Prices Sweet

Apple

Prices Sweet

Origin/History

Prices Sweet was popular in parts of the West. The Central Experimental Farm at Agassiz, British Columbia, planted trees in spring 1894 and included the variety in its 1900 Bulletin No. 3 catalogue of fruit trees under test.

Tree

Of very strong, upright growth in nursery and orchard. Subject to sun scald where the stem is not protected. (The Central Experimental Farm describes the tree as a vigorous grower, consistent with this assessment.)

Fruit

Size: Hansen and Budd & Hansen describe the fruit as medium. The Central Experimental Farm catalogue describes it as below medium size.

Form: Regular, oblong conical, often unequal. (The Central Experimental Farm confirms the oblong form.)

Stem: Medium to long.

Cavity: Slightly acuminate, deep, regular, with a large patch of russet radiating out over the base.

Calyx: Closed; segments erect convergent.

Basin: Narrow, corrugated, shallow.

Skin: Hansen and Budd & Hansen describe the surface as yellowish green, mostly thinly covered with mixed and marbled dull red, obscurely splashed and striped. The Central Experimental Farm describes the skin as bright yellow, with a russet red cheek in the sun — differing both in ground color (bright yellow vs. yellowish green) and in the character of the red coverage (a distinct sun-exposed cheek vs. thinly mixed and marbled overall). Dots large, distinct, numerous, russet, rough (Hansen and Budd & Hansen; not mentioned by the Central Experimental Farm).

Flesh/Flavor: Yellowish white, moderately juicy, very sweet; quality rated good (Hansen; Budd & Hansen). The Central Experimental Farm describes the flesh as firm, juicy, and sweet, but rates quality only as medium — a modest disagreement with Hansen's "good" and "very sweet."

Core/Seeds: Core half open; cells abaxile, elliptical; tube funnel-shaped; stamens median; seeds short, plump, few, crowded in cells.

Season

September and October (Hansen; Budd & Hansen). The Central Experimental Farm gives the season as September only.

Uses

Not described in source.

Subtypes/Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 2 period pomological works

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 4 catalogs (1900–1913) from Illinois

Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900 — listed as Price's Sweet
Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901 — listed as Price's Sweet
Phoenix Nursery Company (W. E. Rossney , President; Sidney Tuttle, Vice-President), Bloomington , Illinois — 1904 — listed as Price's Sweet
Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913 — listed as Price's Sweet

View original book sources (3)

Prices Sweet.

Prices Sweet—Of very strong, upright growth in nursery and orchard; subject to sun scald where stem is not protected; popular in parts of the west—Fruit medium, regular, oblong conical, often unequal; surface yellowish green, mostly thinly covered with mixed and marbled dull red, obscurely splashed and striped; dots large, distinct, numerous, russet, rough; cavity slightly acuminate, deep, regular, with large patch of russet radiating out over base; stem medium to long; basin narrow, corrugated, shallow; calyx closed; segments erect convergent. Core half open; cells abaxile, elliptical; tube funnel-shaped; stamens median; seeds short, plump, few, crowded in cells; flesh yellowish white, moderately juicy, very sweet, good. September and October.

— N.E. Hansen, A Study of Northwestern Apples (1902)

Prices Sweet.—Of very strong upright growth in nursery and orchard; subject to sunscald where stem is not protected; popular in parts of the West.

Fruit medium, regular, oblong conical, often unequal; surface yellowish green, mostly thinly covered with mixed and marbled dull red, obscurely splashed and striped; dots large, distinct, numerous, russet, rough; cavity slightly acuminate, deep, regular, with large patch of russet radiating out over base; stem medium to long; basin narrow, corrugated, shallow; calyx closed; segments erect convergent. Core half open; cells abaxile, elliptical; tube funnel-shaped; stamens median; seeds short, plump, few, crowded in cells; flesh yellowish white, moderately juicy, very sweet, good. September and October.

— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)

Planted Spring 1894. Tree a vigorous grower. Fruit below medium size, oblong. Skin bright yellow, with a russet red cheek in the sun. Flesh firm, juicy, sweet, quality medium. Season September.

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