Keiser
AppleKeiser
Origin / History
Keiser originated in Jefferson County, Ohio (Warder). In 1865 Elliott called it an old variety, much grown in Jefferson County and highly prized there. Two years later Warder described it as not widely distributed. Warder drew his description from fruit obtained of his friend T. S. Humrickhouse, of Coshocton.
Elliott printed the name Red Seek-no-further beneath the heading Keiser, and Downing does the same. Thomas (1903) enters Red Seek-no-further only as a cross-reference to Keiser.
Tree
Thrifty, upright (Warder). Elliott says the growth of the tree is like that of a variety he prints as "Puambo"; Downing, repeating him, prints it as "Bambo."
Fruit
Size: Medium (Elliott) to full medium to large (Warder).
Form: Roundish oblate to oblate, slightly oblique, angular, uneven.
Stem: Short to quite short.
Cavity: Large (Elliott), acute and deep (Warder).
Calyx: Small, closed.
Basin: Broad or wide, corrugated or folded. Elliott calls it shallow; Warder calls it deep.
Skin: Smooth (Warder). Pale yellow to greenish yellow, shaded or mixed with red, and striped, the stripes indistinct (Elliott).
Dots: Thickly sprinkled, large, grayish (Elliott); scattered, minute (Warder).
Flesh and flavor: Yellow to yellowish, tender, fine grained, mild subacid. Elliott calls the flesh "not very juicy, but mild sub-acid"; Warder calls it juicy. Warder rates the quality "good to best." Downing, who otherwise reproduces Elliott's description, adds the verdict "Good."
Core and seeds: Core very small, regular, closed, clasping. Seeds numerous, short, plump (Warder).
Season
November to February (Elliott, repeated by Downing); Warder gives a shorter season, December to January.
Uses
For table and kitchen (Warder).
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Elliott records another Red Seek-no-further, grown near Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He calls it distinct from this one and "a universal favorite there," and gives its season as December to April.
Book Sources
Described in 4 period pomological works
View original book sources (4)
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Keiser. Red Seek-no-further. An old variety much grown in Jefferson Co., Ohio, and highly prized, growth of tree like Puambo. Fruit, medium, roundish oblate, slightly oblique, angular; skin, pale yellow, shaded with red, indistinctly striped and thickly sprinkled with large grayish dots; stalk, short, inserted in a large cavity; calyx, small, closed in a broad, shallow, corrugated basin; flesh, yellowish, not very juicy, but mild sub-acid. November to February. There is another Red Seek-no-further, grown near Lebanon, Pa., distinct, and a universal favorite there. December to April.
— John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)Keiser.
Origin Jefferson County, Ohio; not widely distributed. Tree thrifty, upright. The following description was made from fruit obtained of my friend T. S. Humrickhouse, of Coshocton.
Fruit full medium to large, oblate, uneven; Surface smooth, greenish-yellow, mixed and striped red; Dots scattered, minute.
Basin wide, deep, folded; Eye small, closed.
Cavity acute, deep; Stem quite short.
Core very small, regular, closed, clasping; Seeds numerous, short, plump; Flesh yellow, tender, fine grained, juicy; Quality good to best; for table and kitchen; Season, December to January.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Keisek.
Red Seek-no-Further.
An old variety, much grown in Jefferson Co., Ohio, and highly prized ; growth of tree like Bambo.
Fruit medium, roundish oblate, slightly oblique, angular. Skin pale yellow, shaded with red, indistinctly striped and thickly sprinkled with large, grayish dots. Stalk short, inserted in a large cavity. Calyx small, closed, in a broad, shallow, corrugated basin. Flesh yellowish, not very juicy, but mild subacid. Good. November to February.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Red Seek-no-further. See Keiser.