Newtown Pippin
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Origin and History
A native of Newtown, Long Island. Warder (1867) considers this probably the original Newtown Pippin, though by no means the more common form — the Yellow Newtown Pippin being far more widely grown. Elliott (1865) and Warder both note it is distinct in fruit from the Yellow Newtown Pippin, though Elliott adds that it is difficult, if not impossible, to detect one from the other by the wood. Extensively grown in Virginia and California (Thomas, 1903). On the rich limestone soils of Ohio and farther west, this and the Yellow Newtown Pippin succeed and produce fruit even superior to the world-renowned Pell Orchard (Elliott).
Tree
Growth slender and slow. As an orchard tree, a fine round head, with branches diverging, pendent (Elliott). Thomas describes a tree of rather slow growth, with a rough bark. The fruit is very liable to black spots or scabs, unless under high, rich, and constant cultivation (Thomas). It requires a rich limestone clay soil, or a warm, sandy, rich loam, well dressed with lime and bone dust, in order to secure healthy wood and fair, smooth fruit. On sandy soils, abounding more or less with iron, good fruit has never been seen grown of this variety (Elliott).
Fruit
Size: Medium to large (Warder). Medium (Elliott). Medium or rather large (Thomas).
Form: Globular, flattened, sometimes obscurely ribbed (Warder). Roundish, oblong flattened (Elliott). Roundish, oblique, slightly irregular, remotely conical or else a little flattened (Thomas).
Stem: Warder describes the stem as long and slender. Elliott describes it as slender. Thomas, in contrast, describes the stalk as short, deep set, and surrounded by thin, dull, whitish russet rays.
Cavity: Wide, wavy, brown (Warder). Acuminate, regular (Elliott).
Calyx: Small, closed (Warder). Small (Elliott).
Basin: Warder describes the basin as shallow and folded. Thomas agrees, calling it narrow and shallow. Elliott, however, describes it as deep, abrupt, hollowed, and slightly wrinkled.
Skin: Smooth, green, becoming yellowish green when fully ripe, sometimes bronzy, and always showing white irregular striae near the base when first gathered (Warder). Dull green when first gathered, becoming when ripe a yellowish green; small minute russet dots, with occasional spots or blotches of russet, and, grown on alluvial soils South, patches of dark green mould (Elliott). Dull green becoming yellowish green, often with a dull brownish blush (Thomas). Dots scattered, minute, dark (Warder).
Flesh and Flavor: Greenish white, crisp, tender, juicy; flavor acid, aromatic, rich, very agreeable; quality best (Warder). Greenish white, very fine-grained, juicy, crisp, sprightly, perfumed (Elliott). Greenish white, juicy, crisp, fine-grained, with a high, fine flavor (Thomas). Keeps through spring, and retains remarkably its freshness (Thomas).
Core and Seeds: Core round, regular, closed, meeting the eye; seeds pointed, plump, dark (Warder). Core compact; seeds dark brown, ovate (Elliott).
Season
December to March (Warder). February to May (Elliott). Keeps through spring and retains remarkably its freshness (Thomas).
Uses
Dessert and cooking (Warder). One of the best fruits for foreign markets (Thomas).
Subtypes and Variants
Warder and Elliott both treat this as the Green Newtown Pippin, distinct from the Yellow Newtown Pippin. Warder states the Yellow Newtown is described separately. Elliott likewise directs readers to further pages for the Yellow Newtown Pippin.
Other
Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914):
Description absent; variety present in variety-characteristic table.
Newtown Pippin.............. L rob yrs VG f W 1* 10*
Stark Bros. Year Book (1910):
[NOTE: Source text may be incorrect — portions are garbled and possibly the result of OCR errors. The description references "Bright yellow" coloring and repeated comparisons to Yellow Bellflower, which may conflate this with the Yellow Newtown Pippin or another variety entirely. Salvageable content follows.]
"Bright yellow with a dark red, dull russet coloring. It is one of the best keepers. Resembles Yellow Bellflower but is smaller and in many respects. It is indeed in keeping and on its side greater and smaller it tells the Yellow Bellflower about its good flavor, one of the great, old-time kind of apple. As old as our country, yet is still one of the very best in the South and good parts of the country."
Book Sources
Described in 4 period pomological works
USDA Nomenclature (1905)
From W.H. Ragan, Nomenclature of the Apple, USDA Bulletin No. 56
Possibly identical with: Yellow Newtown
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 68 catalogs (1864–1947) from Alabama, California, England, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington
- St. Helena Nursery , Howell's Prairie, Marion County , Oregon — 1864
- Hutchison Nursery , James Hutchison, Oakland , California — 1881
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1884
- Fancher Creek Nursery , Fresno , California — 1886
- Huntsville Wholesale Nurseries (Jessie S. Moss , Proprietor; W.F. Heikes, Manager), Huntsville , Alabama — 1886
- W.R. Strong & Co. , Capital and Orange Hill Nurseries (Robert Williamson, prop.), Sacramento , California — 1886
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1888
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1889
- California Nursery Co. , Niles , California — 1889
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1890
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1891
- Milwaukie-Canby Nurseries , Canby, OR (and Milwaukie, OR) — 1893
- Oregon Wholesale Nurseries , Salem , Oregon — 1893
- Sherwood Hall Nursery Co. , Timothy Hopkins (Menlo Park Nurseries), San Francisco / Menlo Park , California — 1893
- Multnomah Nurseries , Russellville , Oregon — 1894
- Woodburn Nurseries , Woodburn, Marion Co. , Oregon — 1894
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1895
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1896
- The Lovett Company , Little Silver , New Jersey — 1896
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1897
- The Salem Nursery (John A. Francis , Proprietor), Salem , Virginia — 1897
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1898
- Arthur J. Collins & Sons , Moorestown , New Jersey — 1898
- Reading Nursery , Jacob W. Manning, Proprietor, Reading , Massachusetts — 1898
- Brown Brothers Co. , Continental Nurseries, Rochester, NY (also operated from Toronto, Canada) — 1899
- The Dalles Nurseries , The Dalles , Oregon — 1901
- Washington Nursery Co. , Toppenish , Washington — 1901
- Mountain Grove Nurseries (Tippin & Moore , Proprietors; Geo. T. Tippin, J. W. Tippin, J. C. Moore), Mountain Grove , Missouri — 1901
- S.L. Watkins , Grizzly Flats, El Dorado County , California — 1901
- Forestville Nurseries , T.J. True, Forestville , California — 1902
- Pacific Nursery Company (W. O. Hudson & A. D. Hudson) , Tangent , Oregon — 1903
- Russellville Nursery Co. , Russellville, OR (three miles east of Portland, one mile from Montavilla car line) — 1903
- OSU Bulletin 81 — 1904
- Henderson Luelling / Traveling Nursery (historical recall) , Oregon — 1904
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1906
- J.B. Pilkington , Portland , Oregon — 1907
- Russellville Nursery Co. , Montavilla Station, Portland, OR (three miles east of Portland, one mile from Montavilla car line) — 1907
- Carlton Nursery Co. , Carlton , Oregon — 1909
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1909
- Milton Nursery Co. (A. Miller & Sons , Proprietors), Milton , Oregon — 1909
- C.F. Lansing , Salem , Oregon — 1910
- Hood River nurseries (multiple) — 1910
- Rawson & Stanton , Hood River , Oregon — 1910
- Quaker Nurseries (Patterson/Lansing) — 1910
- Cashmere Nurseries , Cashmere , Washington — 1910
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1910
- Galbraith Nursery Co. (DeWitt Hansen , Pres.-Mgr.), Fairbury , Nebraska — 1911
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1911
- James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
- Ballygreen Nurseries , Hanford , Washington — 1912
- Pacific Nursery Company , Portland , Oregon — 1912
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1912
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1912
- Vineland Nurseries Company , Clarkston , Washington — 1912
- Samuel Fraser , Geneseo , New York — 1913
- Van Holderbeke Nursery Co. , Incorporated, Spokane, Washington (nurseries at Otis Orchards WA, Pasadena WA, Kennewick WA) — 1913
- J. B. Pilkington , Nurseryman, Portland, OR (nurseries near Newberg, forty miles from Portland) — 1913
- Union Nurseries , J.B. Weaver & Sons, Union , Oregon — 1915
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1918
- Fancher Creek Nurseries , George C. Roeding, Fresno , California — 1918
- Oregon Nursery Co. , Orenco , Oregon — 1920
- Benedict Nursery Co. , Portland , Oregon — 1921
- Fresno Nursery Co. , Fresno , California — 1924
- Columbia & Okanogan Nursery Co. , Wenatchee , Washington — 1925
- Hudson's Wholesale Nurseries , Tangent , Oregon — 1926
- Milton Nursery Co. , Milton-Freewater , Oregon — 1947
- Rich & Sons Nursery , Hillsboro , Oregon
- North-Western Nurseries , Walla Walla , Washington
View original book sources (5)
— John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)Newtown Pippin. GREEN NEWTOWN. This is probably the original Newtown Pippin, but by no means the more common, which is the Yellow Newtown Pippin, to be described in another place. Fruit medium to large, globular, flattened, sometimes obscurely ribbed; Surface smooth, green, becoming yellowish green when fully ripe, sometimes bronzy, and always showing white irregular striae near the base when first gathered; Dots scattered, minute, dark. Basin shallow, folded; Eye small, closed. Cavity wide, wavy, brown; Stem long, slender. Core round, regular, closed, meeting the eye; Seeds pointed, plump, dark; Flesh greenish white, crisp, tender, juicy; Flavor acid, aromatic, rich, very agreeable; Quality best; Use, dessert, cooking; Season, December to March.
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Newtown Pippin.............. L rob yrs VG f W 1* 10*
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)NEWTOWN PIPPIN. Green Newtown Pippin, Green Winter Pippin, American Newtown Pippin, Petersburg Pippin.
American. Native of Newtown, Long Island. It requires a rich limestone clay soil, or a warm, sandy, rich loam, well dressed with lime and bone dust, in order to secure healthy wood, and fair, smooth fruit. On sandy soils, abounding more or less with iron, we have never seen good fruit grown of this variety. It is distinct in fruit from the Yellow Newtown Pippin, for which see further pages; but it is difficult, if not impossible to detect one from the other by the wood. Growth slender, slow; as an orchard tree, a fine round head, with branches diverging, pendent. On the rich limestone soils of Ohio, and farther west, this and the Yellow Newtown Pippin succeed, and produce fruit even superior to the world-renowned Pell Orchard. Fruit, medium; form, roundish, oblong flattened; color, dull green when first gathered, becoming, when ripe, a yellowish green; small minute russet dots, with occasional spots or blotches of russet, and, grown on alluvial soils South, patches of dark green mould: stem, slender; cavity, acuminate, regular; calyx, small; basin, deep, abrupt, hollowed, and slightly wrinkled; flesh, greenish white, very fine-grained, juicy, crisp, sprightly, perfumed; core, compact; seeds, dark brown, ovate. February to May.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Newtown Pippin.* (Pippin, Green Newtown Pippin.) Medium or rather large, roundish, oblique, slightly irregular, remotely conical or else a little flattened; dull green becoming yellowish green, often with a dull brownish blush; stalk short, deep set, and surrounded by thin, dull, whitish russet rays; basin narrow, shallow; flesh greenish white, juicy, crisp, fine-grained, with a high, fine flavor. Keeps through spring, and retains remarkably its freshness. Tree of rather slow growth, with a rough bark. The fruit is very liable to black spots or scabs, unless under high, rich, and constant cultivation. One of the best fruits for foreign markets. A native of Newtown, Long Island. Extensively grown in Virginia and California.
— Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co., Stark Bros. Year Book (1910) (1910)Bright yellow with a dark red, dull russet coloring. It is one of the best keepers. Resembles Yellow Bellflower but is smaller and in many respects. It is indeed in keeping and on its side greater and smaller it tells the Yellow Bellflower about its good flavor, one of the great, old-time kind of apple. As old as our country, yet is still one of the very best in the South and good parts of the country. Forsaken for good keeping qualities. Southern grow of it must always be as reliable when grown as a later sort as Shropshire or Bellflower. England, England, will Forsaken for the of good. NC