NO. 95. REDSTREAK.

This tree was originally brought from England, where it possessed a high reputation as a cider fruit; it has been cultivated extensively in this country, by the descendants of the English settlers in New-York, New-Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The climate of America is supposed to have revived the character of this apple, which had deteriorated in its native soil, from the long duration of the variety the fruit is rather small; the form is oblong, flattened at both ends, the stem and crown both sunk the skin is red, faintly streaked and spotted with yellow the flesh is yellow, rich, firm, and dry; it hangs late, and requires to be matured by housing to make the finest cider. The character of the cider, when properly made and fined, is very high, both for strength and flavour the apple keeps well through the winter, and is much esteemed as an excellent kitchen fruit in the latter part of winter. The tree is of handsome, regular growth, and a great bearer: the opinion of dealers is, that this cider is difficult to fine fit for bottling: when perfectly cleared, it ranks among our first fruit liquors.

— William Coxe, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817)

Red Streak. Herefordshire Red Streak, | Scudamus Crab. Foreign. Medium, roundish, red, yellow streaks ; flesh, yellow, dry, cider only. October, December.

— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)

Plate XI.

1. REDSTREAK.

[Syn: Scudamore's Crab; Herefordshire Redstreak; Redstrake of King's Caple; Irchinfield Redstrake.]

"Yours be the produce of the soil: O! may it still reward your toil! But though the various harvest gild your plains, Does the mere landscape feast your eye? Or the warm hope of distant gains Far other cause of glee supply? Is not the Redstreak's future juice The source of your delight profound, Where Ariconium pours her gems profuse, Purpling a whole horizon round." Shenstone.

The Redstreak Apple has been the most fortunate of all cider apples for the renown it has obtained. It appeared at a time when great attention was paid to the Herefordshire orchards. It at once found a patron of remarkable energy and influence to propagate it: and its praises have been said and sung, in prose and verse, beyond all other kinds of fruit. It seems to have originated about the beginning of the 17th century, and was first brought into general notice by Lord Scudamore (see Introduction, Life of Lord Scudamore, p. 67). Evelyn is the first writer who notices it, as "The famous Red-strake of Herefordshire, a pure Wilding, and within the memory of some now living, surnamed the Scudamore's Crab, and then not much known, save in the neighbourhood." Philips next took up its praise, and in his poem Cyder says:

"Let every Tree in every Garden own The Redstreak as supream; whose pulpous Fruit With Gold irradiate, and Vermillion shines. Tempting, not fatal as the Birth of that Primaeval interdicted Plant, that won Fond Eve in hapless Hour to taste and die. This of more bounteous Influence inspires Poetic Raptures, and the lowly Muse Kindles to loftier strains; even I perceive Her sacred Virtue. See! the Numbers flow Easie whilst cheer'd with her Nectarious Juice, Her's, and my Country's Praises, I exalt. Hail Herefordian Plant! that dost disdain All other Fields! Heaven's sweetest Blessings, hail! Be thou the copious Matter of my Song, And thy choice Nectar; on which always waits Laughter and Sport, and care beguiling Wit, And Friendship, chief Delight of Human Life, What should we wish for more."

The Redstreak Apple was thus brought into the highest popular favour, and its sweet and pleasant cider was deemed "a fitting present for princes." It completely supplanted the Gennet Moyle, which had previously been the favorite cider apple, and indeed, for the time being, all other Cider Apples were thrown into the shade. The extent to which its cultivation extended, is well shown by the following Extract from a MS. in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford, entitled The History of Gloster, or The Antiquities, Memoirs, and Annals of ye Ancient City and Royal Dukedom of Gloster, from its Original to the present time, by Abel Wantner, citizen of Gloster, 1714:—

"Dimock and Kemply, before mention'd, are two of the most note'edst parishes in England for making the most and best rare Vinum Dimocuum, or that transcendant Liquor, called Redstrake Sider, not much inferior to the best French wines. And so plentifull that old Master Wyniat, of the Grainge, (a worthy gentleman, and a noble housekeeper,) hath caused but one Apple to be gathered from off each Apple Tree growing in his own Grounds, and with the Liquor thereof he hath made a whole hogshead of reare good Sider.—Furley MSS., Vol. IV., fol. 196, p. 2"*

Its reputation however began to decline about the middle of last century. Its cider, though sweet and pleasant, had not much strength, and would not keep well. "Its liquor," Nourse describes as "of noble colour and smell, but withal very luscious and fulsome. They who drink it will find their stomachs pall'd sooner by it, than warmed and enliven'd." With the Herefordshire cider growers it must however be stated that its cider was thought from the very first to be inferior in strength and quality to that from many other kinds of fruit. "Gennet Moyle makes the best Cyder in my Judgement, and such as I do prefer before the much commended Redstreak'd," says Dr. Beale (1656), and Evelyn, and the writers in the Appendix to the Pomona, say as much for several other apples, as the Woodcock, the Hagloe Crab, the Under leaf, the Styre, the Must, the Bromsborrow Crab, and some others. The soundness of this judgment was soon confirmed by experience, for by the end of the last century the Redstreak had quite lost all favour. Dunster, in his Notes to Philips' Poems, thought the true method of managing it was lost, for out of ten or twelve casks, seldom more than two or three proved good, and adds "it is now seldom made pure" (1791). And Marshall, in his Herefordshire Orchard (1796), says plainly, "The Redstreak Apple is given up." And Andrew Knight speaks of it (1811), as having survived its good qualities.

Description.—Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three quarters wide, and two inches and a quarter high; roundish, narrowing towards the apex. Skin, deep clear yellow, streaked with red on the shaded side, but red, streaked with deeper red, on the side next the sun. Eye, small, with convergent segments, set in a rather deep basin. Stalk, short and slender. Flesh, yellow, firm, crisp, and rather dry. Specific gravity of the juice, 1079.

The tree seems naturally to have been very short-lived. It was low and shrubby, and rugged in growth. Evelyn says of it, "That as the best Vines of richest liquor and greatest burthen do not spend much in Wood and improfitable Branches, so nor does this tree."

The result of careful enquiries recently made for the true variety, was the discovery of one tree at King's Capel, which was however blown down in the Spring of 1878, and Mr. Reginald Wynniat, of the Grainge, has kindly ascertained for this paper, that there is still one tree remaining at Kemply, out of the many thousands growing at Dymock and Kemply in 1714. Redstreaks there are in abundance, in every parish, named from their colour, and this fact was also noticed by Evelyn. "The Red-Strake of King's Capel, and those parts is in great variety, some make Cider that is not of continuance, yet pleasant and good: others, that lasts long, inclining towards the Bromsborrow Crab rather than a Red-Strake."

As a distinct variety the Redstreak has now ceased to exist, and it may be added that the loss is not to be lamented.

*This Extract is copied into the Parish Register of Dymock, but the entry neither gives the date nor the authority for it, both of which have been obtained from the Bodleian Library, and the Extract itself verified.

— Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, The Herefordshire Pomona (1885)

Red Streak.

Herefordshire Red Streak. Scudamore's Crab. Johnson.

A capital English cider Apple, which thrives admirably in this country, and is very highly esteemed, as it makes a rich, high flavored, strong liquor. It is a handsome grower, and a great bearer.

Fruit of medium size, roundish. Calyx small, set in a rather deep basin. Stalk rather slender and short. Skin richly streaked with red, with a few yellow streaks and spots. Flesh yellow, rich, firm, and dry. Good.

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

Red Streak. Medium, roundish, streaked; rich, firm, dry—for cider. English.

— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)

REDSTREAK.

REFERENCES. 1. Forsyth, 1803:56. 2. Coxe, 1817:157. fig. 3. Thacher, 1822:133. 4. Forsyth, 1824:123. 5. Wilson, 1828:136. 6. Floy-Lindley, 1833:81. 7. Downing, 1845:146. 8. Thomas, 1849:171. 9. Cole, 1849:137. 10. Emmons, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 3:74. 1851. fig. 11. Townley, Horticulturist, 6:496. 1851. 12. Elliott, 1854:177. 13. Warder, 1867:718. 14. Fitz, 1872:147, 159. 15. Leroy, 1873:781. fig. 16. Pa. Fr. Gr. Soc. Rpt., 1881:65. 17. Hogg, 1884:188.

SYNONYMS. ENGLISH RED STREAK (16). ENGLISH REDSTREAK (10, 13). Herefordshire Red Streak (7, 12). Herefordshire Redstreak (15, 17). Johnson (17). RED STREAK (1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, 17). Red Streak (15). ROUGE RAYÉE (15). Scudamore's Crab (7, 15, 17). Scudamous Crab (12).

An English cider fruit formerly cultivated extensively in some portions of New York but now practically obsolete here. Downing (7) remarks that it is a capital English cider apple which thrives admirably in this country and is very highly esteemed as it makes a rich, high-flavored, strong liquor, and the tree is a handsome grower and a great bearer. He describes the fruit (7) as of medium size, roundish, with small calyx, rather deep basin, rather slender, short stem; skin streaked with rich red and with a few spots and streaks of yellow; flesh yellow, rich, firm, dry, good. Coxe published the following description of it in 1817 (2). "This tree was originally brought from England, where it possessed a high reputation as a cider fruit; it has been cultivated extensively in this country, by the descendants of the English settlers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The climate of America is supposed to have revived the character of this apple, which had deteriorated in its native soil, from the long duration of the variety—the fruit is rather small; the form is oblong, flattened at both ends, the stem and crown both sunk—the skin is red, faintly streaked and spotted with yellow—the flesh is yellow, rich, firm, and dry; it hangs late, and requires to be matured by housing to make the finest cider. The character of the cider, when properly made and fined, is very high, both for strength and flavour—the apple keeps well through the winter, and is much esteemed as an excellent kitchen fruit in the latter part of the winter. The tree is of handsome, regular growth, and a great bearer; the opinion of dealers is, that this cider is difficult to fine fit for bottling: when perfectly cleared, it ranks among our first fruit liquors."

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

Planted Spring 1895. Tree a strong grower. Fruit of medium size, oblong conical. Skin green, with pale reddish streaks, and splashes over nearly the whole surface. Flesh white, crisp, moderately juicy, sub-acid, quality medium. Season August.

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