Lady Crab
Crab AppleLady Crab
Origin/History
Lady Crab is a foreign variety, as noted by Downing (1900). No further detail on geographic origin, parentage, or date of introduction is provided in any of the sources consulted.
Tree
A vigorous, upright grower, much resembling the Lady Apple in habit, and very productive (Downing). Young wood grayish reddish dark brown, with conspicuous white or gray dots (Downing).
Trees planted at the Central Experimental Farm trial grounds in Agassiz, BC (spring 1896) are recorded as strong growers (Central Experimental Farm, 1900).
Fruit
Size: Small.
Form: Roundish oblate, a little oblique (Downing).
Stem: Medium length for a crab, quite slender (Downing).
Cavity: Open, broad, deep, russeted (Downing).
Calyx: Almost closed, with connected half-recurved segments (Downing).
Basin: Broad, shallow, distinctly corrugated next the calyx (Downing).
Skin: Downing describes the skin as rich dark red, with traces of russet, and many apparently rough russet dots. The Central Experimental Farm (1900), reporting on trees under trial at Agassiz, BC, describes the skin as yellow, nearly covered with pale red — a notable departure from Downing's account; this may reflect differences in climate, soil, or ripening stage at the time of observation.
Flesh/Flavor: Yellowish, moderately juicy, mild subacid (Downing).
Core/Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
November, December (Downing). The Central Experimental Farm (1900) records the season as September — considerably earlier than Downing's account, likely a reflection of the Agassiz, BC growing conditions or harvest timing in trial plantings.
Uses
Not described in source.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
[NOTE: Source text may be incorrect — the Thomas (1903) entry supplied for this variety reads: "Lady. (Lady Elgin). Rather large, whitish and red, juicy, sub-acid. Late. Illinois." This text describes a variety named "Lady," with synonym "Lady Elgin," characterized as rather large, whitish and red in color, from Illinois — inconsistent with Lady Crab in every material particular (Lady Crab is small, richly red with russet, a foreign crab apple ripening in November–December, not a large whitish-and-red late apple of Illinois origin). This entry appears to have been mis-routed from the "Lady" apple entry. No information from this source has been incorporated into the description above.]
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 10 catalogs (1886–1912) from Alabama, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington
- Huntsville Wholesale Nurseries (Jessie S. Moss , Proprietor; W.F. Heikes, Manager), Huntsville , Alabama — 1886 — listed as Lady Elgin
- William H. Moon Co. , Morrisville, Bucks County , Pennsylvania — 1890 — listed as Lady Elgin
- Rogers Nursery Co. , Moorestown , New Jersey — 1893 — listed as Lady Elgin
- The Lovett Company , Little Silver , New Jersey — 1896 — listed as Lady Elgin
- Reading Nursery , Jacob W. Manning, Proprietor, Reading , Massachusetts — 1898 — listed as Lady Elgin
- Brown Brothers Co. , Continental Nurseries, Rochester, NY (also operated from Toronto, Canada) — 1899 — listed as Lady Elgin
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900 — listed as Lady Elgin
- Brown Brothers Co. , Continental Nurseries, Rochester, NY (also operated from Toronto, Canada) — 1901 — listed as Lady Elgin
- Wm. J. Corse (successor to Robert Sinclair / Sinclair Nurseries) , Baltimore , Maryland — 1909 — listed as Lady Elgin
- Vineland Nurseries Company , Clarkston , Washington — 1912 — listed as Lady Elgin
View original book sources (3)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Lady Crab. This is a foreign variety, of great beauty, and the tree a vigorous, upright grower, much resembling the Lady Apple. Very productive. Young wood grayish reddish dark brown, with conspicuous white or gray dots. Fruit small, roundish oblate, a little oblique, rich dark red, with traces of russet, and many apparently rough russet dots. Stalk medium length for a crab, quite slender. Cavity open, broad, deep russeted. Calyx almost closed, with connected half-recurved segments. Basin broad, shallow, distinctly corrugated next the calyx. Flesh yellowish, moderately juicy, mild subacid. November, December.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Lady. (Lady Elgin). Rather large, whitish and red, juicy, sub-acid. Late. Illinois.
— Central Experimental Farm, Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz BC — Catalogue of Fruit Trees under Test (Bulletin No. 3, 1900) (1900)Planted Spring 1896. Tree a strong grower. Fruit small. Skin yellow, nearly covered with pale red. Season September.