Hyde King

Origin / History

Hyde King was tested at this Station and is listed among the newer varieties under trial there. The earliest reference cited is Bailey's An. Hort. of 1892, where it appears as "Hyde's King (of the West)." Beach's Station annual reports of 1894, 1895, and 1896 cite it, as does the Western New York Horticultural Society report of 1900. Powell and Fulton's U.S. Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin 48 (1903) and Beach and Clark's New York Station Bulletin 248 (1904) also cite it. Reports from 1894 through 1903 applied the name Western Beauty to this variety, a usage the source marks as incorrect. The 1904 bulletin also gives Chase, likewise marked as incorrect.

Hyde King appears to be one of the most valuable of the newer varieties of apples tested at this Station. It is evidently desirable for general market purposes, being a good keeper.

Tree

Tree vigorous. So far as tested, the tree is vigorous and almost an annual bearer. It is not a very heavy cropper, but the fruit is very uniformly large with a low percentage of culls.

Twigs medium to long, stout; internodes short. Bark dull brown tinged with olive-green, somewhat streaked with scarf-skin; pubescent. Lenticels quite numerous, medium to below, round, raised. Buds medium, plump, obtuse, free, pubescent.

Fruit

Size: Fruit large to very large, pretty uniform in size and shape.

Form: Form nearly globular varying to slightly oblate or somewhat conic, often obscurely ribbed, sometimes with sides unequal but usually pretty symmetrical.

Stem: Stem short, stout.

Cavity: Cavity acute to obtuse, moderately deep to deep, broad, usually smooth and bright green with contrasting large white dots, sometimes partly russeted.

Calyx: Calyx medium to large, closed or somewhat open; lobes short, obtuse. Calyx tube usually short, cone-shape, sometimes approaching funnel-form. Stamens median to basal.

Basin: Basin moderately deep, rather narrow, sometimes becoming broad, somewhat furrowed and wrinkled.

Skin: Skin thin, tough, smooth, glossy, light green shading to pale or whitish yellow, often with a thin blush and sometimes faintly striped with darker red and marked towards the cavity with broken stripes of whitish scarf-skin. Fruit pale green or yellow, often a little shaded with red. Quite attractive for a green apple.

Dots: Dots numerous, sometimes with a russet point, usually large about the cavity.

Flesh and flavor: Flesh whitish, slightly tinged with yellow, firm, rather coarse, breaking, rather tender, juicy. Flavor mild subacid, somewhat aromatic, good but not of high flavor. Quality good.

Core and seeds: Core medium to rather large, somewhat abaxile; cells open or partly closed; core lines meeting or somewhat clasping. Carpels smooth, concave, roundish or very broadly elliptical. Seeds above medium, wide, obtuse to acute.

Season

Season December to April or May. Commercial limit in ordinary storage February or March; in cold storage, May. Being a good keeper, the fruit holds through the winter and spring under these limits.

Uses

Suitable for culinary use. Evidently desirable for general market purposes, being a good keeper.

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Cited in the source as: Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:241; Beach, N. Y. Sta. An. Rpt., 13:592, 1894; Ib., 14:265, 1895; Ib., 15:284, 1896; Beach, W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1900:37; Powell and Fulton, U. S. B. P. I. Bul., 48:60, 1903; Beach and Clark, N. Y. Sta. Bul., 248:114, 1904.