Parson

Apple

Parson

Origin / History

Said to have originated near Springfield, Mass., as a seedling in one of the old orchards of that locality. Fowler Brothers brought the stock to Geneva, New York, about 1880, where it was propagated for their own sales, as it was known only locally in the vicinity of Springfield. Mr. A. L. Root, of the Fonthill Nurseries, Welland, Ontario, obtained the variety from Fowler Brothers and sent scions to the Geneva Station for testing in 1901. The Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz, B.C., planted it in spring 1894.

Beach calls it "a large, handsome, dark red, early winter apple of excellent flavor," but says it has not been sufficiently tested in this vicinity to determine its value for this region. Professor John Craig states that it resembles the Sweet Winesap but is of much purer quality, and calls it "a large handsome sweet early winter apple. One of the best of the class."

Tree

Tree vigorous, with long, moderately stout branches (Beach); a moderate grower at Agassiz, B.C. Form upright and somewhat spreading or roundish, open. Twigs long, stout, slightly curved; internodes short. Bark very dark brown, lightly streaked with scarf-skin, pubescent. Lenticels numerous, medium in size, oblong, slightly raised, rather conspicuous. Buds deeply set in bark, large, broad, flat, obtuse, appressed, pubescent.

Fruit

Size: Large (Beach, Craig). Medium at Agassiz.

Form: Roundish, oblique, conical (Craig). Conical at Agassiz.

Stem: Half to three-quarters inch long, deeply inserted, curved, slender.

Cavity: Deep, narrow, regular.

Calyx: Large, open.

Basin: Large, slightly ribbed.

Skin: Moderately smooth. Ground yellow, nearly covered with rich dark red; handsome. At Agassiz yellowish white, with a small blush on the sunny side.

Dots: Large, white or russet-colored, marbled on the shaded side.

Flesh and flavor: Flesh white, tender, flaky, fairly juicy, very sweet (Craig). The Agassiz catalogue gives white, juicy, firm, sweet, "quality good." Beach calls the flavor "excellent."

Core and seeds: Core small.

Season

Early winter.

Uses

Not described in source.

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 1 period pomological work

Beach, The Apples of New York Vol. 1 (1905)

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 2 catalogs (1900–1901) from Illinois

Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900 — listed as Parson's Sweet
Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901 — listed as Parson Sweet

View original book sources (2)

PARSON.

REFERENCES. 1. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:246. 2. Craig, Can. Dept. Agr. Rpt., 1896:132.

SYNONYM. PARSON'S SWEET (1). Parson's Sweet (2).

A large, handsome, dark red, early winter apple of excellent flavor. It has not been sufficiently tested in this vicinity to determine its value for this region. Professor John Craig states that it resembles the Sweet Winesap but is of much purer quality.

Historical. Said to have originated near Springfield, Mass., as a seedling in one of the old orchards of that locality. Fowler Brothers brought the stock to Geneva, New York, about 1880 where it was propagated for their own sales as it was known only locally in the vicinity of Springfield. Mr. A. L. Root, of the Fonthill Nurseries, Welland, Ontario, who obtained the variety from Fowler Brothers, sent scions of it to this Station for testing in 1901.

TREE.

Tree vigorous with long, moderately stout branches. Form upright and somewhat spreading or roundish, open. Twigs long, stout, slightly curved; internodes short. Bark very dark brown lightly streaked with scarf-skin, pubescent. Lenticels numerous, medium in size, oblong, slightly raised, rather conspicuous. Buds deeply set in bark, large, broad, flat, obtuse, appressed, pubescent.

FRUIT.

The following is Craig's description of the fruit (2). "Large, roundish, oblique, conical. Skin moderately smooth; colour, yellow, nearly covered with rich dark red, marked with large white or russet-coloured dots marbled on the shaded side. Cavity, deep, narrow, regular; stem half to three-quarters inch long, deeply inserted, curved, slender. Basin large, slightly ribbed; calyx, large, open. Flesh white, tender, flaky, fairly juicy, very sweet; core small. A large handsome sweet early winter apple. One of the best of the class."

— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (1905)

Planted Spring 1894. Tree a moderate grower. Fruit of medium size, conical. Skin yellowish white, with a small blush on the sunny side. Flesh white, juicy, firm, sweet, quality good. Season early Winter.

— Central Experimental Farm, Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz BC — Catalogue of Fruit Trees under Test (Bulletin No. 3, 1900) (1900)

Parson's Sweet