98. DREDGE’S FAME.—Fors.

Fruit, above medium size; roundish, inclining to ovate, and furrowed round the eye. Skin, dull dingy yellow, with a tinge of green, covered with patches of thin russet, and large russety dots, particularly over the base; and mottled with pale red on the side exposed to the sun. Eye, closed, set in a deep and angular basin. Stalk, about three quarters of an inch long, inserted in a deep cavity which is lined with russet. Flesh, greenish-yellow, firm, crisp, juicy, brisk, and sugary, with a rich aromatic flavor.

This is a valuable and very excellent apple, suitable either for dessert use, or culinary purposes. It is in use from December to March. In his letter to Mr. Forsyth, referred to above, Mr. Dredge says, “This is the best apple yet known; in eating from Easter till Midsummer—most excellent.”

The tree is hardy, a vigorous grower, an early and abundant bearer, but according to Rogers, liable to be attacked by the woolly aphis; still I have never found it more susceptible of that disease than most other varieties.

There are several other varieties mentioned by Forsyth as seedlings of Dredge’s, which I have not met with, as Dredge’s Queen Charlotte, Dredge’s Russet, and Dredge’s Seedling. I have also in my collection, Dredge’s Emperor and Lord Nelson, both of which are grown in the West of England, but I have not yet had an opportunity of seeing the fruit. It is, however, a question whether these are really seedlings of Dredge’s or not; there are several varieties to which he affixed his name, which have been ascertained to be identical with others that existed before him, such as Dredge’s White Lily, which is synonymous with Devonshire Buckland, and Dredge’s Beauty of Wilts, which is the same as Harvey’s Pippin. Such instances tend to weaken our faith in the high encomium passed upon him, by Rogers, of Southampton, in the “Fruit Cultivator,” and induce us to class him with those who not only change the name of some varieties, and append their own to others under the pretence of their being new, and seedlings of their own, but dispose of them at greater prices than they could have procured, had they been sold under their correct names. We have but to glance over the Horticultural Society’s Catalogue, or the Index to this work, to find numerous instances confirmatory of this statement.

99. DUCHESS OF OLDENBURGH.—Hort.

Fruit, large, about three inches and a quarter wide, and two inches and a half high; round, and sometimes prominently ribbed on the sides and round the eye. Skin, smooth, greenish-yellow on the shaded side, and streaked with broken patches of fine bright red, on the side next the sun, sometimes assuming a beautiful dark crimson cheek; it is covered all over with numerous russety dots, particularly round the eye, where they are large, dark, and rough. Eye, large and closed, with long broad segments, placed in a deep and angular basin. Stalk, long and slender, deeply inserted in a narrow and angular cavity. Flesh, yellowish-white, firm, crisp, and very juicy, with a pleasant, brisk, and refreshing flavor.