Manx Codlin
Apple
Origin/History
An old English culinary apple, long cultivated and esteemed both abroad and in America for its productiveness, hardiness of tree, and early bearing habit (Downing). Bunyard records that it was raised by Mr. Kewley of Ballanard, Isle of Man, and first fruited in 1815. It remained much grown in the North of England as of 1920, and was considered one of the best cooking apples there (Bunyard). Elliott (1865) classifies it simply as "Foreign." Bunyard also records the French name "Codlin de Mank" and German "Manck's Kuchenapfel," and cites Ronalds, p. 3.
Tree
The tree is not large but very hardy and healthy, well adapted for growing as a bush on the paradise stock, or as an espalier. It is well suited for planting in exposed situations, and succeeds well in shallow soils (Herefordshire Pomona). Bunyard describes the growth as very compact and dwarfish, with great fertility. The leaf is narrow-oval and broadly serrate (Bunyard). It is a very early and abundant bearer, often producing fruit when only two years old from the graft (Herefordshire Pomona); Veitch (1911) likewise notes it is "very prolific" and a "good bearer."
Fruit
Size: Medium sized (Herefordshire Pomona, Downing, Elliott, Bunyard). Bunyard gives specific dimensions of 2½ by 2½ inches.
Form: Sources broadly agree on a conical form but differ in the precise descriptor. Herefordshire Pomona: conical, slightly angular. Downing: roundish oblong conical, with one side of the apex end higher than the other. Elliott: roundish oblong. Bunyard: oval-conical, irregular, five-sided.
Stem/Stalk: Three quarters of an inch long, more or less fleshy, sometimes straight, but generally obliquely inserted, and occasionally united to the fruit by a fleshy protuberance on one side of it (Herefordshire Pomona). Bunyard describes the stem as rather stout.
Cavity: Bunyard describes the stem as set in a fairly deep, wide cavity. (Herefordshire Pomona does not separately describe the cavity.)
Calyx/Eye: Small and closed (Herefordshire Pomona); very small, closed (Bunyard).
Basin: Small, plaited, and pretty deep (Herefordshire Pomona); ribbed (Bunyard).
Skin: Smooth, greenish yellow at first, but changing as it ripens to clear pale yellow, tinged with rich orange on the side next the sun, but sometimes when fully exposed, assuming a clear bright red cheek (Herefordshire Pomona). Downing: clear pale yellow, with a bronzed cheek in sun. Elliott: pale yellow, red cheek in sun. Bunyard: yellow-green with slight red flush.
Flesh/Flavor: Yellowish white, firm, brisk, juicy and slightly perfumed (Herefordshire Pomona). Downing: yellowish white, fine crisp, brisk subacid; rated "Good." Bunyard: firm, white, acid. Veitch (1911): "Good flavour."
Core/Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
Ripe in the beginning of August and continues in use till November (Herefordshire Pomona); August to November (Downing, Bunyard); August (Elliott).
Uses
A very valuable early culinary apple of first-rate quality (Herefordshire Pomona). Culinary (Bunyard, Downing). Elliott specifies "cooking only." Considered one of the best cooking apples in the North of England (Bunyard).
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 4 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 2 catalogs (1900–1911) from England
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
- James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
View original book sources (5)
— Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, The Herefordshire Pomona (1885)Plate VI.
- MANX CODLIN.
[Syn: Irish Pitcher; Irish Codlin; Eve; Frith Pippin?]
Description.—Fruit; medium sized, conical, slightly angular. Skin smooth, greenish yellow at first, but changing as it ripens to clear pale yellow, tinged with rich orange on the side next the sun, but sometimes when fully exposed, assuming a clear bright red cheek. Eye; small and closed, set in a small, plaited, and pretty deep basin. Stalk; three quarters of an inch long, more or less fleshy, sometimes straight, but generally obliquely inserted, and occasionally united to the fruit by a fleshy protuberance on one side of it. Flesh; yellowish white, firm, brisk, juicy and slightly perfumed.
A very valuable early culinary apple of first-rate quality. It is ripe in the beginning of August and continues in use till November.
The tree is not large but very hardy and healthy, well adapted for growing as a bush on the paradise stock, or as an espalier. It is well suited for planting in exposed situations, and succeeds well in shallow soils. It is a very early and abundant bearer, often producing fruit when only two years old from the graft.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Mank's Codlin. Irish Pitcher. Frith Pitcher. Irish Codlin. Eve of Scotland. Frith Pippin. An old English culinary Apple, long cultivated and esteemed here as well as abroad for its productiveness, hardiness of tree, and early bearing habit. Fruit medium, roundish oblong conical, one side of apex end higher than the other, clear pale yellow, with a bronzed cheek in sun. Flesh yellowish white, fine crisp, brisk subacid. Good. August to November.
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Mank's Codlin. Irish Pitcher, | Frith Pitcher. Foreign. Medium, roundish oblong, pale yellow, red cheek in sun ; cooking only. August.
— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)(Good flavour, very prolific, good heaver).
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)MANK'S CODLIN. Ronalds, p. 3. F., Codlin de Mank ; G., Manck's Kuchenapfel. (Belmont, Eve, Irish Codlin, Pitcher.) Culinary, August to November, medium, 2½ by 2½, oval-conical, irregular, five sided. Colour, yellow-green with slight red flush. Flesh, firm, white, acid. Eye, very small, closed in a ribbed basin. Stem, rather stout, in a fairly deep, wide cavity. Growth, very compact and dwarfish ; fertility great. Leaf, narrow-oval, broadly serrate. Origin, this was raised by Mr. Kewley, of Ballanard, Isle of Man, and first fruited in 1815. It is still much grown in the North of England and is one of the best cooking apples there.