Dyer
Apple
Dyer
Origin / History
Dyer is supposed to be of French origin, the old Pomme Royale or Pomme Royal. Hansen calls it "an old French variety, originally described as Pomme Royal," and Beach's references give it as Pomme Royal in the Magazine of Horticulture, 1837. Thomas calls Pomme Royal "the original name." Downing says it is "supposed to be of French origin, and to have been brought to Rhode Island more than a hundred years ago." Beach and Hedrick give the French origin only as supposed "by some." Elliott calls it American, and Beach reports that Hovey believed it an American apple.
Beach says it was known in cultivation in Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War, and Hedrick likewise places it in cultivation during that war. Hansen says the French name was lost in this country and the present name given. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society named it Dyer in the belief that it was a seedling of Rhode Island. Downing says the Society supposed it a seedling of Mr. Dyer, of Rhode Island. Beach dates the naming to "more than fifty years ago," and Hedrick to "about sixty years ago." Downing held that "the old and familiar name of Pomme Royale should be preferred," but the variety has retained the name Dyer. In Illinois it passed as Pomme Water (Warder). Beach's earliest reference is Kenrick, 1835.
Downing calls it "a popular dessert Apple, very sprightly, tender, and excellent." Beach quotes Lyon: "one of the very finest dessert apples but not a good commercial variety." Warder judges it "not attractive in appearance, but very fine for the amateur." Hedrick finds the greenish yellow, red-blushed fruit "a handsome fruit." He says the flesh makes the fruit "the quintessence of the apple-orchard," but that "this fine apple cannot be enjoyed often nor in quantity, nor by many," and that its culture is confined to the East and Middle West. Beach reports it still occasionally listed by nurserymen, but little cultivated in New York and now seldom, if ever, planted there. Lowther's station table (entry 35) records it from 9 stations in the Northern Division, 9 in the Central, and 4 in the Southern, each reported as adapted to more than one division.
Tree
A fair or moderate grower, not strong. Vigorous in the nursery, but does not grow to be a large tree in the orchard (Beach). Shoots spreading, irregular (Elliott); Warder also calls the tree spreading. Young wood grayish brown (Downing).
Not hardy north (Hansen); a few have been raised in northern Iowa by top-grafting on hardy stocks. Beach says it succeeds better topworked upon some hardier vigorous stock such as Tolman Sweet or Northern Spy, and that it is not long-lived. Hedrick says the trees are not fruitful, vigorous, healthy, or hardy.
An early bearer, coming into bearing young. Hansen calls it an annual bearer. Against this, Beach says it yields good crops biennially, and Hedrick says the trees bear "only biennially." Productiveness moderate to not very productive; Thomas calls it variable.
Fruit
Size: Medium to large. Most authors give medium or medium to large, Beach medium or sometimes large; Thomas alone calls it rather large.
Form: Roundish to round, somewhat flattened or slightly oblate, regular or obscurely ribbed. Downing calls it pretty regularly formed, and Thomas says it often approaches round oblong. Warder describes it as globular, uneven, somewhat angular.
Stem: Medium to long, slender. Downing gives about half an inch, Thomas three-fourths to one inch.
Cavity: Rather small, acute, regular, moderately deep to deep, sometimes lipped. Warder calls it brown. Downing calls it smooth and round, while Elliott calls it slightly furrowed.
Calyx: Small, closed. Segments short to long, recurved; Hansen calls them long and divergent. Tube funnel-shaped; stamens median (Hansen).
Basin: Small to large, shallow to deep, plaited, folded, furrowed, or ribbed. Most authors give medium, shallow to moderately deep. Hansen calls it abrupt. Thomas alone calls it often deep and large.
Skin: Thin (Hansen). Smooth, though Warder calls the surface not smooth. Clear pale yellow, light yellow, or pale greenish yellow, more or less flecked and marbled with thin russet in a net-veining; Thomas says a slight russet network is sometimes present. A faint, brownish, or delicate red blush on one cheek, "a shade of red" in Beach's words. Hansen calls the faint blush rare, and Thomas finds "rarely a faint brown cheek." Lowther's table codes the color "oy."
Dots: Dark or russet; numerous and minute (Warder). Downing gives only "a few dark specks on one side."
Flesh and flavor: Yellowish white or yellowish; white (Downing); "creamy white, half transparent" (Hedrick). Fine to very fine-grained, very tender, very juicy, crisp to very crisp. Flavor spicy, sprightly, aromatic, rich, delicate, highly flavored, mild subacid. Downing gives "very mild and agreeable, aromatic, slightly subacid," and Thomas "a rich, sub-acid, or rather acid, excellent flavor, having but few equals."
Quality very good to best, "excellent" in Downing's opening words. Warder places it at "best," Hansen at "excellent to best, having but few equals," and Lowther's station table at "very good."
Core and seeds: Core medium, regular, round; cells open or closed, Downing and Hansen calling the core hollow or open. Core lines clasping. Seeds numerous, plump, short, medium to small, pale.
Season
The recorded season runs from late August into December. Most authors give September and October, early autumn in Lowther's table. Beach says it comes in late August or early September and ripens continuously until midautumn; the crop does not ripen evenly and requires more than one picking. A later group begins it in October and carries it into November or December. Thomas calls the season variable, November and December. Hansen's 1902 text gives "October to September," while Budd and Hansen give October to December.
Uses
A dessert apple, "very fine for the amateur" (Warder); Lowther lists it for family use. Lyon, quoted by Beach, calls it not a good commercial variety. Hansen says the thin skin prevents distant shipping without bruising.
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
[NOTE: Source text may be incorrect — an additional entry headed "Dyer" in Downing (p. 429) describes White Spice, origin Cumberland Co., Pa., apparently a different apple.] That entry reads: "Fruit large, roundish oblate. Flesh subacid, good. September," citing the American Pomological Society report. The variety is figured in Warder (Fig. 250) and Thomas (Fig. 365).
Book Sources
Described in 9 period pomological works
- Beach, The Apples of New York Vol. 2 (1905)
- Budd & Hansen, Systematic Pomology (1914)
- Hansen, A Study of Northwestern Apples (1902)
- Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867) — listed as Dyer, or Pomme Royale
- Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900) — listed as Dyer, or Pomme Royale
- Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)
- Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)
- Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)
- Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)
USDA Nomenclature (1905)
From W.H. Ragan, Nomenclature of the Apple, USDA Bulletin No. 56
Distinct from Dyer.
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 3 catalogs (1864–1901) from Illinois, Missouri
- St. Helena Nursery , Howell Prairie, Marion County, OR (Marion Co., Ogn.) — 1864
- Mountain Grove Nurseries (Tippin & Moore , Proprietors; Geo. T. Tippin, J. W. Tippin, J. C. Moore), Mountain Grove , Missouri — 1901
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
View original book sources (9)
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Dyer.
Pomme Royal, | Pomme Water, | Bard Apple, Golden Spice, | Bullripe, | White Spice, Tompkins, | Mygatt's Bergamot, | Smithfield Spice. Beard Burden,
American. Tree, a fair grower, not strong, shoots spreading irregular, moderately productive. Size, medium ; form, round, or roundish flattened ; color, clear yellow, with russet marbled more or less over the surface ; stem, long, slender ; cavity, deep, slightly furrowed ; calyx, with long, recurved segments ; basin, medium ; flesh, yellowish white, spicy, sprightly, tender, sub-acid : core, medium ; seeds, small. October and November.
— John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)Dyer, or Pomme Royale.
POMME WATER, in Illinois.
Believed to be a French apple, but named Dyer by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, in the belief that it was a seedling of Rhode Island.
Fig. 250.—DYER, OR POMME ROYALE.
Tree of moderate vigor, spreading, not very productive.
Fruit medium to large, globular, uneven, somewhat angular; Surface not smooth, pale yellow, vein-russeted; Dots numerous, minute, dark.
Basin medium, shallow, folded or plaited; Eye small, closed.
Cavity deep, acute, lipped, brown; Stem long, slender.
Core regular, round, open or closed, clasping; Seeds numerous, plump, short; Flesh yellowish, very tender, very fine-grained, very juicy; Flavor sub-acid, aromatic, rich, delicate; Quality best; Use, the dessert; Season, September, October.
Not attractive in appearance, but very fine for the amateur.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Dyer, or Pomme Royale.
Golden Spice. Pinneo's Favorite. White Spice. Woodstock. Smithfield Spice. Tompkins. Mygatt's Bergamot. Coe's Spice. Beard Burden. Bullripe.
A popular dessert Apple, very sprightly, tender, and excellent. Tree a moderate grower. Young wood grayish brown. It is supposed to be of French origin, and to have been brought to Rhode Island more than a hundred years ago. It was renamed Dyer by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, who supposed it to be a seedling of Mr. Dyer, of Rhode Island, but the old and familiar name of Pomme Royale should be preferred.
Fruit of medium size, roundish, pretty regularly formed. Skin smooth, pale greenish yellow, with a faint blush and a few dark specks on one side. Stalk about half an inch long, set in a smooth, round cavity. Calyx closed. Basin plaited, moderately deep. Core round, hollow. Flesh white, very tender and juicy ; flavor very mild and agreeable, aromatic, slightly subacid. Very good to best. September, October.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Dyer", pp. 429–429]
White Spice. Origin, Cumberland Co., Pa. Fruit large, roundish oblate. Flesh subacid, good. September. (A. Pom. S. Rep.)
— N.E. Hansen, A Study of Northwestern Apples (1902)Dyer—An old French variety, originally described as Pomme Royal, but the name having been lost in this country it was given its present name. The tree is a fair grower, an annual and early bearer, but the thin skin of the fruit prevents distant shipping without bruising—Fruit medium to large, roundish, somewhat flattened, obscurely ribbed; surface smooth, clear greenish yellow, with rarely a faint blush and with more or less thin russet net-veining; cavity regular, deep; stem medium; basin medium, abrupt, ribbed; calyx closed, segments long, divergent. Core open, round; tube funnel-shaped; stamens median; seeds many, small; flesh yellowish white, spicy, very tender and juicy, rich aromatic, sprightly subacid, quality excellent to best, having but few equals. October to September. Not hardy north, but a few have been raised in northern Iowa by top-grafting on hardy stocks.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Dyer.* (Pomme Royal, which is the original name.) Rather large, roundish, often approaching round oblong, sometimes slightly flattened, obscurely ribbed; light yellow, rarely a faint brown cheek, and sometimes a slight russet network over the skin; stalk three-fourths to one inch long; basin often deep and large, ribbed; flesh very fine-grained, tender, very juicy, with a rich, sub-acid, or rather acid, excellent flavor, having but few equals. Fig. 365. Season variable; November, December. Productiveness variable. An early bearer.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)DYER.
REFERENCES. 1. Kenrick, 1835:60. 2. Mag. Hort., 3:37. 1837. 3. Downing, 1845:83. 4. Horticulturist, 2:289. 5. Cole, 1849:111. 6. Thomas, 1849:153. fig. 7. Barry, 1851:283, 286. 8. Emmons, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 3:39. 1851. 9. Elliott, 1854:75. 10. Hooper, 1857:30. 11. Hovey, Mag. Hort., 27:70. 1861. fig. 12. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1862. 13. Warder, 1867:639. fig. 14. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:290. 15. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:238. 16. Hansen, S. D. Sta. Bul., 76:47. 1902. 17. Budd-Hansen, 1903:72. fig.
SYNONYMS. Bard Apple (9, 11). Beard Burden (9, 11). Bullripe (9, 11). Coe's Spice (11). DYER (1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17). Dyer (4, 5, 7). Golden Spice (9, 11). Mygatt's Bergamot (9, 11). POMME ROYAL (2). Pomme Royal (6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17). POMME ROYALE (4, 5, 7). Pomme Royale (3, 13). Pomme Roye (4). Pomme Water (9, 11). Pommewater in Ill. (13). Smithfield Spice (3, 5, 10, 11). Tompkins (9, 11). White Spice (9, 11). Woodstock (1).
One of the very finest dessert apples but not a good commercial variety (14). The fruit is of medium size, greenish-yellow with a shade of red. The crop does not ripen evenly and it requires more than one picking. It comes in season late in August or early in September and ripens continuously until midautumn. The tree is vigorous in the nursery but does not grow to be a large tree in the orchard. It succeeds better when topworked upon some hardier vigorous stock such as Tolman Sweet or Northern Spy. It is not long-lived but comes into bearing rather young and yields good crops biennially.
Historical. This variety has been supposed by some to be of French origin and was formerly known as Pomme Royale, but Hovey believed it to be an American apple (11). It was known in cultivation in Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War (4). It was named Dyer by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society more than fifty years ago and has retained that name. It is still occasionally listed by nurserymen (15). It is but little cultivated in New York and is now seldom, if ever, planted in this state.
FRUIT (3, 9, 11, 13). Fruit medium or sometimes large. Form roundish, slightly oblate, regular or obscurely ribbed. Stem medium to long, slender. Cavity rather small, acute, moderately deep to deep, sometimes lipped. Calyx small, closed; lobes short to rather long, recurved. Basin medium to small, shallow to moderately deep, furrowed. Skin smooth, clear pale yellow or greenish, more or less flecked and marbled with thin russet with a brownish blush on one cheek. Dots dark or russet. Core medium size; cells open or closed; core lines clasping. Seeds numerous, plump, short, medium to small, pale. Flesh yellowish-white, fine, very crisp, tender, aromatic, sprightly, mild subacid, highly flavored, very good to best. Season September and October.
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Dyer.—An old French variety, originally described as Pomme Royal (Pomme Royal), but the name having been lost in this country it was given its present name. The tree is a fair grower and an annual and early bearer, but the thin skin of the fruit prevents distant shipping without bruising.
Dyer.
Fruit medium to large, roundish, somewhat flattened, obscurely ribbed; surface smooth, clear, greenish yellow, with rarely a faint blush, and with more or less thin russet net-veining; cavity regular, deep; stem medium; basin medium, abrupt, ribbed; calyx closed; segments long, divergent. Core open, round; tube funnel-shaped; stamens median; seeds many, small; flesh yellowish white, spicy, very tender and juicy, rich aromatic, sprightly subacid; quality excellent to best, having but few equals. October to December.
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Dyer (35): size medium; form round; color oy; quality very good; use family; season early autumn. Reported by 9 stations in the Northern Division (reported as adapted to more than one division), 9 stations in the Central Division (reported as adapted to more than one division), and 4 stations in the Southern Division (reported as adapted to more than one division).
— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)DYER. Golden Spice. Pomme Royale. White Spice.
The creamy white, half transparent flesh — tender, crisp, aromatic, sprightly, and rich — make the fruit of Dyer the quintessence of the apple-orchard. The color — greenish yellow with a delicate blush of red — makes it a handsome fruit as well. Unfortunately this fine apple cannot be enjoyed often nor in quantity, nor by many, as the trees bear only biennially, and are not fruitful, vigorous, healthy, or hardy. The name, Dyer, was given the fruit about sixty years ago, but the variety was cultivated during the Revolutionary War, and is supposed by some to be the old French sort, Pomme Royale. Its culture is confined to the East and Middle West.
Tree vigorous in the nursery, dwarf in the orchard; comes in bearing young, but is short-lived; productive biennially. Fruit medium or sometimes large, round-oblate, regular or obscurely ribbed; stem long, slender; cavity small, acute, deep, sometimes lipped; calyx small, closed; lobes long, recurved; basin small, shallow to deep, furrowed; skin smooth, pale yellow, more or less flecked and marbled with a brownish blush on one cheek; dots dark or russet; core of medium size; cells open or closed; core-lines clasping; seeds numerous, plump, short, small, pale; flesh yellow, fine, very crisp, tender, aromatic, sprightly, mild subacid, highly flavored; very good to best; September and October.