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Ribston Pippin

Apple
USDA watercolor illustration of Ribston Pippin

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Ribston Pippin

Origin / History

Ribston Pippin is an English apple, raised at Ribston Hall, near Knaresborough, Yorkshire. The original tree grew in the park there, on the banks of the river Nidd. If tradition is to be believed, the pip from which it grew came from Normandy.

The Herefordshire Pomona gives three accounts of its origin. The first is supposed to have been written by Sir John Goodricke, who died in 1789: "Three pippins (pips?) were sent to Sir Henry Goodricke from Normandy, about the year 1709, only one of them succeeded, and from that tree all the Ribston Pippins have descended." The second says that Sir Henry Goodricke, father of the last Sir John Goodricke (owner of Ribston), "being at Rouen in Normandy, preserved the pips of some fine-flavoured apples and sent them to Ribston." The pips were sown, and the young trees were planted in the Park (now George Garth). Of seven trees planted, five proved, in the Pomona's reading of a partly illegible manuscript, failures and died. The other two "proved good apples" and were probably still bearing. They were never grafted, and one of them is "the celebrated original Ribston Pippin tree." The third is an undated letter from Miss Clough: "The Ribston Pippin came from Normandy about the beginning of the last century." She says her great-grandfather, Sir Henry, had a friend abroad who sent him "three pippins (pips) in a letter, which being sown, two came to nothing. The present old tree at Ribston is the produce of the third, and has been distributed into all parts."

Bunyard (1920) likewise gives about 1709, from seeds brought from Rouen. Budd and Hansen give "probably about 1688." George Bunyard & Co. (1914) say it was discovered at Ribston Hall, "though from whence the tree came is unknown." Beach places its origin more than two hundred years before 1905, in Yorkshire. A tradition at Ribston names the gardener who raised the original tree as Robert Clemesha. A second account names the father of Lowe, who during the eighteenth century was the fruit-tree nurseryman at Hampton Wick.

The original tree stood until 1810, when a violent gale blew it down. It was then supported by stakes in a horizontal position and continued to bear until it lingered and died in 1840. A woodcut vignette of its last remnant, lent by the Editor of the Gardener's Chronicle, appears in the Herefordshire Pomona. A portion of the old wood is still carefully preserved near the gardener's house. When the old wood was cleared away, a healthy young sucker was found growing from the root about four inches below the surface. This shoot has been well cared for but does not grow well, and the tree is not so large as it was some years before. Its branches died off very much after the frost of 1860. It bore two pecks of very fine fruit in 1875 and less freely in 1876 and 1877. In the bad seasons of 1878, 1879, and 1880 it ripened no fruit. It was still bearing in 1885 and throwing up suckers freely. The Pomona adds that when the present tree dies altogether, one of these suckers "with care would soon make a nice tree and still perpetuate the original." The owner of Ribston Hall at that time was John Dent Dent, Esq., and Mrs. Dent supplied much of this information.

Ribston Pippin did not become generally known until the end of the eighteenth century. George Bunyard & Co. (1914) date its introduction to general notice about 1785. Neither Miller's Dictionary, in any edition, nor any other author of that period mentions it. The Brompton Park nursery did not grow it in 1770. In 1775 the nursery had a quarter of a row, about twenty-five plants. That supply sufficed for three years' demand, so "its merits must have been but little known." Cultivation there rose to one row (about one hundred plants) in 1788 and to two rows three years later. From 1791 it increased by one row each year until it reached five rows in 1794. By 1885 the same nursery grew about twenty-five rows, or 2,500 plants, each year. In the West of England, Messrs. Richard Smith and Co., of St. John's, Worcester, propagated 3,000 plants annually by budding, for trained plants, pyramids, and standards.

In England its standing is the highest. The Herefordshire Pomona calls its merits "now so universally admitted" and says that "This delicious Apple needs no encomium. It is as highly appreciated as it is generally known." Downing calls it "a Yorkshire Apple" that "stands as high in Great Britain as the Bank of England, and to say that an Apple has a Ribston flavor is there the highest praise that can be bestowed." Beach says it has long been considered there "the standard of excellence among dessert apples," and calls it much esteemed for its rich flavor and fine quality. Budd and Hansen call it highly esteemed in England. The nurserymen call it well known (George Bunyard & Co., 1901) and much valued (Veitch). George Bunyard & Co. called the idea that the old variety was dying out "an exploded myth" (1901), and in 1914 said that it "still flourishes, despite rumour to the contrary."

In America it was in cultivation by 1817, when Coxe described it as "an admired English apple" obtained from Mr. Priestly, late of Northumberland, Pennsylvania. Beach says it has long been known in cultivation in America, and Hedrick says it had been grown there for at least a century by 1922. Its American standing has been lower than its English. Elliott found it "Valued in Northern sections; not esteemed South or Central." Warder called it "This famous English apple" but wrote that it "does not seem to have many admirers among our orchardists, but on some accounts it merits a place in the amateur's collection." Downing judged it "scarcely so much esteemed here," adding that it "must be content to give place with us to the Newtown Pippin, the Swaar, the Spitzenburgh, or the Baldwin." Budd and Hansen call it "not equal to some other varieties as grown in the Eastern States." Beach says it has not gained the standing in America that it holds in England and is not grown to any considerable extent in New York.

It succeeds best in the north. Downing calls it very fine and productive in Maine and parts of Canada. Thomas rates it "First-rate as far north as Maine, often second-rate farther south." Beach finds it more successful in portions of Northern New England and Canada, where it is of some commercial importance. Hedrick says it thrives best in New York, New England, and Canada, and calls it "one of the few exotic apples worth growing in America."

Tree

Hardy, vigorous, healthy, and long-lived. Beach calls it pretty hardy and moderately vigorous to vigorous, while Bunyard (1920) and George Bunyard & Co. (1914) call its growth moderate. Medium in size or sometimes rather large, with rather stout, stocky branches (Beach). Form rather upright and spreading or roundish, not very regular. Downing says it forms a spreading top, and Budd and Hansen and the Agassiz station also describe a spreading habit. Thomas describes the shoots as diverging or spreading, with buds and young shoots rather hoary. Veitch says the tree forms a fine pyramid.

Beach describes the wood and foliage. Twigs medium to rather long, rather slender to moderately stout; internodes medium to long. Bark bright dark reddish-brown and olive-green, somewhat mottled with grayish scarf-skin. Lenticels conspicuous, scattering, small to medium, elongated or roundish. Buds medium to large, broad, plump, obtuse, nearly free, very pubescent. Foliage rather dense; leaves broad. Bunyard (1920) gives the leaf as very dark and densely woolly below, upcupped, with twisted, shallowly serrate edges.

The tree comes into bearing young, and Warder, Budd and Hansen, and the Agassiz station call it productive. Agassiz planted it in spring 1890. Beach says it usually bears some fruit every year, and Hedrick calls it annually fruitful. Beach adds that crops are occasionally heavy but more often moderate to rather light, and that it is "hardly satisfactory as a cropper." Hedrick says it is not sufficiently productive and does not hold its crop well enough to make a market variety. Fertility is medium (Bunyard, 1920) or moderate (George Bunyard & Co., 1914).

It is apt to canker. The Herefordshire Pomona says it bears well in a light, rich, dry soil and is otherwise apt to canker. Veitch says it is less liable to canker if frequently transplanted and succeeds best in a dry, warm soil. George Bunyard & Co. (1901) would plant it only in warm soils and aspects. In 1914 the same firm asked for a warm soil with sufficient water at the roots, and for careful spraying against Black Scab, "so often a forerunner of canker." It succeeds best on Paradise stock (George Bunyard & Co., Veitch). George Bunyard & Co. (1901) say the canker has been cured by working only from vigorous trees and on Paradise stock. The same firm finds the finest fruit on espaliers and cordons and calls it not suitable for an orchard tree.

In the southern and middle counties of England it succeeds as an open standard. In the North and in Scotland it needs the protection of a wall to reach perfection (Herefordshire Pomona). Nicol calls it "a universal apple for three kingdoms: it will thrive at John O'Groat's, while it deserves a place at Exeter or Cork." The Herefordshire Pomona adds that it "carries everywhere its delicious flavour."

Fruit

Size: Medium to large. Most authors give medium. Several extend it to rather large, fairly large, or large, and Coxe alone calls it simply large. Bunyard (1920) gives 3 by 2¼. Beach calls it medium or above and pretty uniform in size, but says it often averages below medium. George Bunyard & Co. (1901) report fruit "grand in size and finish" from vigorous trees on Paradise stock.

Form: Roundish or round, rather broad and flattened at the base, narrowing somewhat toward the basin. Occasionally a little inclined to roundish oblong, often broadly and obscurely ribbed, pretty uniform in shape (Beach). Coxe calls it rather flat, and Warder truncated. Thomas, Budd and Hansen, and Bunyard (1920) make it roundish conical, slightly conical, or round conical. On the outline the sources conflict. The Herefordshire Pomona calls it irregular, "caused by several obtuse and unequal angles on its sides," Bunyard (1920) calls it irregular, and George Bunyard & Co. (1914) angular. Warder calls it regular.

Stem: Slender. Short in most accounts, from half an inch long to medium to short, and generally inserted its whole length in the cavity (Herefordshire Pomona). Beach gives it as pubescent, occasionally moderately slender but more often rather thick, sometimes irregularly swollen or inserted under a lip. Warder calls it long, and Bunyard (1920) rather long.

Cavity: Rather wide, acute, round, and russeted or brown. It ranges from rather shallow to rather deep, and from wide to moderately narrow. Beach calls it rather large, sometimes furrowed or compressed, and occasionally smooth and green, but often faintly russeted with some outspreading russet. Warder calls it regular. Budd and Hansen call it somewhat acuminate, often with a large stellate russet patch. Bunyard (1920) calls it narrow.

Calyx: Small and closed in most accounts. Beach calls it variable, small to rather large, closed or partly open. Its lobes are sometimes separated at the base, erect or converging, and their tips usually somewhat reflexed. Bunyard (1920) calls the eye a little open. The calyx tube is rather wide, cone-shaped, broadly conical, or funnel-form. The stamens are basal (Beach), or median or basal (Budd and Hansen).

Basin: Angular, irregular or uneven, abrupt or occasionally obtuse, and often russeted or netted with russet. Small to medium, shallow to deep, and narrow to moderately narrow. Often slightly furrowed and wrinkled (Beach), plaited or regular (Warder), and ribbed (Budd and Hansen). Elliott calls it open, and Bunyard (1920) deep.

Skin: Pretty smooth, or slightly roughened with russet (Beach); Warder and Budd and Hansen call the surface rough. Greenish yellow, yellow, or deep yellow, changing as it ripens to dull yellow (Herefordshire Pomona). It is clouded, flushed, blushed, or overspread with dull red on the sunny side, and broken by stripes, streaks, or splashes. Thomas calls the red yellowish red, Bunyard (1920) a dull brownish-red flush with few stripes, and George Bunyard & Co. (1914) dull brown red; Lowther gives the color as yellow-red. In highly colored specimens the red deepens to a distinct red with some obscure carmine stripes and splashes (Beach). The Herefordshire Pomona gives broken streaks of pale red on the shaded side, and on the sunny side dull red changing to clear faint crimson, streaked with deeper crimson.

Russet lies near the stem and generally over the base, from a little or a small portion of russet to an open network (Budd and Hansen). The appearance is ordinary. Beach says it is sometimes rather attractive but the colors are more often rather dull, and Hedrick calls the apples not attractive in appearance.

Dots: Pale, sometimes whitish, gray, or russet, often areolar with a russet center. Scattering and conspicuous toward the base, more numerous and smaller toward the basin (Beach). On their number and prominence the sources conflict. Warder calls them numerous, minute, and prominent, while Budd and Hansen call them obscure and few.

Flesh and flavor: Yellow, deep yellow, or golden yellow (Agassiz), or tinged with yellow (Beach). Budd and Hansen note yellow veinings. Firm and crisp to very crisp; medium in texture (Beach), fine (Hedrick), granular (Thomas). Juicy, though moderately juicy in the Agassiz report.

Rich and aromatic. The Herefordshire Pomona calls it "rich and sugary, and charged with a powerful aromatic flavour," and Bunyard (1920) calls it highly aromatic. Beach calls it pleasantly aromatic and sprightly subacid, and Elliott and Budd and Hansen also call it subacid. Downing calls the flavor sharp, Thomas "very rich and rather sharp or acid," and Warder acid. George Bunyard & Co. (1914) call the flesh "remarkably highly flavoured."

The usual verdict is "very good." Coxe calls it "an excellent table and baking apple," and Rivers "excellent." Bunyard (1920) calls it "One of the richest flavoured apples when well ripened."

Core and seeds: Core small, or below medium to small, regular, and closed. Axile or with a narrow hollow cylinder at the axis, with cells pretty regular and closed, and core lines clasping to nearly meeting (Beach). Budd and Hansen give the core as distant and barely clasping, with obovate, axile, slit cells. Beach gives the carpels as roundish to nearly elliptical, emarginate, and slightly tufted.

The seeds are often imperfect or abortive. Beach calls them variable, usually but few plump, light and dark brown, and rather large. He gives them as moderately narrow to wide, medium to long, obtuse or sometimes approaching acute, and sometimes slightly tufted. Elliott gives them as flattened ovate, Warder as angular, and Budd and Hansen as pointed. On their number the sources conflict: Warder calls them numerous, and Budd and Hansen few.

Season

The recorded season runs from late September into May. Most authors begin it in October or November and close it between January and April. January is the commonest close, though a substantial group carries it to April, and Veitch alone extends it to May. The Herefordshire Pomona puts its greatest perfection in November and December but says it will keep until March with good management.

Beach says heat ripens it quickly and it is not considered a very good keeper. In Southern New York its season runs from late September to November or December. In the northern and more elevated regions it runs from late fall to early or mid-winter, and sometimes a portion of the fruit may be kept till spring in ordinary storage. In cold storage, if properly handled before storing, it is possibly equal to Tompkins King or Hubbardston as a keeper. Warder says it is apt to wilt. Thomas says its quality is "usually suffered to deteriorate needlessly by remaining too long on the tree."

Uses

Chiefly a dessert apple; Hedrick says its flavor, aroma, and flesh "fit them admirably for dessert." Beach finds it desirable for either dessert or culinary use, and Coxe calls it an excellent table and baking apple. Warder ranks it for the kitchen, "scarcely for table." On its market value the sources conflict. Lowther lists it for both kitchen and market. Hedrick says it is not productive enough, and does not hold its crop well enough, to make a market variety. Beach says Hubbardston is much to be preferred for commercial orchards in New York.

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Beach places Ribston Pippin in the same group as Hubbardston. Lowther records it from two reporting stations in the Central Division and notes that it was reported in more than one division.

Book Sources

Described in 11 period pomological works

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 19 catalogs (1845–1917) from California, England, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington

View original book sources (16)

NO. 41. RIBSTONE PIPPIN.

This is an admired English apple, which I obtained from Mr. Priestly late of Northumberland, Pennsylvania—the size is large, the form rather flat, the skin streaked with red and yellow, with a small portion of russet: it is an excellent table and baking apple; in season, from October till April.

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

Ribston Pippin.

Glory of York, | Travers, | Formosa Pippin.

Foreign. Valued in Northern sections ; not esteemed South or Central. Fruit, medium, roundish, greenish yellow, russet near the stem, dull red in sun ; stem, slender ; calyx, small closed ; basin, open ; core, small ; seeds, flattened ovate ; flesh, yellow, firm, crisp, aromatic, sub-acid. November to February.

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

Ribston Pippin.

This famous English apple does not seem to have many admirers among our orchardists, but on some accounts it merits a place in the amateur's collection.

Tree productive, early bearer.

Fruit medium to large, round, truncated, regular; Surface rough, splashed and mixed dull red on yellow; Dots numerous, minute, prominent, russet.

Basin abrupt, plaited or regular, russeted; Eye small, closed.

Cavity acute, wide, regular, brown; Stem long, slender.

Core regular, closed; Seeds numerous, angular, imperfect; Flesh yellow, crisp, firm, juicy; Flavor acid, rich, aromatic; Use, kitchen — scarcely for table; Season, October and later, but apt to wilt.

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

[Syn: Glory of York; Travers Pippin.]

The original tree of this celebrated Apple grows in the park at Ribston Hall, near Knaresborough, Yorkshire, on the banks of the river Nidd; and if tradition is to be believed, the pip from which it grew came from Normandy. The following account of its origin is supposed to have been written by Sir John Goodricke, who died in 1789:—"Three pippins (pips?) were sent to Sir Henry Goodricke from Normandy, about the year 1709, only one of them succeeded, and from that tree all the Ribston Pippins have descended." Another account states that "Sir Henry Goodricke, father of the last Sir John Goodricke (owner of Ribston) being at Rouen in Normandy, preserved the pips of some fine-flavoured apples and sent them to Ribston. They were sown, and the young trees in due time planted in the Park (now George Garth). Out of seven trees planted, five proved decided" . . . (illegible—probably "failures and are all") . . . "dead. The other two proved good apples. They are" . . . (illegible—probably "bearing") . . . "yet. They never were grafted, and one of them is the celebrated original Ribston Pippin tree." And, lastly, in an undated letter from Miss Clough it is stated, "The Ribston Pippin came from Normandy about the beginning of the last century. My great grandfather, Sir Henry, had a friend abroad who sent him over three pippins (pips) in a letter, which being sown, two came to nothing. The present old tree at Ribston is the produce of the third, and has been distributed into all parts."

The original tree stood until the year 1810, when it was blown down by a violent gale of wind. It was afterwards supported by stakes in a horizontal position, as is shown by the woodcut vignette which has been kindly lent to the Club by the Editor of the Gardener's Chronicle to appear here. It continued to produce fruit until it lingered and died in the year 1840. On clearing away the old wood, a portion of which is still carefully preserved near the gardener's house, a healthy young sucker was found to be growing from the root about four inches below the surface of the ground. This young shoot has been well cared for but it does not grow well, and the tree is not so large as it was some years since. The branches died off very much after the frost of 1860. In the year 1875 the tree bore two pecks of very fine fruit. In 1876 and 1877 it did not bear so freely, and in the bad seasons of 1878—9 and 80 it did not ripen any fruit. The tree is still so far flourishing that it continues to bear fruit. It throws up suckers freely, so that when the present tree dies altogether, one of these with care would soon make a nice tree and still perpetuate the original.

The owner of Ribston Hall at this time is John Dent Dent, Esq., and much of the above information has been kindly supplied by Mrs. Dent. A tradition exists there that the gardener who raised the original tree, was a certain Robert Clemesha; but a second account states he was the father of Lowe, who, during the last century, was the fruit tree nurseryman at Hampton Wick.

Notwithstanding the great merits of the Ribston Pippin apple, now so universally admitted, it did not become generally known until the end of the last century; and it is not mentioned in any of the editions of Miller's Dictionary, or by any other author of that period; neither was it grown in the Brompton Park nursery grounds in 1770. In 1775 it appears in that collection, when it was grown to the extent of a quarter of a row, or about twenty-five plants; and as this supply seems to have sufficed for three years' demand, its merits must have been but little known. In 1788 its cultivation extended to one row, or about one hundred plants, and three years later to two rows. From 1791 it increased one row annually till 1794, when it reached five rows. From these facts we may pretty well learn the rise and progress of its popularity. It is now in the same nursery cultivated to the extent of about twenty-five rows, or 2,500 plants annually.

The extent to which the Ribston Pippin is now generally cultivated may be judged of from the fact, that in one single Nursery in the West of England, that of Messrs. Richard Smith and Co., at St. John's, Worcester, 3,000 plants are annually propagated by budding for trained plants, pyramids and standards.

Description.—Fruit: medium sized, roundish and irregular in its outline, caused by several obtuse and unequal angles on its sides. Skin: greenish yellow, changing as it ripens to dull yellow, and marked with broken streaks of pale red on the shaded side, but dull red changing to clear faint crimson, marked with streaks of deeper crimson, on the side next the sun, and generally russety over the base. Eye: small and closed, set in an irregular basin, which is generally netted with russet. Stalk: half an inch long, slender, and generally inserted its whole length in a round cavity, which is surrounded with russet. Flesh: yellow, firm, crisp, rich and sugary, and charged with a powerful aromatic flavour.

This delicious Apple needs no encomium. It is as highly appreciated as it is generally known. It is in greatest perfection during the months of November and December, but with good management it will keep until March.

The tree is hardy and vigorous in growth, and bears well when grown in a light, rich and dry soil. It is otherwise apt to canker. In all the Southern and middle counties of England it succeeds well as an open standard; but in the North and in Scotland it requires the protection of a wall to bring it to perfection. Nicol calls it "a universal apple for three kingdoms: it will thrive at John O'Groat's, while it deserves a place at Exeter or Cork." It may be added, too, that it carries everywhere its delicious flavour.

The last remnant of the original Ribston Pippin Tree, Ribston Hall, Knaresborough.

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

Ribston Pippin.

Glory of York. Travers'. Formosa Pippin. Rockhill's Russet.

The Ribston Pippin, a Yorkshire Apple, stands as high in Great Britain as the Bank of England, and to say that an Apple has a Ribston flavor is there the highest praise that can be bestowed. But it is scarcely so much esteemed here, and must be content to give place with us to the Newtown Pippin, the Swaar, the Spitzenburgh, or the Baldwin. In Maine, and parts of Canada, it is very fine and productive.

Ribston Pippin.

Fruit of medium size, roundish, greenish yellow, mixed with a little russet near the stalk, and clouded with dull red on the sunny side. Stalk short, slender, planted in a rather wide cavity. Calyx small, closed, and set in an angular basin. Flesh deep yellow, firm, crisp, with a sharp, rich, aromatic flavor. Very good. The tree forms a spreading top. November to April.

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

Ribston Pippin. Medium or rather large, roundish conical; clouded and striped with yellowish red, on a yellow and slightly russeted ground; stalk slender, often short; cavity rather wide; basin narrow, angular; flesh yellow, crisp, granular, juicy, with a very rich and rather sharp or acid flavor. First-rate as far north as Maine, often second-rate farther south; but its quality is usually suffered to deteriorate needlessly by remaining too long on the tree. Late autumn and early winter. Shoots diverging or spreading; buds and young shoots rather hoary. English.

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

RIBSTON.

REFERENCES. 1. Forsyth, 1803:52. 2. Diel, 11:93. 1813. 3. Coxe, 1817:125. fig. 4. Forsyth, 1824:124. 5. Buel, N. Y. Bd. Agr. Mem., 1828:476. 6. Fessenden, 1828:130. 7. Pom. Mag., 3:No. 141. 1830. col. pl. 8. London Hort. Soc. Cat., 1831:32. 9. Ronalds, 1831:54. 10. Kenrick, 1832:52. 11. Floy-Lindley, 1833:59. 12. Manning, 1838:54. 13. Manning, Mag. Hort., 7:49. 1841. 14. Russell, Ib., 10:403. 1844. 15. Downing, 1845:131. 16. Downing, Horticulturist, 2:416. 1847. 17. Ib., 3:421. 1848. 18. Thomas, 1849:152. 19. Cole, 1849:126. 20. Horticulturist, 6:16, 292. 1851. 21. Emmons, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 3:75. 1851. 22. Elliott, 1854:155. 23. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1854. 24. Mag. Hort., 21:62. 1855. 25. Hooper, 1857:80. 26. Oberdieck, Ill. Handb. Obst., 1:353. 1858. 27. Mag. Hort., 26:116. 1860. 28. Warder, 1867:612. 29. Regel, 1868:463. 30. Berghuis, 1868:No. 3. col. pl. 31. Mas, LeVerger, 1868:99. 32. Leroy, 1873:750. figs. 33. Lauche, 1:No. 25. 1882. col. pl. 34. Barry, 1883:353. 35. Hogg, 1884:194. 36. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:296. 37. Hick, Can. Hort., 15:157. 1892. 38. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:248. 39. Bredsted, 1893:137. 40. Gaucher, 1894:No. 19. col. pl. 41. Bunyard, Jour. Roy. Hort. Soc., 1898:355. 42. Can. Hort., 22:510. 1899. 43. Eneroth-Smirnoff, 1901:224. 44. Waugh, Rural N. Y., 61:285, 286. 1902. fig. 45. Budd-Hansen, 1903:165. fig. 46. Beach and Clark, N. Y. Sta. Bul., 248:141. 1904.

SYNONYMS. Beautiful Pippin (25). Englische Granat-Reinette (40). Essex Pippin (40). Formosa (25). Formosa Pippin (7, 10, 15, 22, 32, 40). Glory of York (10, 15, 22, 25, 32, 35, 40, of some 7). Granat-Reinette (40). Nonpareille (40). Pepin Ribston (40). Reinette Grenade Anglaise (40). Reinette de Trover (32). RIBSTON (2, 8, 9, 11, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 36, 37, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45). RIBSTON PIPPIN (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 28, 32, 34, 35, 38, 41, 44). Ribston Pippin (45, 46). RIBSTON PEPPING (40). Ribston's Pepping (40). Ribstone (32). RIBSTONE PIPPIN (6, 12). RIDGE (46 by error). Rockhill's Russet (32). Travers (15, 22, 25, 32). Travers Apple (7, 10, 40). Travers Peppin (40). Travers Pippin (35). Travers Reinette (40).

Ribston evidently belongs in the same group as Hubbardston. It is much esteemed for its rich flavor and fine quality and it is desirable either for dessert or culinary uses. The fruit is pretty smooth and uniform but often it averages below medium size and is ordinary in appearance. Heat ripens it quickly and it is not considered a very good keeper. In cold storage, if properly handled before storing, it is possibly equal to Tompkins King or Hubbardston as a keeper (46). Its season in Southern New York extends from late September to November or December, and in the northern and more elevated regions from late fall to early or mid-winter and sometimes a portion of the fruit may be kept till spring in ordinary storage. The tree is pretty hardy, vigorous, healthy and long-lived. It comes into bearing rather young and usually bears some fruit every year. Occasionally the crops are heavy but more often they vary from moderate to rather light. Generally speaking, it is hardly satisfactory as a cropper and Hubbardston is much to be preferred for planting in commercial orchards in New York.

Historical. Ribston originated more than two hundred years ago in Yorkshire, England (1, 7). In that country it has long been considered the standard of excellence among dessert apples. It has long been known in cultivation in America but has not gained the standing here that it holds in England. It is not grown to any considerable extent in New York but succeeds better farther north, as in portions of Northern New England and of Canada, where it is of some commercial importance (16, 20, 24, 44).

TREE.

Tree medium in size or sometimes rather large, moderately vigorous to vigorous with rather stout, stocky branches. Form rather upright and spreading or roundish, not very regular. Twigs medium to rather long, rather slender to moderately stout; internodes medium to long. Bark bright dark reddish-brown and olive-green, somewhat mottled with grayish scarf-skin. Lenticels conspicuous, scattering, small to medium, elongated or roundish. Buds medium to large, broad, plump, obtuse, nearly free, very pubescent. Foliage rather dense; leaves broad.

FRUIT.

Fruit medium or above, pretty uniform in shape and size. Form roundish, rather broad and flattened at the base, narrowing somewhat toward the basin, occasionally a little inclined to roundish oblong, often broadly and obscurely ribbed. Stem pubescent, medium to short, occasionally moderately slender, more often rather thick, sometimes irregularly swollen or inserted under a lip. Cavity rather large, acute, moderately shallow to rather deep, wide to moderately narrow, sometimes furrowed or compressed, occasionally smooth and green but often faintly russeted and with some outspreading russet. Calyx variable, small to rather large, closed or partly open; lobes sometimes separated at the base, erect or converging, tips usually somewhat reflexed. Basin small to medium, shallow to moderately deep, moderately narrow, more or less abrupt or occasionally obtuse, often slightly furrowed and wrinkled. Skin smooth or slightly roughened with russet, deep yellow or greenish-yellow more or less overspread with rather dull red which in highly colored specimens deepens to a distinct red with some obscure carmine stripes and splashes. Dots scattering, conspicuous toward the base, more numerous and smaller toward the basin, pale, sometimes whitish, often areolar with russet center. Prevailing effect sometimes rather attractive but more often the colors are rather dull.

Calyx tube rather wide, cone-shape or sometimes funnel-form. Stamens basal. Core below medium to small, axile or with a narrow hollow cylinder at the axis; cells pretty regular, closed; core lines clasping to nearly meeting. Carpels roundish to nearly elliptical, emarginate, slightly tufted. Seeds variable, some abortive, usually but few are plump, light and dark brown, rather large, moderately narrow to wide, medium to long, obtuse or sometimes approaching acute, sometimes slightly tufted. Flesh tinged with yellow, firm, very crisp, medium in texture, juicy, pleasantly aromatic, rich, sprightly subacid, very good.

Season late September to December or later.

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

Ribston (Ribston Pippin).—Origin, Ribston Hall, near Knaresborough, England, probably about 1688; highly esteemed in England, but not equal to some other varieties as grown in the Eastern States; tree spreading, productive, an early bearer.

Ribston.

Fruit medium to large, roundish, slightly conical; surface rough, greenish, shaded and striped with dull red on sunny side, with open net-work of russet; dots obscure, gray or russet, few; cavity rather wide, rather shallow, somewhat acuminate, often with large stellate russet patch; stem short; basin abrupt, medium, angular and ribbed, russeted; calyx closed, small. Core small, distant, barely clasping, closed; cells obovate, axile, slit; tube funnel-shaped, or broadly conical; stamens median or basal; seeds pointed, few, often imperfect; flesh deep yellow, with yellow veinings, firm, crisp, juicy, rich, aromatic subacid, very good. November to April.

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

Ribston (Pippin). Size: medium. Form: round. Color: yellow-red. Quality: very good. Use: both kitchen and market. Season: winter. Central Division: 2 reporting stations (reported in more than one division).

— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)

RIBSTON PIPPIN. Ronalds, P. 27. F., Pepin Ribston ; G., Englische Granat Reinette. (Formosa Pippin, Nonpareille d'Angleterre, Travers Pippin.) Dessert, till January, medium to fairly large, 3 by 2¼, round conical, irregular. Colour, yellow with dull brownish-red flush and few stripes and russet. Flesh, firm, yellow, highly aromatic. Eye, a little open, in a deep uneven basin. Stem, rather long, in a narrow russet cavity. Growth, moderate ; fertility, medium. Leaf, very dark, and densely woolly below, upcupped, edges twisted, shallow serrate. Origin, English. Raised at Ribston Hall, Knaresborough, about 1709, from seeds brought from Rouen. One of the richest flavoured apples when well ripened.

— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)

RIBSTON. Essex Pippin. Ribston Pippin.

Ribston is one of the few exotic apples worth growing in America. The apples are not attractive in appearance, but have a fine rich flavor, a pleasant aroma, and firm, fine, crisp flesh that fit them admirably for dessert. The trees are hardy, vigorous, and long-lived, come in bearing young, and are annually fruitful, though not sufficiently productive nor do they hold the crop well enough to make a market variety. Ribston originated in Yorkshire, England, over two centuries ago, and has been grown in America for at least a century, thriving best in New York, New England, and Canada.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, with stout, stocky branches. Fruit medium or large, uniform in size and shape, round, broad and flattened at the base, narrowing toward the basin, occasionally round-oblong, often broadly and obscurely ribbed; stem pubescent, short, occasionally slender, more often thick, sometimes irregularly swollen or inserted under a lip; cavity large, acute, deep, wide, sometimes furrowed or compressed, russeted and with outspreading russet rays; calyx variable, small, closed or partly open; lobes separated at the base, erect, tips usually reflexed; basin small, shallow, narrow, abrupt, or occasionally obtuse, often furrowed and wrinkled; skin smooth or roughened with russet, yellow overspread with dull red which in highly-colored specimens deepens to bright red, with obscure carmine stripes and splashes; dots scattering, conspicuous toward the base, more numerous and smaller toward the basin, pale, often areolar with russet center; calyx-tube wide, cone-shape; stamens basal; core small, axile or with a narrow, hollow cylinder at the axis; cells regular, closed; core-lines clasping; carpels elliptical, emarginate, tufted; seeds variable, some abortive, light and dark brown, large, wide, long, obtuse, sometimes slightly tufted; flesh yellow, firm, very crisp, juicy, pleasantly aromatic, rich, sprightly subacid; very good; September to December.

— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)

Planted Spring 1890. Tree a vigorous but spreading grower, and productive. Fruit of medium size, roundish. Skin greenish yellow, with a little russet, and a dull red blush. Flesh golden yellow, firm, crisp, moderately juicy, with a rich aromatic flavour, quality very good. Season November to January.

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

Medium, a well-known sort, succeeds best on Paradise stock. The finest fruit is produced on Espaliers and Cordons; not suitable for an orchard tree, and should only be planted in warm soils and aspects. There is an exploded myth that this old fruit is dying out, but by working only from vigorous trees and on Paradise stock the canker has been cured, and the fruit produced is grand in size and finish.

— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Fruit Catalogue (1901) (1901)

a well-known and much valued dessert apple, the tree forms a fine pyramid and is less liable to canker if frequently transplanted, it succeeds best in a dry warm soil, particularly on the paradise stock ... Oct. to May

— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)

Dessert; Nov.-Jan. Medium, angular, dull brown red with russet; flesh crisp and remarkably highly flavoured; growth and fertility moderate. This well-known old variety still flourishes, despite rumour to the contrary; it requires a warm soil and sufficient water at the roots. With careful spraying to keep down the Black Scab, so often a forerunner of canker, this excellent variety can still be successfully grown. Discovered at Ribston Hall, Knaresborough, though from whence the tree came is unknown. Introduced to general notice about 1785.

— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Catalog of Fruit Trees (1914) (1914)

medium size, rich, aromatic, and excellent; a very - Sept-Jan.

— Thomas Rivers & Son, Thomas Rivers Catalogue of Fruits (1914) (1914)
Beautiful Pippin Englische Granat Reinette Englische Granat-Reinette Essex Pippin Formosa Formosa Pippin Glory of York Granat-Reinette Kirsten Nonpareille Nonpareille d'Angleterre Pepin Ribston Reinette Grenade Anglaise Reinette de Trover Ribston Ribston (Ribston Pippin) Ribston Pepping Ribston's Pepping Ribstone Ribstone Pippin Ridge Rockhill's Russet Travers Travers Apple Travers Peppin Travers Pippin Travers Reinette Travers' Ridge Utter (Utter's Red) White Norman Winter Pearmain