dessert apple of the finest quality, in use from January to April. Tree healthy, hardy, and an excellent bearer. This variety is extensively grown in Surry and Sussex.