LORD DERBY

Apple

LORD DERBY

Origin / History

Raised by Mr. Witham, a nurseryman in Stockport, "about the middle of last century" (Bunyard). Bunyard cites Her. Pom., 73. Bunyard calls it "one of the most appreciated sorts for market purposes, as it is an almost certain annual cropper."

Tree

Growth sturdy, upright; extremely fertile; an almost certain annual cropper. Leaf long, rather dark, little upfolded, undulating, oval, serrate.

Fruit

Size: Large, 3½ by 3½ (Bunyard); very large (Veitch).

Form: Oblong-conical, irregular.

Stem: Short.

Cavity: Very wide and shallow, quite without russet.

Calyx: Eye closed.

Basin: Very deep, wide and irregular.

Skin: Pea green, changing to lemon-yellow. Handsome (Veitch).

Dots: Not described in source.

Flesh and flavor: Flesh firm, pale yellow, sub-acid; crisp, juicy, of good flavor (Veitch). Veitch calls it "excellent with apple tart flavour." Cooks a deep golden red.

Core and seeds: Not described in source.

Season

November into February. Bunyard gives November to December for culinary use. Veitch gives December to February and calls it a good keeper.

Uses

Culinary; excellent with apple-tart flavor (Veitch). One of the most appreciated sorts for market purposes (Bunyard).

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 1 period pomological work

Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 8 catalogs (1897–1917) from England, Illinois

Kelway & Son , Langport, Somerset , England — 1897
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900
Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
Thomas Rivers & Son , Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire , England — 1913
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917

View original book sources (2)

LORD DERBY. Her. Pom., 73. (London Major.) Culinary, November to December, large, 3½ by 3½, oblong-conical, irregular. Colour, pea green, changing to lemon-yellow. Flesh, firm, pale yellow, sub-acid. Cooks a deep golden red. Eye, closed, in a very deep, wide and irregular basin. Stem, short, in a very wide and shallow cavity quite without russet. Growth, sturdy, upright ; extremely fertile. Leaf, long, rather dark, little upfolded, undulating, oval, serrate. Origin, raised by Mr. Witham, a nurseryman in Stockport, about the middle of last century. One of the most appreciated sorts for market purposes, as it is an almost certain annual cropper.

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

(Very large and handsome, excellent with apple tart flavour, crisp, juicy, good flavour, good keeper). Dec. to Feb.

— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)

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