NO. 28. POMME D'APIS.

This apple is called in New-York the Lady apple from the beauty of its appearance; it is of a very small size, and flat form; the colour when ripe, a brilliant yellow, with a dark red cheek; the skin smooth, the flesh white, crisp, breaking, and of a very delicate taste, with very little core; the juice mild and agreeable, the seeds small, short and wide: the tree grows remarkably straight, with upright branches; and is of middling size. In France, from whence it was imported, it is sometimes called Long-bois, or Longwood; the fruit grows in clusters; it is a late but abundant bearer; it keeps well during the winter, and hangs late on the tree: it is a much admired dessert apple; no trees make a more handsome appearance in an orchard; the leaves are small, and the wood dark, approaching to a black.

— William Coxe, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817)

Lady Apple. Api, Petit Api, Pomme d'Api, Pomme Rose, | Petit Api Rouge, Pomme d'Api Rouge, Gros Api Rouge.

Foreign. Trees, very upright, forming almost pyramidal heads, like that of a Pear tree, producing the fruit in clusters; require to be ten or more years old, ere bearing much; after which, very productive. Shoots, very dark color, straight, erect, leaves small; appears to succeed in all soils, and the fruit, though small, from its beauty, always commands a high price.

Fruit, small; form, flat; color, brilliant red, on light, clear yellow; very glossy; stem, short; cavity, deep; calyx, small; basin, furrowed; flesh, white, crisp, tender, juicy; core, small. December to May.

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

Lady.

API PETIT, ETC.

This beautiful little French apple has been fully naturalized in our country, and has received the enthusiastic admiration of the American people. The fruit needs to be entirely perfect to meet with favor as an ornament to the table, for which use it is especially adapted; unfortunately it is often overgrown and irregularly developed. Wherever produced in proper size and color, it is one of the most profitable varieties, commanding fancy prices at the period of Christmas decorations. In the rich soils of the West it is apt to be too large, and has generally failed to meet the requisitions; but it succeeds well in Michigan, and the neighboring region of Indiana.

Tree of medium size, very close and upright, healthy and productive; Shoots very dark; the foliage small, crowded, curled, and very dark.

Fruit very small, quite flat, very regular; Surface very smooth, shining or polished, of a pale waxen yellow, nearly covered with bright carmine, which contrasts finely with the ground color, wherever the fruit has been shaded by a leaf; Dots minute.

Basin medium, rather abrupt; Eye small, closed.

Cavity acute, deep, regular; Stem short.

Core regular, wide, closed; Seeds numerous; Axis very short; Flesh white, breaking, tender and juicy when ripe; with a mild sub-acid flavor; Use ornament and dessert; Season December until March.

— John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)

Lady Apple. Api. Api Petit. Pomme Rose. Pomme d'Api Rouge. Petit Api Rouge. Gros Api Rouge.

An exquisite little dessert fruit, the pretty size and beautiful color of which render it a universal favorite ; as it is a great bearer, it is also a profitable sort for the orchardist, bringing the highest price of any fancy apple in the market. It is an old French variety, and is nearly always known abroad by the name of Api ; but the name of Lady Apple has become too universal here to change it now. No amateur's collection should be without it.

Fruit quite small, but regularly formed and flat. Skin smooth and glossy, with a brilliant deep red cheek, contrasting with a lively lemon yellow ground. Stalk of medium length, and deeply inserted. Calyx small, sunk in a basin with small plaits. Flesh white, crisp, tender, and juicy, with a pleasant flavor. The tree has upright, almost black shoots, with small leaves ; forms a very upright, small head, and bears its fruit in bunches. The latter is very hardy, and may be left on the tree till severe frosts. The Lady Apple is in use from December to May.

The Api Noir, or Black Lady Apple, differs from the foregoing sort only in the color, which is nearly black. In shape, size, season, and flavor, it is nearly the same. It is, from its unusually dark hue, a singular and interesting fruit — poor flavor.

The true Api Etoile, or Star Lady Apple, figured and described by Poiteau, in the Pomologie francaise, is another very distinct variety ; the fruit is of the same general character, but having five prominent angles, which give it the form of a star. This variety is rather scarce, the common Lady Apple being frequently sent out for it by French nurserymen. It keeps until quite late in the spring, when its flavor becomes excellent, though in winter it is rather dry. The growth of the tree resembles that of the other Apis.

The Api Gros, or Large Lady Apple, is of a similar habit in growth of the tree to the true Lady Apple, the fruit a trifle larger, more roundish, less brightly colored, and quite inferior in quality.

The Api Gros Pomme de Rose, or Rose-colored Lady Apple, is also another variety, with fruit of medium size, roundish, pale yellow, washed with bright rosy red. Flesh yellowish white, fine-grained, juicy, crisp, aromatic.

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

Lady Apple.* (Pomme d'Api.) Quite small, regular, flat; a brilliant deep-red cheek on light clear yellow; stalk and calyx deep set; flesh tender, delicate, sub-acid, flavor good. A fancy dessert apple, sometimes selling for $10 a barrel. Winter and spring. Tree rather tender. France.

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

LADY.

REFERENCES. 1. Duhamel, 1768:309. 2. Knoop, 1771:68. 3. Forsyth, 1803:49. 4. Coxe, 1817:117. fig. 5. Thacher, 1822:129. 6. Ronalds, 1831:63. 7. Cat. Hort. Soc. London, 1831. 8. Kenrick, 1832:47. 9. Floy-Lindley, 1833:87. 10. Manning, 1838:59. 11. Downing, 1845:115. fig. 12. Cole, 1849:130. 13. Thomas, 1849:181, 189. fig. 14. Emmons, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 3:89. 1851. col. pl. No. 47. 15. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1852. 16. Elliott, 1854:87. 17. Hovey, Mag. Hort., 20:29. 1854. 18. Hooper, 1857:52. 19. Lucas, 1859:557. 20. Warder, 1867:411. 21. Fitz, 1872:166. 22. Downing, 1872:244. 23. Leroy, 1873:65. fig. 24. Barry, 1883:348. 25. Hogg, 1884:8. 26. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:294. 27. Wickson, 1891:248. 28. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:243. 29. Bredsted, 2:210. 1893. 30. Woolverton, Ont. Fr. Stas. An. Rpt., 3:10. 1896. figs. 31. Budd-Hansen, 1903:111. fig. 32. Beach and Clark, N. Y. Sta. Bul. 248:128. 1904.

SYNONYMS. Almindelig (29). API (1, 23, 25, 29, 30). Api (11, 16, 18, 22, 31). Api eller (29). Api Fin (23). Api Ordinaire (23). Api Petit (11, 12, 20, 22, 25). Api Rose (23). Api Rouge (25). Apy Rouge (23). Cardinale (23). Christmas Apple (32). Gros Api Rouge (11, 16, 22). KLEINER API (19). LADY APPLE (5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24). Lady Apple (4, 10, 23, 25). Lille Api (29). Long Bois (23). PETIT API (6, 7). Petit Api (16, 18). Petit Apis (23). Petit Api Rose (23). Petit Api Rouge (11, 16, 22, 23, 25). POMME D'API (2, 3). Pomme d'Api (8, 9, 13, 16, 21, 25). Pomme d'Api Rouge (11, 16, 22). POMME D'APIS (4). Pomme Rose (11, 16, 18, 22). Pomone d'Apis (5).

A strikingly beautiful little apple especially suitable for decorative use and for dessert. In New York it is grown to a limited extent only and in restricted localities. It is in some cases grown with profit and often sells at very high prices. It does fairly well on any good apple soil, but a warm, gravelly or sandy loam seems to suit it best, developing to a marked degree the characteristically beautiful color and delicate high flavor of this variety, upon which its value chiefly depends. The upright habit of the limbs, together with the smallness of the apples, makes the picking of the fruit unusually expensive. The branches are full of short spurs upon which the fruit is borne in clusters. The fruit hangs well to the tree. The tree is but a moderate grower and does not come into bearing young, but in favorable locations, after it reaches maturity, it is a reliable cropper, bearing heavy crops biennially or in rare instances nearly annually. In order to grow Lady most successfully, particular pains must be taken to protect it from the attacks of insects and fungi, particularly from the apple scab fungus, by which it is often seriously damaged. When well grown, the crop is pretty uniform in size and shape and satisfactory in color and quality. It does not always color properly, and is then of little value for anything but cider, being too small either for general market purposes or for culinary use. Properly handled, it may be held in cold storage till summer, but there is little demand for it after the holiday season, and as it keeps well enough in ordinary storage till midwinter there is but little occasion for holding it in cold storage.

Historical. According to Leroy, who gives an excellent historical account of this variety, the Lady apple, or as it is there known, Api, has been in cultivation in France for at least three hundred years. It has been sparingly disseminated throughout this country from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It has long been recognized in the New York market as one of the most desirable apples for fancy trade at the holiday season.

TREE. Tree at first moderately vigorous, eventually becomes a rather slow grower; size medium or somewhat dwarfish; branches erect, rather slender. Form rather dense, erect. Twigs long and slender, or on old trees rather short; internodes short. Bark bright brown approaching black, partly overlaid with thin scarf-skin, slightly pubescent towards the tips. Lenticels numerous, conspicuous, round or sometimes elongated, usually medium to small, sometimes large. Buds usually large, rather narrow, acute to acuminate, plump, quite pubescent, free. Leaves not large, rather narrow.

FRUIT. Fruit small to very small, uniform in size and shape. Form usually oblate but varies to roundish inclined to conic, often obscurely ribbed, symmetrical. Stem medium, slender. Cavity pretty large and wide, obtuse to acute, moderately shallow to deep, gently furrowed, sometimes thinly russeted. Calyx small, closed; lobes small, acute. Basin rather wide, shallow to moderately deep, obtuse, narrowly ridged and wrinkled. Skin moderately thick, tough, smooth, glossy with a deep red blush which is often irregular and sharply outlined against the clear pale yellow or whitish ground color. Dots whitish or with russet point, inconspicuous. Prevailing effect beautiful bright red and yellow. Calyx tube conical or somewhat funnel-form with short truncate cylinder. Stamens marginal. Core small, axile; cells symmetrical, closed; core lines clasping. Carpels smooth, roundish or inclined to elliptical, emarginate, mucronate. Seeds plump, wide, obtuse, completely filling the cells. Flesh white, firm, fine-grained, crisp, rather tender, juicy, pleasantly aromatic, mild subacid becoming nearly sweet, good to very good for dessert. Season December to May.

OTHER VARIETIES OF THE LADY GROUP.

The Lady often produces seedlings which have a general similarity to the parent. Some of these have found their way into cultivation but up to the present time none of them has superseded the Lady. Downing (22) mentions besides the Lady four other varieties of the Lady group, namely: the BLACK LADY APPLE (Api Noir), the STAR LADY APPLE (Api Étoile), the LARGE LADY APPLE (Api Gros), and the ROSE-COLORED LADY APPLE (Api Gros Pomme de Rose). Of these the Large Lady apple appears to be the only one which has been disseminated to any considerable extent in this state. It is seldom or never intentionally planted by the fruit grower but sometimes it has been cultivated by mistake in place of the true Lady. It is easily distinguished from the true Lady because the bark of the twigs is not so nearly black, the fruit is more nearly round, has a very shallow basin and is a little larger and less highly colored than the Lady. It is an undesirable variety.

Seedlings. Fruits of different seedlings of the Lady have from time to time been received at this Station. None of these has been sufficiently tested as yet to show whether it is worthy of being introduced into general cultivation. One of the most remarkable lot of Lady seedlings which has come to our attention is that originated by Le Grand M. Smith of Nyack, N. Y., a brief notice of which was published in 1895.¹ Some of these may be as desirable as the Lady.

HELEN is an apple of the Lady class much larger than Lady and fully as attractive in color. The flesh is very white, crisp, juicy and of mild agreeable flavor. It is grown by R. N. Lewis of Red Hook, Dutchess county, N. Y., who reports that the tree is productive and that the fruit keeps late and brings good prices.

HIGHLAND BEAUTY, another Lady seedling, is described on a previous [page].

¹Rural N. Y., 54:106. 1895.

— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (1905)

Lady. — A very old French variety, known abroad by the name of Api; a fancy little dessert apple noted for its beautiful color and excellent quality.

Fruit quite small, regular, sometimes unequal, flattened; surface smooth, polished, pale yellow with brilliant deep red, approaching to crimson on sunny side; dots obscure, numerous, white, minute; cavity wide, deep, regular, obtuse, with green rays and stellate russet; stem medium to long; basin wide, shallow, slightly corrugated; calyx closed; segments divergent. Core closed; cells obovate, axile, slit; tube conical; stamens marginal; seeds plump, short, numerous; flesh white, crisp, tender, very juicy, sweet, slightly perfumed, excellent. December to May.

— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)

Lady. Size: small. Form: flat. Color: yellow-red. Quality: very good. Use: both kitchen and market. Season: winter. Northern Division: 3 reporting stations (also reported in another division). Central Division: 4 reporting stations (also reported in another division).

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

API. Ronalds, 32. F., Api ; G., Kleine Api. (Api rouge, Api petit, Lady.) Dessert, November to April, very small, 2 by 1¾, flat, regular. Colour, bright yellow, rich crimson flush. Flesh, tender, aromatic. Eye, half open in a shallow wide basin. Stem short in a rather wide cavity. Growth, upright, very slender making a small close tree, fertile. Leaf, small, oval, upfolded, shallow crenate. Origin, of great antiquity ; possibly dating from Roman days. Known in this country in the seventeenth century. It is hardly worthy of cultivation except as a curiosity.

Api Petit : see Api.

Api Rouge : see Api.

Aporta : see Emperor Alexander.

Arbroath Pippin : see Oslin.

Aromatic Pippin : see Kerry Pippin.

— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)

LADY. Fig. 31. Api. Christmas Apple. This variety is known wherever apples are grown, usually, except in America, under the name Api with some modifying term. Its popularity is due to its beautiful miniature fruits which are of highest quality, most suitable for dessert and for decorative purposes. The apples keep well until April or May, but are in greatest demand during the holiday season. The trees are not very satisfactory, being small, very dense in growth, unproductive, and come in bearing late. The fruit is borne in clusters on short spurs and hangs well to the tree. The variety is very susceptible to the apple-scab fungus. Lady has been in cultivation in France, under the name Api, for over three hundred years, and was one of the first European apples to be brought to America. Tree vigorous, dwarf, dense, erect; branches erect, slender. Leaves narrow. Fruit very small, uniform in size and shape, oblate to round-conic, obscurely ribbed, symmetrical; stem slender; cavity large and wide, obtuse, shallow, gently furrowed, sometimes thinly russeted; calyx small, closed; lobes small, acute; basin wide, shallow, obtuse, narrowly ridged and wrinkled; skin thick, tough, smooth, glossy with a deep red blush which is often irregularly and sharply outlined against the pale yellow ground-color; dots white or with russet points, inconspicuous; calyx-tube conical with short, truncate cylinder; stamens marginal; core small, axile; cells symmetrical, closed; core-lines clasping; carpels smooth, round or elliptical, emarginate, mucronate; seeds plump, wide, obtuse, completely filling the cells; flesh white, firm, fine-grained, crisp, tender, juicy, aromatic, mild subacid; good to very good; December to May.

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