HURLBUT.

Hurlbut Stripe.

Origin, farm of General Hurlbut, Winchester, Conn. Tree very vigorous, and great bearer. Young wood dark brownish red, slightly downy. Buds prominent.

Fruit medium, oblate, slightly conic, angular. Skin yellow, shaded with red stripes, and splashed with darker red, and thinly sprinkled with light dots. Stalk short, rather slender, inserted in a broad deep cavity, surrounded by russet. Calyx closed. Basin rather shallow. Flesh white, crisp, tender, juicy, mild, sprightly subacid. Good to very good. Core small. October, December.

— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)

HURLBUT.

REFERENCES. 1. Cole, 1849:118. fig. 2. Emmons, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 3:31. 1851. col. pl. and fig. 3. Downing, 1857:155. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1862. 5. Warder, 1867:722. 6. Thomas, 1875:201. 7. Barry, 1883:347. 8. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:292. 9. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:241. 10. Munson, Me. Sta. Rpt., 1893:133. 11. Dempsey, Ont. Fr. Stas. An. Rpt., 1:24. 1894. 12. Burrill and McCluer, Ill. Sta. Bul., 45:326. 1896. 13. Munson, Me. Sta. An. Rpt., 18:89. 1902. 14. Powell and Fulton, U. S. B. P. I. Bul., 48:45. 1903. 15. Beach and Clark, N. Y. Sta. Bul., 248:126. 1904.

SYNONYMS. HURLBURT (2). HURLBUT (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15). Hurlbut Stripe (3). HURLBUTT (5).

The general appearance of Hurlbut is good yet it is not particularly attractive either in size or color nor does it take first rank for either home use or market. The tree is a strong grower, comes into bearing moderately young and yields heavy crops biennially. Because of the tendency of the tree to overproduction in bearing years the size of the fruit is in many cases reduced and a considerable portion of it is too small to be marketable. Hurlbut has proved to be a profitable variety with some fruit growers but although it has long been known in cultivation and has been quite widely disseminated it has nowhere gained prominence as a commercial variety.

Historical. In 1849 Cole (1) wrote: "The original tree is still flourishing on the farm of General Leonard Hurlbut, Winchester, Conn." It is still quite frequently listed by nurserymen (9) but is not being planted to any considerable extent.

TREE.

Tree rather large, vigorous or moderately vigorous. Form spreading or roundish and somewhat inclined to droop. Twigs moderately long, slightly curved, moderately stout to rather slender; internodes below medium to short. Bark dark brown to clear brownish-red, heavily mottled with scarfskin; slightly pubescent. Lenticels scattering, small, round, slightly raised. Buds medium size, broad, plump, obtuse, free, slightly pubescent.

FRUIT.

Fruit below medium to above, fairly uniform in size and shape. Form roundish, slightly oblate or inclined to oblate conic, somewhat angular, rather symmetrical. Stem medium to short, rather slender. Cavity acute, shallow to medium in depth, medium in width, symmetrical or compressed, usually covered with heavy outspreading russet. Calyx medium or below, usually closed; lobes medium to long, narrow, acute. Basin shallow to medium in depth, narrow to nearly medium in width, somewhat abrupt, smooth or slightly wrinkled. Skin thick, tough, smooth, greenish-yellow largely overspread with brownish-red or dull red, splashed and striped with carmine. Dots scattering, inconspicuous, usually submerged, sometimes russet. Calyx tube very short, wide, truncate conical with fleshy pistil point projecting into the base. Stamens marginal. Core medium size, abaxile; cells wide open to nearly closed; core lines meeting or slightly clasping. Carpels nearly round. Seeds numerous, rather large, moderately wide, long, rather plump, acute. Flesh white or yellowish, moderately firm, rather fine, tender, crisp, very juicy, aromatic, mildly subacid, good to very good. Season variable; October to December or January (15).

— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)

Hurlbut: size medium; form roundish (oblate); color yellow-red; quality good; use both kitchen and market; season early autumn; Northern Division reports none; Central Division reports none; Southern Division reports 2, also reported in another division.

— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)

HURLBUT. Hurlbut Stripe.

Origin, farm of Gen. Hurlbut, Winchester, Conn. Tree, very vigorous, and great bearer. Fruit, medium, oblate, slightly conic angular ; skin, yellow, shaded with red stripes, and splashed with darker red, and thinly sprinkled with light dots ; stalk, short, rather slender, inserted in a broad, deep cavity, surrounded by russet ; calyx, closed, basin rather shallow ; flesh, white, crisp, tender, juicy, with a mild sprightly sub-acid flavor. November, December. (Downing.)

— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)

Hurlbut. Size medium, oblate, conic; yellow striped with red; stalk small; cavity large; basin shallow; flesh white, crisp, tender, with a mild sub-acid flavor. Connecticut.

— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)

HURLBUT. Hurlbut Stripe. Hurlbut is one of the many mediocre apples having just sufficient merit to keep them in the limbo of the nurserymen's catalogs. It will be seen from the description that fruit and tree of Hurlbut are good but in no case superior. The variety originated at Winchester, Connecticut, nearly a century ago on the farm of General Leonard Hurlbut. Its cultivation has not spread far from the place of its nativity. It was first described by Cole in 1849.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading. Fruit medium to large, uniform in size and shape, round-oblate to oblate-conic, angular, symmetrical; stem short, slender; cavity acute, shallow, medium in width, symmetrical or compressed; calyx small, usually closed; lobes long, narrow, acute; basin shallow, narrow, abrupt, smooth or wrinkled; skin thick, tough, smooth, greenish-yellow overspread with brownish-red or dull red, splashed and striped with carmine; dots scattering, inconspicuous, usually submerged, sometimes russet; calyx-tube very short, wide, truncate conical with fleshy pistil point projecting into the base; stamens marginal; core of medium size, abaxile; cells wide open to closed; core-lines meeting; carpels round; seeds numerous, large, wide, long, plump, acute; flesh white or yellowish, firm, fine, tender, crisp, very juicy, aromatic, mild subacid; good to very good; October to January.

— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)