Orange Sweet

Apple

Orange Sweet

Origin / History

Several varieties pass under the name Orange Sweet. Downing wrote that he had been unable to examine and compare them closely. He distinguishes one that came from Ohio, which he says he had known most; one from Massachusetts; and another, called Orange Sweeting, grown in Maine. Warder, in his American Pomology (1867), describes an Orange Sweet or Russet (Downing's wording), given by Beach as Orange Sweeting or Russet: "An eastern variety not much cultivated." The name Orange Sweeting also appears in Mag. Hort., 1:396 (1835). Beach adds that the name Orange Sweet has also been used as a synonym for both Munson (p. 146) and Golden Sweet (p. 81).

Tree

Ohio sort: young shoots light reddish brown, smooth.

Massachusetts sort: a good grower and bearer. Young shoots smooth, very dark reddish brown. Buds very small.

Maine sort: tree of upright habit, healthy, thrifty, and productive. Young shoots dark brownish red.

Fruit

Size: Large (Ohio sort; Warder's sort). Medium (Massachusetts and Maine sorts).

Form: Roundish (Ohio). Oblate (Massachusetts). Roundish ovate (Maine). Warder's sort round, "very round, regular."

Stem: Not described in source.

Cavity: Not described in source.

Calyx: Small, closed (Ohio sort). Small (Massachusetts sort).

Basin: Not described in source.

Skin: Greenish yellow, sometimes with traces of russet (Ohio). Greenish yellow (Massachusetts). Bright yellow with a blush cheek in the sun (Maine). Warder's sort greenish yellow, bronzy, orange russeted.

Dots: Few, gray and green (Ohio sort). Maine sort with small greenish dots in the shade and crimson dots in the sun.

Flesh and flavor: Ohio sort: flesh whitish, tender, juicy, pleasant, sweet. Good. Massachusetts sort: flesh yellowish white, rather coarse, but rich, sweet. Maine sort: flesh yellowish, tender, sweet, and rich. Warder's sort: flesh rather tough, fine-grained, juicy, good (Warder, as quoted by Beach). Downing, rendering Warder, gives the flesh as green, rather tough, fine-grained, sweet, and good.

Core and seeds: Not described in source.

Season

The recorded season runs from August to December. Massachusetts sort August and September; Maine sort September and October; Ohio sort October and November; Warder's sort December.

Uses

Valuable for baking (Ohio sort). Good for cooking (Massachusetts sort). Good for baking (Warder's sort, as given by Downing).

Subtypes / Variants

Four sorts pass under the name: Downing's Ohio sort (large, roundish, greenish yellow, October and November), his Massachusetts sort (medium, oblate, greenish yellow, August and September), his Maine sort (medium, roundish ovate, bright yellow with blush, September and October), and the russeted Orange Sweeting or Russet of Warder (large, round, December).

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 2 period pomological works

USDA Nomenclature (1905)

From W.H. Ragan, Nomenclature of the Apple, USDA Bulletin No. 56

Possibly identical with: one of the Orange Sweets

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 2 catalogs (1901–1913) from Illinois

Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913

View original book sources (2)

Orange Sweet.

There are several varieties under this name, but we have been unable to examine and compare them closely. The one we have most known came from Ohio, and has young shoots of a light reddish brown, smooth, the fruit large, roundish, greenish yellow, sometimes traces of russet, few gray and green dots. Calyx small, closed. Flesh whitish, tender, juicy, pleasant, sweet. Good. Valuable for baking. October, November.

Another we have from Massachusetts, is a good grower and bearer. Young shoots smooth, very dark reddish brown. Buds very small. Fruit medium, oblate, greenish yellow. Calyx small. Flesh yellowish white, rather coarse, but rich, sweet. Good for cooking. August and September.

Another Orange Sweeting, grown in Maine, is described as a tree of upright habit, healthy, thrifty, and productive. Young shoots dark brownish red.

Fruit medium, roundish ovate, bright yellow, with a blush cheek in the sun, small greenish dots in shade, and crimson dots in the sun. Flesh yellowish, tender, sweet, and rich. September, October.

Warder, in his American Pomology, describes an Orange Sweet or Russet as large, round, greenish yellow, bronzy orange russet. Flesh green, rather tough, fine-grained, sweet. Good for baking. December.

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

ORANGE SWEET.

REFERENCES. 1. Mag. Hort., 1:396. 1835. 2. Warder, 1867:566. 3. Downing, 1869:295. 4. Thomas, 1885:519.

SYNONYMS. Orange Russet (2). ORANGE SWEET (3, 4). ORANGE SWEETING (1, 2).

Several varieties are described under this name by Downing (3): one from Ohio, large, greenish-yellow; flesh whitish, tender, sweet, good; season October and November: one from Massachusetts, the fruit medium, oblate, greenish-yellow; the flesh yellowish-white, rather coarse, rich, sweet; season August and September: and one from Maine; fruit medium, roundish ovate, bright yellow with blush; flesh yellowish, tender, sweet, rich; season September and October.

Warder (2) describes under the name Orange Sweeting or Russet "An eastern variety not much cultivated; fruit large, very round, regular, greenish-yellow, bronzy, orange russeted; flesh rather tough, fine-grained, juicy, good; season December."

The name Orange Sweet has also been used as a synonym for both Munson (p. 146) and Golden Sweet (p. 81).

— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)

Orange Russet Orange Sweet or Russet Orange Sweeting Orange Sweeting or Russet Orange Sweeting Sweet Romanite