English Sweet
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
English Sweet
Origin/History
An old variety, esteemed where grown. Beach (1905) notes that Ramsdell Sweet is the name accepted for this variety in the catalogue of the American Pomological Society, and that it is generally known among nurserymen and fruit growers as Ramsdell or Ramsdell Sweet; Beach refers readers to his Ramsdell Sweet entry (page 175) for a full description.
Tree
Very vigorous, grows remarkably straight and upright. Comes early into bearing and yields every year enormously. Young shoots clear reddish brown, slightly grayish.
Fruit
Size: Rather above medium size. Light in weight.
Form: Oblong, regularly shaped, tapering slightly towards the eye.
Stem: Not described in source.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Not described in source.
Basin: Not described in source.
Skin: Dark red, dotted with fawn-colored specks, covered with a blue bloom.
Flesh/Flavor: Flesh yellowish, very tender and mellow, unusually sweet and rich. Quality: good to very good.
Core/Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
October to February.
Uses
Valued as a showy sweet apple for market; profitable for stock feeding; superior for cooking. Esteemed where grown for the large crops it bears.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
USDA Nomenclature (1905)
From W.H. Ragan, Nomenclature of the Apple, USDA Bulletin No. 56
Possibly identical with: English Sweet
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 1 catalog (1904) from Illinois
- Phoenix Nursery Company (W. E. Rossney , President; Sidney Tuttle, Vice-President), Bloomington , Illinois — 1904
View original book sources (2)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)English Sweet.
Ramsdell's Sweet. Ramsdell's Sweeting. Hurlbut Sweet? Ramsdell's Red Pumpkin Sweet. Red Pumpkin Sweet. Avery Sweet. Randall's Red Winter.
This old variety is esteemed where grown for the large crops which it bears, and as a showy sweet apple for market, and profitable for stock feeding, as well as superior for cooking.
The tree is very vigorous, grows remarkably straight and upright, comes early into bearing, and yields every year enormously. Young shoots clear reddish brown, slightly grayish.
Fruit rather above medium size, oblong, regularly shaped, and tapering slightly towards the eye, dark red, dotted with fawn-colored specks, and covered with a blue bloom. Flesh yellowish, very tender and mellow, unusually sweet and rich. Good to very good. In weight the apple is light. October to February.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)ENGLISH SWEET.
Ramsdell or Ramsdell Sweet has been described by some leading pomologists under the name English Sweet. Ramsdell Sweet is the name accepted for this variety in the catalogue of the American Pomological Society, and it is generally known among nurserymen and fruit growers as Ramsdell or Ramsdell Sweet. For a description of this variety, the reader is referred to Ramsdell Sweet, page 175.