Pickard's Reserve.

Grown in Parke County, Indiana, from seed brought from North Carolina. This apple was first brought to my notice by Jno. C. Teas, of Raysville, Indiana. Considerably grown in that State. Tree hardy; the original is still standing in Rockville.

Fruit large, flat, somewhat unequal; Surface smooth, pale yellow; Dots scattered, minute.

Basin abrupt, regular, rather deep; Eye quite small, closed.

Cavity deep, wavy, brown; Stem short to medium.

Core irregular, closed, scarcely clasping the eye; Seeds

Fig. 78.—PICKARD'S RESERVE.

numerous, angular, dark brown; Flesh whitish-yellow, fine grained, tender, juicy, with a sub-acid, aromatic flavor, making this a fruit of first quality for table or kitchen use; Season December and January

— John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)

Pickard's Reserve.

Origin, Parke Co., Ind. Tree hardy and productive.

Fruit rather large, oblate, sides unequal, yellow, shaded with red in the sun, few gray dots. Stalk short. Cavity large. Calyx closed. Basin large, deep, corrugated. Flesh yellowish, crisp, rather tender, juicy, slightly aromatic subacid. Good to very good. Core small. December, January.

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

PICKARD RESERVE.

References. 1. Mo. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1863. (cited by 9). 2. Warder, 1867:413 fig. 3. Downing, 1869:304. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1873. 5. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:246. 6. Burrill and McCluer, Ill. Sta. Bul., 45:335. 1896. 7. Thomas, 1897:648. 8. Sharpe, Can. Dept. Agr. Rpt., 1901:543. 9. Ragan, U. S. B. P. I. Bul., 56:232. 1905.

Synonyms. Picard (7). Picard's Reserve (7). Pickard (4). Pickard's Reserve (9).

A large, green or yellow fruit with reddish-bronze cheek which in highly colored specimens becomes in part pinkish-red. It is evidently allied to the Green Newtown group of apples. This is indicated by the elliptical form, occasional oblique axis, truncate base, the color and markings of the skin, particularly the outspreading russet rays about the cavity, the gray dots and the brownish-pink blush; also by the texture, aroma and quality of the flesh. Although inferior to Green Newtown in aroma and quality it is excellent in both. It does not appear to show any marked resemblance to the group which includes Ortley and Yellow Bellflower and it is strikingly different from this group in its core characters.

As fruited at this Station the tree has not come into bearing very young but with advancing maturity has proved a reliable bearer giving full crops in alternate years. So far as we can learn it has not been sufficiently tested in New York to determine its value for this region either for the home or for market purposes but so far as it has been tried it has proved desirable for home use, and it appears worthy of trial for commercial planting where a yellow fruit of this class is desired. Its culture in the Middle West is said to have declined in recent years on account of the susceptibility of the variety to the attacks of the apple scab. We have found no difficulty in protecting it from this disease by the ordinary line of treatment with bordeaux mixture.

Historical. Originated in Park county, Indiana, from seed brought from North Carolina (2). Professor W. H. Ragan has kindly supplied the following statement concerning its history and habits of growth in Indiana. "It originated with the late Wm. Pickard, of Park county, Ind., and about 40 miles from the place of my birth. Wm. Pickard was a Friend (Quaker) and had a pioneer seedling orchard. By chance he had several fairly good varieties and he boasted that he had as good fruit as those of his neighbors who had cultivated varieties. To convince them of this fact he invited his friends to a test of his varieties. To them he presented several varieties which in turn were pronounced good, bad and worse. Finally he brought out his 'best,' that is in his own opinion, but only announced that this was the last. On testing it they were all charmed with its high quality and it was suggested that this was 'Pickard's Reserve,' it having been reserved until the last of the feast."

"Your inquiry concerning its quality, and your mention in that connection of Grimes Golden indicates that you know of its high character as a fruit. There is no mistake on this point, and yet I am hardly prepared to claim that it is the equal of that fine variety. But it ranks 'very good' if not quite 'best.'"

"The tree is upright and inclines to make splitting forks that are liable to split down and thus destroy the tree. It is fruitful almost to a fault, and if not overloaded, the fruit is of good size, averaging about with Yellow Newtown in this particular, which it somewhat resembles in appearance. Its flesh is, however, much more tender and less acid than the Yellow Newtown. Its parentage is not certainly known, though it has been suggested that it may have been from seed of 'Ortley.' It was one of the very first (along with the Ortley itself) to yield to the attack of the apple scab, when it first invaded our country, and hence its culture has been largely discontinued with us."

Tree. Tree vigorous; branches long, moderately stout, liable to split at the forks. Form upright spreading, open. Twigs moderately long, straight, rather stout; internodes medium to short. Bark dull brown tinged with red, heavily coated with scarf-skin, slightly pubescent. Lenticels rather conspicuous, numerous, medium size, somewhat elongated; slightly raised. Buds medium to below medium, broad, plump, obtuse to somewhat acute, free or nearly so, pubescent.

Fruit. Fruit large, fairly uniform in shape and size. Form inclined to oblate, rather irregularly elliptical, sometimes broadly or obscurely ribbed, often lopsided or with one side bulging; axis often oblique. Stem short, usually rather slender. Cavity pretty large, acuminate, irregular, wide, very deep, often compressed and sometimes lipped, russeted and with very conspicuous, outspreading russet rays. Calyx small to medium, partly closed or sometimes open; lobes acuminate, reflexed. Basin small to medium, narrow to rather wide, deep, rather abrupt, furrowed, slightly wrinkled. Skin smooth or slightly roughened with russet dots, green changing to yellow when fully ripe, often with faint streaks of brownish or pinkish blush. Bright and rather attractive for a yellowish apple. Dots russet and gray. Calyx tube conical or approaching truncate funnel-form. Stamens median to basal. Core small to medium, usually axile or nearly so; cells often not uniform in size but symmetrical, closed or partly open; core lines meeting when the calyx tube is cone-shape, clasping when it is funnel-form. Carpels elongated, pointed ovate, smooth or nearly so. Seeds acute to slightly obtuse, long, medium size, brown, sometimes tufted. Flesh yellowish, firm, moderately fine-grained, crisp, tender, juicy, subacid becoming mild subacid, somewhat aromatic, sprightly, very good.

Season in Western New York November to February or March.

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