Sweet Winesap

Sweet Winesap. Henrick Sweet ? Henry Sweet. Ladies Sweet, of some. Sweet Pearmain, of some. Red Sweet Winesap. From Pennsylvania. Tree of moderate, upright growth, productive. Fruit medium, oblate, slightly approaching conic. Color red, splashed with deep crimson. Stalk long and slender, inserted in a deep cavity, surrounded with russet. Calyx partially open, set in a rather deep, open basin. Flesh tender, juicy, very sweet, rich. Good to very good. November to March.

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

SWEET WINESAP.

REFERENCES. 1. Elliott, 1854:160—not the Sweet Winesap of Downing. 2. Warder, 1867:721, 734. 3. Downing, 1869:378. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1871:10. 5. Thomas, 1875:501. 6. Ib., 1875:514. 7. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:298. 8. Thomas, 1897:270. 9. Budd-Hansen, 1903:186. 10. Beach and Clark, N. Y. Sta. Bul., 248:124. 1904. 11. Ragan, U. S. B. P. I. Bul., 56:141. 1905. 12. Ib., 56:170. 1905. 13. Ib., 56:304, 305. 1905.

SYNONYMS. Bailey Sweet (10) incorrectly. HENDRICK (10). Hendrick Sweet (10). HENRICK (11). HENRICK SWEET (2, 5). Henrick Sweet (7, 8, 11, 13, ?3). Henry Sweet (3, 13). Ladies' Sweet of some (3, 12, 13), but erroneously. Lady Sweet of some, but erroneously. Lady Sweeting of some, but erroneously. Red Sweet Winesap (3, 13). Rose Sweet. SWEET PEARMAIN (8). Sweet Pearmain of some (3, 13). SWEET WINE SAP (6).

An attractive red winter apple, symmetrical, uniform, of good medium size, or, under favorable conditions, rather large. It is excellent in quality for dessert or for baking or other culinary uses. Some fruit growers report that the tree is satisfactorily hardy, but others find that it is a little lacking in hardiness and for that reason prefer to top-work it upon some vigorous, hardy stock such as Northern Spy, Roxbury or Golden Russet. It is usually healthy and moderately long-lived. It tends to form a rather dense head, particularly where thorough tillage is practiced, and for this reason the top should be made sufficiently open so that the foliage may be kept in good working condition throughout the tree. The tree is not an early bearer, but when it comes into bearing it is a reliable cropper. In many cases it is inclined to overbear and produce a considerable amount of undersized fruit. Some few hold that two pickings should be made on account of the tendency of the fruit to drop, but others report that it hangs to the tree well enough so that but one picking is needed if the fruit is gathered before it is too far advanced in maturity. The fruit has a tough skin, stands heat well before going into storage and remains sprightly and crisp till late in the season. As grown in Western New York it ordinarily comes into season in November and may be held in common storage till April first or in cold storage till May fifteenth (10). It sells well in markets where there is any considerable demand for a red winter apple of sweet flavor. It is often shipped to Baltimore, Washington and other southern markets.

Historical. Downing described Sweet Winesap in 1869 as a variety from Pennsylvania (3), with Henrick Sweet as a synonym. In 1879 fruit of the variety commonly known in Western New York as Henrick Sweet was identified by Charles Downing for William J. Edmunds, of Brockport, N. Y., as undoubtedly Sweet Winesap. Mr. Edmunds has very kindly supplied us with some of his Sweet Winesap fruit which certainly is identical with the apple grown at Geneva and in other parts of the state as Henrick Sweet or Hendrick Sweet. He has also presented us with Downing's letter, the text of which is here given in full. " In looking over the apples you sent me a month or more since, I am now certain it is the Sweet Winesap which is described in Downing's second revised edition, page 378. Many years since the late Isaac Hildreth, a nurseryman at Geneva, sent me a barrel of this kind which he said went by the name of Henricks Sweet and as you say, they kept through the winter into March with very little waste. Ladies Sweet keeps still later and is one of the best of its season."

Sweet Winesap has long been cultivated in Western New York under the names Henrick Sweet and Hendrick Sweet. In some localities, particularly in Wayne county, it is known as Rose Sweet. Occasionally it is erroneously called Ladies Sweet, Lady Sweet or Lady Sweeting. Since it bears some resemblance to the true Lady Sweet it is not strange that it is sometimes thus confused with that variety. Warder listed it under the separate names of Sweet Winesap and Henrick Sweet. Thomas in 1875 followed Downing in giving Sweet Winesap as a variety from Pennsylvania and notices Henrick Sweet as a separate variety. Evidently he was not familiar with this variety under the name Sweet Winesap, but he must have recognized that it was identical with the apple commonly known in his own section as Henrick Sweet. The 1897 edition of Thomas (8), makes Henrick Sweet a synonym of Sweet Pearmain, but Lyon doubted the correctness of this decision (11).

We have not seen Sweet Pearmain but the descriptions of that variety given by Downing (3) and Elliott (1) do not apply closely to Sweet Winesap.

TREE.

Tree medium in size, vigorous or moderately vigorous. Form upright spreading to roundish, rather dense. Twigs medium to long, rather slender to moderately stout; internodes medium. Bark brownish tinged with dark red, mottled with inconspicuous grayish scarf-skin, scarcely pubescent. Lenticels scattering, small to medium, often elongated. Buds medium in size, broadly roundish, obtuse or sometimes acute, somewhat pubescent, generally appressed.

FRUIT.

Fruit varies under different conditions from medium to large but under fairly similar conditions is pretty uniform in size and shape. Form roundish conic, wide and flattened at the base, varying to roundish ovate or to oblate conic, regular or slightly elliptical, pretty symmetrical. Stem short to moderately long, moderately slender. Cavity above medium size, acuminate to acute, moderately shallow to rather deep, moderately wide to wide, symmetrical or gently furrowed, sometimes partly russeted. Calyx medium or above, usually somewhat open; lobes often long and acuminate. Basin medium to rather large, often oblique, roundish, deep, moderately narrow to rather wide, decidedly abrupt, sometimes slightly furrowed. Skin tough, smooth, clear pale yellow or greenish nearly overspread with bright light red, plainly marked with long narrow carmine stripes, covered with a thin bloom and often to a considerable extent with thin, light gray scarf-skin producing a slightly dull effect. Dots small to medium, scattering, whitish or russet. Prevailing effect red or striped red. Calyx tube funnel-shape, with broad, yellowish limb and narrow cylinder, sometimes nearly or quite cone-shape. Stamens median to marginal. Core small to medium, axile or sometimes abaxile; cells usually symmetrical, closed or partly open; core lines clasping. Carpels flat, roundish to broadly elliptical, emarginate. Seeds medium or below, plump, obtuse. Flesh nearly white, firm, rather fine, moderately crisp, tender, juicy, distinctly sweet, good to very good.

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

Sweet Winesap. M fl rs VG m W 1* 3* ......

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

Sweet Winesap.

From Clark County, Ohio. Fruit, large, roundish flattened, rough skin, greenish yellow, with blotches of dark green : calyx, medium ; basin, open ; stem, short ; core and seeds, small : flesh, yellowish white, tender, mild sub-acid, almost sweet. November, December.

Sweet Winesap.

From Pennsylvania. Tree of moderate, upright growth, productive. Fruit, medium, oblate, slightly approaching conic ; color, red, splashed with deep crimson : stalk, long and slender, inserted in a deep cavity, surrounded with russet ; calyx, large, open, set in a rather deep, open basin ; flesh, tender, juicy, almost melting, with a very sweet, rich, peculiar flavor. November, December. (Downing.)

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