Dr. Harvey
Apple
Dr. Harvey
Origin / History
One of the oldest English varieties, noticed by almost all the early authors. First mentioned by Parkinson as "a faire, greate, goodly apple ; and very well relished." Ralph Austin calls it "a very choice fruit, and the trees beare well." According to Ray, it is named in honour of Dr. Gabriel Harvey, of Cambridge: "Pomum Harveianum ab inventore Gabriele Harveio Doctore nomen sortitum Cantabrigiæ suæ deliciæ." The Herefordshire Pomona (1885) calls it a fine apple, well known and extensively cultivated in Norfolk and the north of England generally. Veitch (1911) calls the fruit large and handsome.
Tree
Tree large, hardy, a great bearer; forms a fine pyramid or standard (Veitch). Bunyard (1901) says it bears freely and regularly on old trees but is shy in a young state; a fine orchard tree.
Fruit
Size: Large; three inches wide and about the same high.
Form: Ovate, inclining to be angular.
Stem: Short and slender.
Cavity: Deep, uneven; the stalk inserted in it.
Calyx: Eye small.
Basin: Very slightly depressed, surrounded with several prominent plaits.
Skin: Greenish yellow, marked with ramifications of russet about the apex. Veitch gives a yellowish color, darker on the side exposed to the sun; Bunyard, "rich, yellow colour." Fruit handsome (Veitch).
Dots: Green and white specks.
Flesh and flavor: White, firm, crisp, juicy, pleasantly acid and perfumed; first-rate quality (Herefordshire Pomona). Bunyard calls it rich, soft, of pleasant flavor.
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
September to January. The Herefordshire Pomona gives October to January; Veitch, September to January. The "Guide to the Orchard" says baked fruit keeps a week or ten days.
Uses
Culinary apple. The "Guide to the Orchard" says: "When baked in an oven, which is not too hot, these apples are most excellent; they become sugary, and will keep a week or ten days, furnishing for the dessert a highly flavoured sweatmeat."
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
View original book sources (3)
— Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, The Herefordshire Pomona (1885)Plate XXIII. 3. DR. HARVEY. [Syn : Harvey Apple] This fine apple is one of the oldest English varieties. It is first mentioned by Parkinson as "a faire, greate, goodly apple ; and very well relished." Ralph Austin calls it "a very choice fruit, and the trees beare well." Indeed it is noticed by almost all the early authors. According to Ray, it is named in honour of Dr. Gabriel Harvey, of Cambridge : "Pomum Harveianum ab inventore Gabriele Harveio Doctore nomen sortitum Cantabrigiæ suæ deliciæ." Description.—Fruit: large, three inches wide and about the same high ; ovate inclining to be angular. Skin : greenish yellow, dotted with green and white specks, and marked with ramifications of russet about the apex. Eye : small, very slightly depressed, and surrounded with several prominent plaits. Stalk : short and slender, inserted in an uneven and deep cavity. Flesh : white, firm, crisp, juicy, pleasantly acid and perfumed. A culinary apple of first-rate quality, well known and extensively cultivated in Norfolk and the north of England generally. It is in season from October to January. The tree is large, hardy, and a great bearer. In the "Guide to the Orchard" it is said of this apple : "When baked in an oven, which is not too hot, these apples are most excellent; they become sugary, and will keep a week or ten days, furnishing for the dessert a highly flavoured sweatmeat."
— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Fruit Catalogue (1901) (1901)Large, rich, yellow colour; soft, and pleasant flavour; bears freely and regularly on old trees, but shy in a young state; a fine orchard tree.
— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)large and handsome, of a yellowish colour, darker on the side exposed to the sun, the tree is a great bearer, and forms a fine pyramid or standard ... Sept. to Jan.