MORRIS WHITE
1. Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr. 39, 51. 1848. 2. Elliott Fr. Book 276. 1854. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 22. 1897. 4. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:220. 1899. 5. Fulton Peach Cult. 190, 191. 1908.
White Rareripe. 6. Coxe Cult. Fr. Trees 222. 1817. 7. Prince Pom. Man. 2:26. 1832.
Morris White Freestone. 8. Lond. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 6:410. 1826. 9. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 189. 1846.
Morris White Rareripe. 10. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 481. 1845.
Blanche de Morris. 11. Mas Le Verger 7:171, 172, fig. 84. 1866-73.
Morris Blanche. 12. Leroy Dict. Pom. 6:171 fig., 172. 1879.
Morris White is one of the ancients of American peach-orchards worth noticing now only because of its worthy past. It is distinguished among peach varieties by its white flesh—white clear to the pit with no trace of red even on the surface or next to the stone. It is further distinguished by its sweet, rich flavor—giving it high rank among the best of peaches—and by the great productiveness of the trees. Though undoubtedly the day of Morris White is passed for either commercial or home orchards, it might still be used advantageously in breeding late, white-fleshed, freestone peaches.
William Robert Prince,[263] in his Pomological Manual, describes a White Rareripe which he claims originated in the nursery of his grandfather and which can be no other than the Morris White under discussion. The origin of the variety will always be in doubt but probably the elder Prince originated it in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century. Leroy has confused the history of Morris White with that of Red Rareripe, commonly called Morris Red Rareripe, which probably originated with Robert Morris, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Leroy questions the identity of the White Rareripe mentioned by Coxe but, although the season of Coxe's sort is a trifle earlier than Leroy's, the two are probably the same. There was a White Rareripe grown for a short time in America many years ago which proved to be the old French Nivette renamed. Nivette was not widely disseminated and probably has long since passed from cultivation in America. Morris White was reported upon at the National Convention of Fruit-Growers in 1848 and received a place in the list of recommended fruits. It continued to be listed in the American Pomological Society's fruit-catalog until 1891 when it was dropped but was replaced in 1897 and still remains there.
MORRIS WHITE
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading to drooping, dense-topped, productive; trunk intermediate in thickness and smoothness; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown with very light tinge of ash-gray; branchlets long, with long internodes, dark red mingled with green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with many conspicuous, small, raised lenticels at the base.
Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, flat or curled downward, oval to obovate-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dull, dark green, smooth; lower surface grayish-green; apex long, acuminate; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, with one to five small, globose and reniform glands variable in color and position.
Flower-buds tender, obtuse to conical, plump, very pubescent, usually free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers less than an inch across, pale pink, deepening in color along the edges; pedicels short, thick, glabrous, green; calyx-tube greenish-red, greenish-yellow within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals oval, narrow; filaments three-eighths inch long, equal to the petals in length; pistil longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures late; two and one-sixteenth inches long, two and one-eighth inches wide, cordate-oval or oblate, compressed, with halves nearly equal; cavity abrupt or flaring; suture a line, becoming deeper toward the tip; apex roundish, depressed in the suture, with mucronate tip; color pale white, usually without blush or with a faint bronze blush; pubescence heavy, long and coarse; skin thin, tough, somewhat adherent; flesh white, juicy, tender and melting, sweet, pleasantly flavored; good in quality; stone semi-free to nearly free, one and one-fourth inches long, seven-eighths inch wide, oval to slightly obovate, flattened near the base, with deeply grooved surfaces; ventral suture with deep grooves along the edges, furrowed; dorsal suture grooved.
MOUNTAIN ROSE
1. Tilton Jour. Hort. 7:339 fig. 1870. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 18. 1871. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 1st App. 121. 1872. 4. Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 33, 261. 1874. 5. N. J. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 41. 1878. 6. Ga. Sta. Bul. 42:239. 1898. 7. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:220. 1899. 8. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 2:352. 1903. 9. Fulton Peach Cult. 174. 1908.
For many years Mountain Rose was preeminent among white-fleshed, freestone peaches by virtue of high quality and handsome appearance. It has a distinct and curious but delicious flavor—a sort of scented sweetness that appeals to all who appreciate choicely good fruit. Unfortunately, it fails in the chief requirement for popularity in these days of commercial fruit-growing—the trees are unproductive, a fault so marked that the variety is rapidly passing from cultivation. Mountain Rose sells well in all markets where it is known, usually bringing a fancy price because of its extra good quality and because it follows closely after the dozen or more white-fleshed, clingstones of poorer quality.