Cabashea
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Cabashea
Origin / History
Origin unknown (Downing). Beach says the variety appears to be a Western New York seedling, citing the New York State Agricultural Society Transactions of 1849, and that it is now seldom or never planted. The name Cabashea has been applied by many pomologists to the variety commonly known among fruit growers and fruit dealers as Twenty Ounce Pippin, an apple which comes in season about with Tompkins King; the variety generally known in Western New York as Cabashea is a different fruit from that. In 1851 Emmons published a cut of a section of this apple showing well its characteristically oblate form, and remarked, "This apple is more remarkable for its size than for its valuable qualities. . . . It is not, however, an inferior apple. For cooking it is certainly esteemed, as it has a pleasant and agreeable taste. It is, however, too large." Beach does not consider it a good commercial variety, since it is not sufficiently productive and the fruit does not sell very well. Trees were planted at the Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz, B.C., in spring 1890.
Tree
Tree medium size, moderately vigorous; Downing calls it a vigorous grower and the Agassiz catalogue a strong and spreading grower. Form erect or somewhat spreading. Hardy, healthy, medium to long-lived. Twigs medium to long, curved, spreading, stout to rather slender; internodes medium. Young shoots very dark reddish brown, downy (Downing). Bark reddish brown tinged with olive-green, streaked with scarf-skin, heavily pubescent near the tips. Lenticels conspicuous, scattering, large, oval, raised. Buds large, broad, obtuse, free, pubescent; tips stout.
Downing and the Agassiz catalogue call it a poor bearer; Downing adds unprofitable. Beach alone calls it a pretty regular cropper, yielding moderate to rather light crops nearly annually.
Fruit
Size: Large to very large, fairly uniform in size and shape (Beach); very large (Downing, Agassiz).
Form: Roundish oblate to decidedly flat, obscurely ribbed; sides somewhat unequal. Downing and Agassiz add conical.
Stem: Usually short, moderately slender.
Cavity: Acute, deep, very broad, often somewhat furrowed, much russeted with greenish russet often extending beyond the cavity.
Calyx: Large or sometimes medium, usually closed; lobes long, medium in width, acute. Calyx tube large, wide, conical. Stamens basal.
Basin: Large, deep, wide, somewhat furrowed, unsymmetrical.
Skin: Moderately tender, smooth, slightly unctuous. Ground yellowish green, greenish yellow or yellow, mottled and blushed with yellowish red or shaded with dull red, with broad stripes and splashes of brighter and deeper red, or striped and splashed with dull red. Prevailing color in many specimens yellowish green with broad stripes of faint red; in more highly colored specimens the red striping becomes quite distinct.
Dots: Small, inconspicuous, often submerged.
Flesh and flavor: Whitish or white (Downing, Agassiz), or greenish or tinged somewhat with yellow (Beach). Rather firm, coarse, crisp, juicy. Mildly acid to subacid or quite acid. Emmons: "a pleasant and agreeable taste." Quality "Poor" (Downing); "medium" (Agassiz); "fair for dessert, good for cooking" (Beach).
Core and seeds: Core large, decidedly abaxile; cells wide open; core lines meeting. Carpels elongated ovate, distinctly concave, slightly tufted. Seeds few, medium size, irregular, plump, obtuse, dark.
Season
Recorded from September to February. Downing gives December to February and the Agassiz catalogue Winter. Beach gives September and October, about with the true Twenty Ounce, but says it is not so good a keeper.
Uses
Esteemed for cooking (Emmons). Dessert use is secondary to cooking. Not a good commercial variety, as the fruit does not sell very well (Beach).
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 1 catalog (1900)
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
View original book sources (3)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Cabashea.
20-Ounce Pippin. King.
Origin unknown. Tree a vigorous grower, poor bearer, and unprofitable. Young shoots very dark reddish brown, downy.
Fruit very large, roundish oblate, conical, yellow striped and splashed with dull red. Flesh whitish, coarse, subacid. Poor. December to February.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)CABASHEA.
REFERENCES. 1. N. Y. Agr. Soc. Trans., 1849:350. 2. Emmons, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 3:103. 1851. 3. Warder, 1867:714. 4. Thomas, 1875:495. 5. Beach, Apples of New York, 1:91. 1905.
SYNONYMS. CABASHEA (1, 3, 4, 5). Cabashea (2). CABASHIE (2).
The name Cabashea has been applied by many pomologists to the variety commonly known among fruit growers and fruit dealers as Twenty Ounce Pippin (5), an apple which comes in season about with Tompkins King. The variety which is generally known in Western New York as Cabashea comes in season about with the true Twenty Ounce but it is not so good a keeper. In 1851 Emmons published a cut of a section of this Cabashea showing well its characteristically oblate form. Emmons remarked, "This apple is more remarkable for its size than for its valuable qualities. . . . It is not, however, an inferior apple. For cooking it is certainly esteemed, as it has a pleasant and agreeable taste. It is, however, too large." The tree is hardy, healthy, medium to longlived, and a pretty regular cropper, yielding moderate to rather light crops nearly annually. It is not considered a good commercial variety because it is not sufficiently productive and the fruit does not sell very well.
Historical. This variety appears to be a Western New York seedling (1). It is now seldom or never planted.
TREE.
Tree medium size, moderately vigorous. Form erect or somewhat spreading. Twigs medium to long, curved, spreading, stout to rather slender; internodes medium. Bark reddish-brown tinged with olive-green, streaked with scarf-skin, heavily pubescent near tips. Lenticels conspicuous, scattering, large, oval, raised. Buds large, broad, obtuse, free, pubescent; tips stout.
FRUIT.
Fruit large to very large, fairly uniform in size and shape. Form roundish oblate to decidely flat, obscurely ribbed; sides somewhat unequal. Stem usually short, moderately slender. Cavity acute, deep, very broad, often somewhat furrowed, much russeted with greenish russet often extending beyond the cavity. Calyx large or sometimes medium, usually closed; lobes long, medium in width, acute. Basin large, deep, wide, somewhat furrowed, unsymmetrical.
Skin moderately tender, smooth, slightly unctuous, yellowish-green mottled and blushed with yellowish-red, with broad stripes and splashes of brighter and deeper red. Dots small, inconspicuous, often submerged. Prevailing color in many specimens yellowish-green with broad stripes of faint red; in more highly-colored specimens the red striping becomes quite distinct. Calyx tube large, wide, conical. Stamens basal.
Core large, decidely abaxile; cells wide open; core lines meeting. Carpels elongated ovate, distinctly concave, slightly tufted. Seeds few, medium size, irregular, plump, obtuse, dark.
Flesh greenish or tinged somewhat with yellow, rather firm, coarse, crisp, juicy, subacid or quite acid, fair for dessert, good for cooking.
Season September and October.
— Central Experimental Farm, Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz BC — Catalogue of Fruit Trees under Test (Bulletin No. 3, 1900) (1900)Planted Spring 1890. Tree a strong and spreading grower, but a poor bearer. Fruit very large, roundish oblate, conical. Skin greenish yellow, shaded with dull red. Flesh white, coarse, crisp, mildly acid, quality medium. Season Winter.