Soulard

Apple

USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection

Soulard

Origin / History

Accounts of the origin diverge. Downing reports that the Soulard was raised by Antoine Lessieur of Portage des Sioux, a few miles above St. Louis, Missouri, and is highly prized in the neighborhood of its origin. Thomas simply gives Missouri as the source. Budd-Hansen state that it originated near St. Louis, Missouri, about 1844, was introduced by Hon. James Soulard of Galena, Illinois, and is considered to be a hybrid of the wild crab and the common apple (Pyrus iowensis × P. malus) — the first of its type to be brought under cultivation.

Beach explicitly distinguishes a "Soulard crab" from the Soulard apple, writing: "It is distinct from the Soulard apple." Beach quotes Soulard's own account of the crab's origin: it arose on a farm about twelve miles from St. Louis, Missouri, where an American crab thicket stood uninclosed near the farmhouse about twenty-five years before Soulard wrote. The thicket was cut down and the ground cultivated for two or three years; when culture was discontinued, another crab thicket sprang up, and when bearing, one tree — the identical kind now called Soulard crab — was discovered. The fruit "astonished" Soulard by its remarkably large size, having been sent to him by a friend whose widowed mother, Mrs. Freeman Delauriere, occupied the farm. He immediately propagated it by grafting upon crab stock and upon common seedlings; both stocks produced the same fruit and thrived admirably, and he disseminated it among his friends as "a very desirable fruit, having nothing of the Siberian type." Soulard considered the tree, its foliage, habit, increased size of fruit and tree, and decreased acerbity as convincing evidence that it was a hybrid of the wild crab by the common apple, and "as far as I know, the first instance of such cross."

Bailey (cited by Beach) regarded the Soulard as a hybrid between the native prairie crab (Pyrus ioensis) and the common apple (Pyrus malus), an opinion supported by Craig. Bailey concluded: "It is probable that too much was expected of the Soulard crab when it was first introduced, and that it afterward suffered from the partial collapse. Such an array of apples has now been introduced into the cold Northwest from the East, from Russia, offspring of the Siberian crab, and local seedlings of the common apple that the Soulard crab and its kin have been obscured." Beach adds that the variety was still listed by some nurserymen as of his writing but was practically unknown in New York and had no value for that state.

Tree

Downing: Tree very vigorous, upright, slightly spreading when in fruit; an early and abundant bearer.

Beach (quoting Soulard on the crab form): "The tree is an immense grower in the nursery, coming early into fruit and making but little growth afterward, and is an immense and regular bearer. Tree perfectly hardy, having stood the severest winters here and at St. Paul, Minn., for twenty-five years."

Thomas and Budd-Hansen: Not described.

Fruit

Size

Downing: Medium to large.
Thomas: Medium.
Beach (Soulard's account of the crab): Remarkably large for a crab; the largest measured over seven inches around.
Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): One and one-half to two inches in diameter.

Form

Downing: Oblate, slightly conic, slightly angular, or obscurely ribbed.
Thomas: Round oblate, slightly angular.
Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): Oblate, regular.
Beach (quoting Soulard on the crab): In form, color and smell it is like the common crab.

Stem / Stalk

Downing: Stalk short, small.
Thomas: Stalk short.
Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): Stem long.

Cavity

Downing: Quite large, slight russet.
Thomas: Large.
Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): Wide, obtuse, regular.

Calyx

Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): Calyx closed, pistil and stamen vestiges often protruding; segments erect convergent.
Downing, Thomas: Not described.

Basin

Downing: Medium, corrugated.
Thomas: Medium, corrugated.
Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): Wide, shallow, ribbed.

Skin

Downing: Whitish, shaded, striped and splashed with light and dark bright red over most of the surface, with a few light and brown dots.
Thomas: Whitish, striped bright red; dots few, brown.
Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): Surface green, very oily; dots obscure, many, gray, minute.

Flesh / Flavor

Downing: Flesh quite white, very tender, very juicy, sprightly subacid, vinous; very good.
Thomas: Flesh white, tender, juicy, sub-acid. Very good.
Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): Flesh greenish white, astringent, sharp acid.
Beach (quoting Soulard on the crab): Adding sweetness, it is delicious baked; imparts a delicate taste and rich crab aroma; agreeable to many palates in the spring.

Core / Seeds

Downing: Core rather large.
Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): Core closed; cells obovate; tube broad, cylindrical; stamens extremely marginal, touching segments; seeds few, large, plump, some imperfect.
Thomas: Not described.

Season

Downing: October, November.
Thomas: Late autumn.
Budd-Hansen (Soulard Crab): Late winter and spring.
Beach (quoting Soulard on the crab): Hangs on the tree until destroyed by frost; will keep two years, with common care, in a cellar; will stand repeated freezing and thawing in a dark place.

Uses

Budd-Hansen: Used for preserves as a substitute for quinces.
Beach (quoting Soulard on the crab): "I consider it the most desirable of all crabs that I have seen. Adding sweetness, it is delicious baked. It makes most excellent preserves, being large enough to be quartered, and unsurpassed by any crab for jams, jellies, etc., imparting its delicate taste and rich crab aroma." Also used for cider: "I have made some cider as clear as wine, with sugar or a quarter part of sweet apples. It will make delicious strong cider."
Downing, Thomas: Not described.

Subtypes / Variants

Beach treats the Soulard crab as a separate entity from the Soulard apple, explicitly noting: "It is distinct from the Soulard apple." Downing's and Thomas's descriptions (medium to large oblate fruit, whitish skin striped with bright red, white tender juicy subacid flesh, October–November season) describe an apple; Beach's and Budd-Hansen's descriptions (small green oily fruit, astringent sharp-acid greenish-white flesh, late winter/spring keeping, used like quinces for preserves) describe the hybrid crab attributed to Pyrus iowensis × P. malus. Both have been recorded under the Soulard name.

Other

Beach lists extensive references documenting the variety in horticultural literature from 1868 onward, including Gardener's Monthly (1868), Illinois Horticultural Society Reports (1869, 1873), Downing (1869), American Pomological Society Catalog (1871), Montreal Horticultural Society Reports (1879, 1884), Thomas (1885, 1897), Bailey's Annals of Horticulture (1892), Budd in American Gardener (1893), Bailey's Evolution of Native Fruits (1898), Craig in Iowa Academy of Science (1899), and Budd-Hansen (1903). Beach notes "Synonyms. None." Thomas references his figure 384.

Book Sources

Described in 4 period pomological works

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 5 catalogs (1894–1913) from Illinois, Oregon, Washington

Woodburn Nurseries , Woodburn, Marion Co. , Oregon — 1894
Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
The Dalles Nurseries , The Dalles , Oregon — 1901
Vineland Nurseries Company , Clarkston , Washington — 1912
Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913

View original book sources (4)

SOULARD.

Raised by Antoine Lessieur, of Portage des Sioux, a few miles above St. Louis, Mo. Tree very vigorous, upright, slightly spreading when in fruit; an early and abundant bearer. This is highly prized in the neighborhood of its origin.

Fruit medium to large, oblate, slightly conic, slightly angular, or obscurely ribbed; skin whitish, shaded, striped and splashed with light and dark bright red over most of the surface, with a few light and brown dots; stalk short, small; cavity quite large, slight russet; basin medium, corrugated; flesh quite white, very tender, very juicy, sprightly subacid, vinous; very good; core rather large. October, November.

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

Soulard. Medium, round oblate, slightly angular; whitish, striped bright red, dots few, brown; stalk short, cavity large; basin medium, corrugated; flesh white, tender, juicy, sub-acid. Very good. Late autumn. Fig. 384. Missouri.

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

SOULARD.

References. 1. Soulard, Gard. Monthly, 10:199. 1868 (cited by 13). 2. Ib., Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1869:195, 260. 3. Downing, 1869:426. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1871:8. 5. Soulard, Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1873:291. 6. Montreal Hort. Soc. Rpt., 5:91. 1879. 7. Ib., 10:37. 1884. 8. Thomas, 1885:524. 9. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:300. 10. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:249. 11. Budd, Amer. Gard., 14:244. 1893. 12. Thomas, 1897:264. fig. 13. Bailey, Evol. Native Fruits, 1898:261. fig. 14. Craig, Ia. Acad. Sci., 7:130. 1899. pl. 15. Budd-Hansen, 1903:225. fig.

Synonyms. None.

This is regarded by Bailey as a hybrid between the native prairie crab, Pyrus ioensis, and the common apple, Pyrus malus (13), in which opinion he is supported by Craig (14). It is distinct from the Soulard apple. According to Soulard's account (13) "it originated on a farm about twelve miles from St. Louis, Mo., where stood an American crab thicket not inclosed, near the farmhouse, about twenty-five years since. The thicket was cut down and the ground cultivated some two or three years; culture being discontinued, another crab thicket sprang up, and when bearing, one tree (the identical kind now called Soulard crab) was discovered. The fruit astonished me by its remarkably large size, being sent to me by a friend whose widowed mother, Mrs. Freeman Delauriere, occupied the farm. I immediately propagated it by grafting upon crab stock and upon our common seedlings. Upon both stocks producing the same fruit and thriving admirably, I disseminated it among my friends as a very desirable fruit, having nothing of the Siberian type. It is to me conclusive that this crab is the offspring of an accidental hybridization of the wild crab by our common apple. The tree, its foliage, habit, increased size of fruit and tree, and decreased acerbity, convince me it is a hybrid, and as far as I know, the first instance of such cross.

"I consider it the most desirable of all crabs that I have seen. Adding sweetness, it is delicious baked. It makes most excellent preserves, being large enough to be quartered, and unsurpassed by any crab for jams, jellies, etc., imparting its delicate taste and rich crab aroma. The largest have measured over seven inches around. In form, color and smell it is like the common crab, and it hangs on the tree until destroyed by frost. It will keep two years, with common care, in a cellar, and will stand repeated freezing and thawing in a dark place. It is agreeable to many palates in the spring.

"The tree is an immense grower in the nursery, coming early into fruit and making but little growth afterward, and is an immense and regular bearer. I have made some cider as clear as wine, with sugar or a quarter part of sweet apples. It will make delicious strong cider. Tree perfectly hardy, having stood the severest winters here and at St. Paul, Minn., for twenty-five years."

After giving the testimony of several observers with regard to the value of this hybrid for the Upper Mississippi valley Bailey concludes: "It is probable that too much was expected of the Soulard crab when it was first introduced, and that it afterward suffered from the partial collapse. Such an array of apples has now been introduced into the cold Northwest from the East, from Russia, offspring of the Siberian crab, and local seedlings of the common apple that the Soulard crab and its kin have been obscured" (13).

The variety is still listed by some nurserymen (10). It is practically unknown in New York and has no value for this state.

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

Soulard.—Considered to be a hybrid of the wild crab and the common apple (Pyrus lowensis × P. Malus); the first of its type to be brought under cultivation. Originated near St. Louis, Missouri, about 1844; introduced by Hon. James Soulard, of Galena, Illinois. The fruit is used for preserves as a substitute for quinces.

Soulard Crab.

Fruit one and one-half to two inches in diameter, oblate, regular; surface green, very oily; dots obscure, many, gray, minute; cavity wide, obtuse, regular; stem long; basin wide, shallow, ribbed; calyx closed, pistil and stamen vestiges often protruding; segments erect convergent. Core closed; cells obovate; tube broad, cylindrical; stamens extremely marginal, touching segments; seeds few, large, plump, some imperfect; flesh greenish white, astringent, sharp acid. Late winter and spring.

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

Soulard Crab