Beauty Of Kent
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Beauty Of Kent
Origin / History
A variety of English origin, first noticed by Forsyth in his Treatise on Fruit Trees (Herefordshire Pomona; Bunyard records it as first noticed about 1800). It is not mentioned in any of the nurserymen's catalogues of the last century or the early part of the nineteenth. It was introduced to the Brompton Park Nursery about the year 1820, after which it became very widely cultivated throughout the country (Herefordshire Pomona). It is probably the Rambour Franc of the French pomologists, and a very good representation of it is given in Ronalds' Pyrus Malus Brentfordiensis, plate xv, fig. 1. The George Bunyard catalog (1914) records that it was raised by Moses, Lowland of Kent.
Beach (1905) notes it was but little known in New York. In England, where it originated, it is said to do best under garden culture in warm soil and on Paradise stock; grown in clay and other uncongenial soils it loses quality. The Herefordshire Pomona quotes Downing on its performance in America: "The fruit in this climate is one of the most magnificent of all apples, frequently measuring sixteen or eighteen inches in circumference."
Tree
A strong, vigorous, upright grower (Thomas, Warder, Budd-Hansen, Bunyard, Beach, Herefordshire Pomona). It attains a large size and forms a very handsome tree. Thomas notes the shoots are dark. Bunyard describes the leaf as rather large, dark, down-held, flat, and very deeply curved-serrate.
The tree is better adapted as a standard than as an espalier or pyramid (Herefordshire Pomona). It comes into bearing rather young (Beach) and bears freely; Beach calls it a reliable cropper, moderately productive, while Warder calls it rather productive and Budd-Hansen call it a moderate bearer. Bunyard simply calls it fertile. It has a tendency to canker if not in congenial soil (Herefordshire Pomona).
Fruit
Size. Large to very large (Warder, Thomas, Budd-Hansen, Herefordshire Pomona, Elliott, Beach). Bunyard gives dimensions of 3½ by 3 inches, "fairly large." Downing (as quoted in the Herefordshire Pomona) recorded American specimens frequently measuring sixteen or eighteen inches in circumference. George Bunyard's catalog simply says "Large."
Form. Roundish, somewhat flattened, and somewhat conical (Warder, Thomas, Budd-Hansen); roundish ovate, broad and flattened at the base, narrowing toward the apex where it is terminated by several prominent angles (Herefordshire Pomona); round conical, flattened at base, irregular (Bunyard); "round" per the George Bunyard catalog. Elliott calls it simply roundish. Lowther codes the form as "re." Warder calls it regular; Bunyard calls it irregular.
Surface / Skin. Surface smooth (Thomas, Budd-Hansen). Ground color greenish yellow (Elliott, Warder, Budd-Hansen) or deep yellow slightly tinged with green (Herefordshire Pomona); Bunyard gives yellow-green. On the shaded side there are faint patches of red (Herefordshire Pomona, Budd-Hansen); on the sunny side the fruit is entirely covered with deep red (Herefordshire Pomona) or with large rich purplish-red stripes (Budd-Hansen), with a few patches of deep yellow on the side next the sun (Herefordshire Pomona, Budd-Hansen). Elliott describes it as striped with purpled red; Warder as more or less covered with bright red, mixed and splashed with a darker hue; Thomas as nearly the whole surface striped with rich purplish red; Bunyard as bright red flush with broad dark stripes; George Bunyard's catalog as striped red on yellow; Lowther codes the color as striped or splashed (red). Dots small (Warder).
Stem / Stalk. Short (Warder, Herefordshire Pomona, Budd-Hansen); medium to short (Warder); slender (Thomas, Budd-Hansen); three-fourths to an inch and a half long (Thomas). Bunyard gives a contrasting description: stout and long.
Cavity. Medium, acute, wavy, green (Warder); acuminate (Thomas); wide, deep, acuminate, corrugated, with a large patch of russeting extending out over the base (Budd-Hansen); wide and deep, entirely covered (along with the base) with rough brown russet (Herefordshire Pomona); wide, shallow, and russeted (Bunyard).
Calyx / Eye. Eye very small, closed (Warder, Budd-Hansen, Herefordshire Pomona); calyx small (Thomas, Budd-Hansen). Segments short (Herefordshire Pomona); short, erect, convergent (Budd-Hansen).
Basin. Quite shallow, regular (Warder); deep and narrow (Thomas); narrow, angular, deep (Budd-Hansen); narrow and angular (Herefordshire Pomona); very wrinkled and knobbed (Bunyard).
Flesh and Flavor. Flesh whitish yellow (Warder); yellowish (Herefordshire Pomona, Bunyard); "of a fine yellow tone" (Veitch). Texture tender (Elliott, Thomas, Budd-Hansen, Herefordshire Pomona, Bunyard), breaking (Warder), juicy (Warder, Budd-Hansen, Herefordshire Pomona), and crisp (Budd-Hansen). Flavor: pleasant subacid (Herefordshire Pomona, Budd-Hansen); slightly subacid (Thomas); slightly acid (Bunyard); acid (Warder); "quite brisk tart" (George Bunyard catalog). Quality is variously rated: Elliott calls it inferior; Warder calls it only good and notes its use for cooking and market, for which it is well adapted by its size and appearance; Thomas calls it of rather poor flavor and of little or no value except for cooking; Budd-Hansen calls it fair; Lowther rates the quality "good." Thomas and Budd-Hansen agree it is "one of the most beautiful and magnificent in appearance of all apples." The Herefordshire Pomona declares: "When well grown it is perhaps the most magnificent apple in cultivation."
Core and Seeds. Core regular, medium, ovate, slightly open, clasping the eye (Warder); seeds angular, imperfect (Warder). Budd-Hansen describe the cells as roundish obovate and abaxile, the tube deep and conical, and the stamens median.
Season
Late September to November (Beach); September and October (Warder); October and November (Elliott, Budd-Hansen); late autumn (Thomas); early autumn (Lowther). The Herefordshire Pomona, Veitch (1911), George Bunyard (1914), and E.A. Bunyard (1920) extend the season much further: October to February as a culinary apple in the Herefordshire Pomona, Veitch, and George Bunyard catalog; "till March" per E.A. Bunyard. Veitch notes it keeps a large period and calls it "one of the best keeping apples."
Uses
A valuable and well-known culinary apple — one of the most popular winter apples for culinary purposes, and one of the most desirable and useful either for a small garden or for more extended cultivation (Herefordshire Pomona). Well adapted to the kitchen by its size and appearance (Warder); used for cooking and market (Warder, Lowther). Thomas and Budd-Hansen note it is of little or no value except for cooking, despite its magnificent appearance. The George Bunyard catalog calls it "highly esteemed for cooking."
Subtypes / Variants
E.A. Bunyard records the alternate names Worling's Favourite and Countess of Warwick in parenthesis (1920).
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 8 period pomological works
- The Herefordshire Pomona (1876–1885)
- Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)
- Beach, The Apples of New York Vol. 2 (1905)
- Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)
- Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)
- Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)
- Budd & Hansen, Systematic Pomology (1914) — listed as Kent Beauty
- Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914) — listed as Kent Beauty
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 11 catalogs (1845–1917) from England, Illinois, Massachusetts
- Winship's Nursery (Brighton Nurseries , operated by the Winship family), Brighton (Boston) , Massachusetts — 1845
- Hovey & Co. , Cambridge , Massachusetts — 1849
- Azell Bowditch (Nursery / Fruit Catalog) , Boston , Massachusetts — 1850
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
- James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
- Thomas Rivers & Son , Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire , England — 1913
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917
View original book sources (10)
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Beauty of Kent. Foreign. Large, roundish, greenish yellow, striped with purpled red ; flesh, tender, inferior. October, November.
— John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)Beauty of Kent.
A large English apple, well adapted to the kitchen.
Tree upright, vigorous, rather productive.
Fruit large to very large, roundish, flattened, somewhat conic, regular; Surface greenish yellow, more or less covered with bright red mixed, and splashed with a darker hue; Dots small.
Basin quite shallow, regular; Eye very small, closed.
Cavity medium, acute, wavy, green; Stem medium to short.
Core regular, medium, ovate, slightly open, clasping the eye; Seeds angular, imperfect; Flesh whitish yellow, breaking, juicy; Flavor acid; Quality only good; Use, cooking and market, for which it is well adapted by its size and appearance; Season, September and October.
— Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, The Herefordshire Pomona (1885)BEAUTY OF KENT.
The origin of this handsome apple is not known. It is first noticed by Forsyth in his Treatise on Fruit Trees, but it is not mentioned in any of the nurserymen's catalogues, either of the last or the early part of the present century. It was introduced to the Brompton Park Nursery about the year 1820, and is now very widely cultivated throughout the country. It is probably the Rambour Franc of the French pomologists. A very good representation of it is given in Ronalds' Pyrus Malus Brentfordiensis, plate xv, fig. 1.
Description.—Fruit, large, roundish ovate, broad and flattened at the base, and narrowing towards the apex, where it is terminated by several prominent angles. Skin, deep yellow, slightly tinged with green, and marked with faint patches of red on the shaded side, but entirely covered with deep red, except when there are a few patches of deep yellow on the side next the sun. Eye, small and closed, with short segments, and set in a narrow and angular basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a wide and deep cavity, which, with the base, is entirely covered with rough brown russet. Flesh, yellowish, tender, and juicy, with a pleasant subacid flavour.
A valuable and well-known culinary apple, in season from October to February. When well grown it is perhaps the most magnificent apple in cultivation. Downing says of it in America, "The fruit in this climate is one of the most magnificent of all apples, frequently measuring sixteen or eighteen inches in circumference."
The tree is a strong and vigorous grower. It is better adapted as a standard, than as an espalier or pyramid. It attains a large size, forms a very handsome tree, and bears freely. It is one of the most popular winter apples for culinary purposes, and one of the most desirable and useful either for a small garden or for more extended cultivation. It has a tendency to canker if not in congenial soil.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Beauty of Kent. Very large, rounding, somewhat flattish-conical, fair, smooth, and rather obtuse; nearly the whole surface striped with rich purplish red; stalk three-fourths to an inch and a half long, slender; cavity acuminate; calyx small, basin deep, narrow; flesh tender, slightly sub-acid, of rather poor flavor. One of the most beautiful and magnificent in appearance of all apples, but of little or no value, except for cooking. Late autumn. Growth strong and upright, shoots dark. English.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)BEAUTY OF KENT.
REFERENCES. 1. Forsyth, 1803:55. 2. Ib., 1824:93. 3. London Hort. Soc. Cat., 1831:No. 59. 4. Kenrick, 1832:92. 5. Floy-Lindley, 1833:20. 6. Downing, 1845:81. 7. Hovey, Mag. Hort., 14:250. 1848. fig. 8. Kirtland, Horticulturist, 2:544. 1848. 9. Thomas, 1849:146. 10. Cole, 1849:114. 11. Emmons, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 3:34. 1851. 12. Barry, 1851:283. 13. Elliott, 1854:167. 14. Hooper, 1857:15. 15. Gregg, 1857:41. 16. Downing, Horticulturist, 19:364. 1864. figs. 17. Warder, 1867:584. 18. Fitz, 1872:152. 19. Leroy, 1873:97. fig. 20. Hogg, 1884:17. 21. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:288. 22. Wickson, 1889:245. 23. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:234. 24. Bunyard, Jour. Roy. Hort. Soc., 1898:354. 25. Budd-Hansen, 1903:109. 26. Powell and Fulton, U. S. B. P. I. Bul. 48:46. 1903. 27. Garden, 64:239. 1903. fig. bearing nursery trees.
SYNONYMS. BEAUTE DE KENT (19). BEAUTY OF KENT (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27). Beauty of Kent (19, 26). KENT BEAUTY (25, 26). Kentish Pippin (19, of some 3). Pepin de Kent (19). Pippin Kent (19).
Fruit large, beautiful, showy, suitable for culinary use, in season from late September to November. The tree is large, vigorous, upright, comes into bearing rather young, is a reliable cropper and moderately productive. In England where it originated it is said to do best under garden culture in warm soil and on Paradise stock; grown in clay and other uncongenial soils it loses quality (27). It is but little known in New York.
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Kent Beauty. — Of English origin; tree of strong upright growth, a moderate bearer. One of the most handsomely colored apples, but of little value except for cooking. Fruit very large, roundish, flattened at base, tapering toward the calyx; surface smooth, greenish yellow, with faint red patches on shaded side, on sunny side entirely covered with large rich purplish-red stripes with a few deep yellow patches; cavity wide, deep, acuminate, corrugated, with large patch of russeting extending out over the base; stem slender, short; basin narrow, angular, deep; calyx small, closed; segments short, erect convergent. Cells roundish obovate, abaxile; tube deep, conical; stamens median; flesh juicy, tender, crisp, pleasant subacid, fair. October to November.
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Kent Beauty. Form: "re". Color: striped or splashed (red). Quality: good. Use: both kitchen and market. Season: early autumn.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)BEAUTY OF KENT. Ronalds, p. 15. F., Beauté de Kent; G., Schöner aus Kent. (Worling's Favourite, Countess of Warwick.) Culinary, 3½ by 3, fairly large, till March, round conical, flattened at base, irregular. Colour, yellow green, bright red flush, broad dark stripes. Flesh, tender, yellowish, slightly acid. Eye, closed in a very wrinkled and knobbed basin. Stem, stout and long in a wide, shallow, russeted cavity. Growth, strong; fertile. Leaf, rather large, dark, down held, flat, very deeply curved serrate. Origin, unknown, recorded first about 1800. A very valuable cooking apple for late use.
— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)Flesh of a fine yellow tone, keeping a large period but one of the best keeping apples. Oct. to Feb.
— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Catalog of Fruit Trees (1914) (1914)Culinary; Oct-Feb. Large, round, striped red on yellow. Quite brisk tart flavor. Highly esteemed for cooking. Raised by Moses, Lowland of Kent. (H, B.T., P.)