Yellow Newtown Pippin
Apple
Editor's Note
Yellow Newtown Pippin
Origin / History
Origin "very uncertain" (Warder). Budd and Hansen give the supposed origin as Newtown, Long Island, in the early part of the eighteenth century. Bunyard places its origin on Long Island early in the eighteenth century and its introduction "to this country" about 1760. Zielinski dates the variety to about 1750 and says it is thought to have come from Long Island, New York. Elliott, Downing, and Thomas, writing of the Green Newtown Pippin, call the Newtown Pippin a native of Newtown, Long Island. It is not definitely known whether the original tree was of the "Green" or the "Yellow" type, nor is a record known of the distinct origin of the two (Budd and Hansen). Lowther likewise holds it impossible to tell which was the original. Warder thinks the Green "probably the original Newtown Pippin, but by no means the more common, which is the Yellow Newtown Pippin."
Hedrick says the original tree came into bearing early in the eighteenth century and the variety was soon widely grown. In 1759 samples were sent to Benjamin Franklin in England, where they attracted much attention. John Bartram, the Quaker botanist, soon after sent grafts to England, and Thomas Jefferson was growing the variety at Monticello in 1778.
Coxe, in 1817, first described the Yellow and the Green as distinct (Budd and Hansen); Warder says the distinction "was well known to Coxe." Coxe calls the Green "a variety of the preceding kind," with no difference he could perceive in the trees but a perceptible one in the fruit. Downing ("entirely distinct"), Elliott (distinct in fruit), and Bunyard ("a green variety considered distinct") keep the two apart. Lowther says the Green resembles the Yellow so closely in all except color "that it is difficult if not impossible to distinguish between them in any other way." Thomas calls them sub-varieties, "believed by many to be identical, differing only by a warmer exposure." Hedrick holds that the differences in color are due to differences in soil or climate and that "two varieties do not exist." Lowther quotes Beach: "It is now believed that Albemarle Pippin is Yellow Newtown, and Brooke Pippin is identical with Green Newtown." Zielinski says the variety is known as Albemarle pippin in Virginia and West Virginia.
Coxe calls it "in most of its varieties the finest apple of our country, and probably of the world." He adds that it varies much in quality with soil, aspect, cultivation, climate and age. It obtained "a world-wide notoriety as the 'American Apple'" (Warder), and Hedrick calls it "preeminently an American apple." Downing, in his Green Newtown Pippin entry, writes that "the Newtown Pippin stands at the head of all Apples, and is, when in perfection, acknowledged to be unrivalled in all the qualities which constitute a high-flavored dessert apple." Lowther calls the Yellow Newtown Pippin "one of the best, if not the best, commercial yellow apples." He notes that both varieties differ greatly in size, color and quality in different locations. Hedrick credits it with high standing where it thrives "by virtue of high quality, longkeeping and beauty of fruit, together with good tree-characters."
Budd and Hansen say the Yellow has almost superseded the Green for commercial orchards and exportation, owing to its superiority in size, color, and keeping capacity. They add that both are successfully grown in but few portions of the United States. Warder found the orchards of both much less satisfactory in their results than formerly in many parts of the country. He nonetheless says the fruit is still often seen in great perfection, and he compiled his description from outlines and notes of a large number that were very fine. Zielinski calls it one of the oldest varieties still being grown in Oregon, but says that within recent years it "has lost favor among growers and is seldom planted."
Tree
Growth slow, slender, not vigorous, at most moderate; Warder notes the slowness in the nursery. Beach describes the Green's tree as a rather slow grower or moderately vigorous, of medium size or sometimes becoming large, spreading or roundish, rather dense. He finds the Yellow's tree more vigorous and more erect, the branches growing more freely, the laterals showing less tendency to droop, and the twigs averaging somewhat longer. Otherwise, as Downing says, the two "grow alike." Warder calls the tree large and spreading. Elliott finds it difficult, if not impossible, to tell the two apart by the wood. He gives the Green a slender, slow growth and, as an orchard tree, a fine round head with branches diverging, pendent.
Twigs medium in length and thickness, pubescent near tips; internodes medium to rather long. Bark clear dark brownish-red, lightly streaked with scarf-skin, rough in appearance in every soil (Coxe) and rough when old (Warder). In the Green, Downing finds the bark remarkable for its roughness even while young. Lenticels quite numerous, medium or below, somewhat elongated, raised, rather conspicuous. Buds medium, broad, plump, obtuse, free, slightly pubescent (Beach, describing the Green, whose tree he finds otherwise like the Yellow's). Leaf large, flat, down-curved, coarsely bi-serrate (Bunyard).
Not an early bearer; Coxe says the tree does not arrive at maturity until twenty or twenty-five years. Productive, and in suitable soils profitable (Warder). Downing calls both Newtowns excellent bearers and says the Yellow "is rather hardier and succeeds best." Zielinski credits it with good tree characters and reliable biennial crops, the fruit hanging well on the tree. Bunyard found its fertility poor in England. Zielinski names susceptibility to scab and internal browning among its limitations and says it must be given the best of care. Of the Green, Downing says the fruit is liable to black spots when not grown on healthy trees, and Thomas that it is very liable to black spots or scabs unless under high, rich, and constant cultivation.
Coxe says it is peculiarly adapted to strong high ground but may be raised in great perfection on all good wheat and clover land: "the better the soil, the finer will be the fruit." It will produce fine apples even on a light sandy soil, aided by river or meadow mud as a manure, two or three cart loads to a tree. For the Green, Elliott requires a rich limestone clay soil, or a warm, sandy, rich loam well dressed with lime and bone dust, to secure healthy wood and fair, smooth fruit. He has never seen good fruit of it grown on sandy soils abounding more or less with iron. Downing asks for a pretty strong, deep, warm soil, the orchard well manured every two or three years.
Elliott says that on the rich limestone soils of Ohio, and farther west, both Newtowns succeed and produce fruit "even superior to the world-renowned Pell Orchard." Lowther finds it most successful in the Piedmont section of Virginia, the high lands of California, Rogue River and Hood River, Oregon, and the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys, Washington. Hedrick says it can be grown in perfection only in certain regions: Hood River, Oregon; the Albemarle region, Virginia; and along the Hudson River, New York. The Albemarle Pippin entry Elliott takes from Thomas notes it as grown in Virginia. Of the Green, Thomas reports it extensively grown in Virginia and California. Budd and Hansen say the Green has rarely succeeded well in New England and is tender westward. At the Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz, British Columbia, trees were planted in spring 1894.
Fruit
Size: Medium to very large, most authors giving large, rather large, or medium to large. Agassiz alone calls it of medium size, and Beach alone extends the range to very large. Budd and Hansen, from choice Virginia specimens at the Pan American Exposition, call it large and heavy. Pretty uniform in size. Bunyard gives 3¼ by 2¼. Downing finds it flatter than the Green, "measuring only about two inches deep."
Form: Round to roundish oblate, more or less flattened, more or less angular, oblique; rather variable in form (Beach). Downing calls it "always quite oblique — projecting more on one side of the stalk than the other." In southeastern New York Beach finds it often with an oblique axis and sometimes decidedly elliptical. In western New York it is less oblique, less often elliptical, and more nearly symmetrical. Warder records the round form modified by being cylindrical, truncated, lop-sided, ribbed, and irregular, sometimes even conic. Budd and Hansen give roundish cylindrical to roundish oblate, sometimes inclined, and Zielinski usually ovate. Bunyard and Zielinski call it fairly regular, though Zielinski reports a high percentage of the fruit ill shaped, uneven, and low grade. "The ends are hollowed" (Coxe).
Stem: Very short to medium, rarely long (Warder); slender (Bunyard). Thomas calls it very short.
Cavity: Deep to rather deep, acute to acuminate, broad or compressed, brown (Warder), lined with russet that often sends out rays over the base. Downing finds the same russet marks at the stalk as on the Green. Budd and Hansen describe it as regular, wide, deep, and obtuse, with large stellate russet extending out over the base.
Calyx: Rather small to medium. Beach gives it closed or nearly so, with lobes rather small and acute, and Bunyard calls the eye closed. Warder finds the eye medium and rather open, and Budd and Hansen give the calyx open, segments flat, convergent. Calyx tube long, funnel-shape to nearly conical (Beach). Stamens median to basal; Budd and Hansen give basal.
Basin: Shallow to medium in depth, medium in width to wide or large, furrowed, ribbed, folded or plaited, often somewhat wrinkled.
Skin: Rather tough, smooth, or slightly roughened with brownish-russet dots and net-veinings of russet. Ground yellowish green or greenish yellow, becoming yellow, bright yellow, or straw yellow (Bunyard) when ripe. Agassiz calls the skin russet green. Beach finds both the yellow and the pink tones more highly developed at harvest than in the Green, and Lowther calls it yellowish at harvest with a tendency to a pink blush on the sunny side. Zielinski calls it green when picked, becoming an attractive greenish-yellow with a slight blush on highly colored fruits.
Fully mature, highly colored apples are bright yellow, often with distinct pinkish blush, especially about the base. Less highly colored fruit is greenish-yellow shaded more or less with duller brownish-pink. Narrow streaks of the ground color often appear through it and combine with streaks of whitish scarf-skin over the base to give a somewhat striped effect (Beach). The blush or cheek is otherwise given as brownish red, purplish before ripe (Thomas), sometimes rather lively red (Downing), dull reddish (Agassiz), or a faint orange flush (Bunyard). Coxe describes the skin as greenish yellow "with black clouds, and frequently with red spots or blotches," and Budd and Hansen find often some red blotches. Sometimes bronzy (Warder); rarely a bronze blush (Budd and Hansen). Budd and Hansen describe suffused whitish veinings. Warder writes that it becomes "yellow when ripe, like the White Pippin, it is marked with gray stripes near the base while green." Downing finds few or none of the spots of the Green. Lowther finds the coloring rather variable, except in the Pacific Northwest, where it is more uniform.
Handsome and attractive, decidedly more so than the Green (Downing, Beach). Zielinski nonetheless counts its "mediocre appearance" among its limitations.
Dots: Numerous, minute to small, distinct, russet, brownish-russet, or gray, roughening the skin. Warder calls them scattered, with whitish bases. White submerged dots are especially numerous toward the eye (Beach). Budd and Hansen add a few large russet specks, and the Albemarle Pippin entry Elliott takes from Thomas gives brown specks.
Flesh and flavor: Yellow to pale yellow, yellowish-green (Bunyard), or greenish white (Zielinski, Agassiz). Beach finds it apt to be more distinctly tinged with yellow than the Green. Firm, crisp to very crisp, breaking, tender, fine-grained, juicy to very juicy. Warder alone calls it "not crisp like the Green variety." Downing finds it rather firmer than the Green, which is "more juicy, crisp, and tender."
Flavor rich, high, aromatic, perfumed: "highly flavoured" (Coxe); "very rich and high," with a higher perfume than the Green, the fruit "more highly fragrant before and after it is cut" (Downing); "rich pineapple flavour" (Bunyard). Warder calls it acid, aromatic, rich, very agreeable. Others give it sprightly subacid to pleasantly subacid with a high flavor. Beach finds it milder, less sprightly, and more highly aromatic than the Green; Thomas gives a rich, mild flavor, and Zielinski moderately sweet. Bunyard says the apple "does not attain to the same flavour in this country as in America, even under the most favourable conditions."
Warder rates it "best," Agassiz "very good," and Zielinski "excellent" for dessert and for cooking; Coxe calls it "a superior table fruit." Downing finds it "equally high flavored" with the Green. Thomas says it is fairer than the Green in some localities "but is usually inferior to it in flavor."
Core and seeds: Core small to medium, oval, regular, somewhat abaxile, meeting or clasping the eye; cells fairly symmetrical, closed or nearly so; core lines clasping. Budd and Hansen give the core barely clasping, with cells ovate, widely slit, and containing a large cellular exudate. Carpels broadly roundish or roundish obcordate, emarginate, tufted (Beach). Seeds medium or above, dark or brown, narrow, acuminate or long and sharp-pointed, tufted; sometimes imperfect (Warder).
Season
The recorded season runs from November into June. Most of the independent accounts place it from February into March or May, and Warder gives March alone. Coxe says it ripens in November and is often kept till May and June. Zielinski calls its maturity very late and counts long keeping quality among its outstanding characteristics. The Albemarle Pippin entry Elliott takes from Thomas says it keeps well.
Uses
Table, kitchen, market, and cider. Coxe calls it "a superior table fruit, and an excellent kitchen and cider apple," its cider "highly flavoured, but not so strong as many other kinds." Bunyard classes it as dessert. Zielinski rates it excellent for dessert and for cooking and notes its ease of handling. Budd and Hansen report that choice consignments of Yellow Newtown or Albemarle Pippins often sell in England for two or three times the price of other American apples. Hedrick reports experiments at the Experiment Station, Geneva, New York, showing it "a most excellent apple to use in breeding."
Subtypes / Variants
Green Newtown Pippin. Coxe found it rather more oblong in form than the Yellow, with the skin green and smoother and the flesh whiter, crisper, and more juicy. He had eaten it in high perfection from the Patowmack counties of Virginia and from trees in New-York, New-Jersey and Pennsylvania. Where trees are advantageously situated and well cultivated, he calls it "every where the finest apple in our orchards, very far superior to all other kinds for exportation." In productiveness, he says, it is surpassed by no apple of any season, and it is "the fairest and freest from rot of any highly flavoured apple we have." Beach finds its tree less vigorous and less erect than the Yellow's, its laterals shorter, twisted, spreading and drooping more.
Fruit medium to very large, most authors giving medium or medium to large. Roundish to globular, flattened, sometimes obscurely ribbed. Downing describes it as a little irregular in outline from two or three obscure ribs, broadest at the base next the stalk, about three inches in diameter and two and a half deep. Thomas calls it oblique, slightly irregular, remotely conical or else a little flattened. Elliott gives roundish, oblong flattened. Skin smooth, dull green or grass-green at harvest, becoming olive green, yellowish green, or greenish yellow. Beach says it is sometimes pretty yellow later. Lowther says it takes on a rather deep yellow later, though it is not so deep a yellow as the Yellow, especially at the time of picking. Sometimes bronzy (Warder). Often a faint dull brownish, reddish-brown, or brownish-pink blush on one side or the sunny side, especially near the base. White irregular striae near the base when first gathered (Warder); delicate, thin, dull whitish russet rays around the stalk. Elliott notes occasional spots or blotches of russet and, on alluvial soils South, patches of dark green mold. Dots small to minute, numerous or scattered, gray, russet, or dark. Bunyard distinguishes the green variety as lacking "the rich yellow and faint orange flush" of the Yellow.
Stalk half an inch long, rather slender, deeply sunk (Downing). Thomas calls it short and deep set, Warder long and slender. Cavity wide, funnel-shaped, brown and wavy (Warder), or acuminate and regular (Elliott). Calyx small to quite small, closed. Basin narrow, shallow, folded; Elliott alone gives it deep, abrupt, hollowed, and slightly wrinkled. Calyx tube conical; stamens median; cells obovate, axile (Budd and Hansen). Core round, regular, closed, meeting the eye (Warder); compact (Elliott). Seeds dark brown, ovate (Elliott), or pointed, plump, dark (Warder).
Flesh greenish white, or yellowish or tinged with green according to the color of the fruit (Beach). Firm, crisp, tender, very fine-grained to moderately fine-grained, very juicy, sprightly, perfumed. Flavor acid, aromatic, rich, very agreeable (Warder), or fine aromatic subacid (Beach). Downing gives "a fine aroma, and an exceedingly high and delicious flavor," and Thomas "a high, fine flavor." Warder, Downing, and Beach rate it "best"; Lowther's table gives "very good."
Season from December into May, at its best in March (Downing). The other accounts fall within that span, from February to May or from December to March, and Lowther's table gives simply winter. Downing calls it one of the finest keeping apples, combining long keeping "without the least shrivelling, retaining its high flavor to the last." Thomas says it keeps through spring and retains remarkably its freshness. Dessert and cooking (Warder); kitchen and market (Lowther's table). Downing says it commands the highest price in Covent Garden Market, London, and Thomas calls it one of the best fruits for foreign markets.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 11 period pomological works
- Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)
- Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)
- Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)
- Beach, The Apples of New York Vol. 1 (1905) — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Budd & Hansen, Systematic Pomology (1914) — listed as Green Newtown
- Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900) — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865) — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Coxe, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817)
- Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)
- Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)
- Zielinski, Apple Varieties for Oregon (1964) — listed as Yellow Newtown
USDA Nomenclature (1905)
From W.H. Ragan, Nomenclature of the Apple, USDA Bulletin No. 56
Generally known in Virginia as Albemarle.
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 15 catalogs (1850–1918) from California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oregon
- Azell Bowditch (Nursery / Fruit Catalog) , Boston , Massachusetts — 1850 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- St. Helena Nursery , Howell Prairie, Marion County, OR (Marion Co., Ogn.) — 1864 — listed as Newtown Pippin—yellow
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1884 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1888 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1889 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1890 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1891 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Oregon Wholesale Nurseries , Salem , Oregon — 1893 — listed as Y. N. Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1895 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1897 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Russellville Nursery Co. , Russellville, OR (three miles east of Portland, one mile from Montavilla car line) — 1903
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913 — listed as Green Newtown Pippin
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1918 — listed as Albemarle Pippin
View original book sources (12)
— William Coxe, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817)NO. 72. LARGE YELLOW NEWTON PIPPIN.
This is in most of its varieties the finest apple of our country, and probably of the world. It varies much in quality, with soil, aspect, cultivation, climate and age: although peculiarly adapted to strong high ground, it may be raised in great perfection on all good wheat and clover land—the better the soil, the finer will be the fruit; for the growth is not vigorous, and in every soil the bark has a rough appearance—the form is rather flat, the size large, the skin a greenish yellow, with black clouds, and frequently with red spots or blotches—the ends are hollowed, the stem short, the flesh rich, yellow, juicy, breaking and highly flavoured; it ripens in November, and is often kept till May and June—it is a superior table fruit, and an excellent kitchen and cider apple—it will produce fine apples on even a light sandy soil, aided by the application of river or meadow mud as a manure, two or three cart loads to a tree. The tree does not arrive to maturity until twenty or twenty-five years, the cider produced from it is highly flavoured, but not so strong as many other kinds.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Green Newtown Pippin", pp. 208–208]
NO. 73. GREEN NEWTON PIPPIN.
This is a variety of the preceding kind; although I could never perceive a difference in the trees, there is certainly a perceptible one in the fruit. The Green Pippin is rather more oblong in form, the skin is green, and smoother, the flesh whiter, crisper, and more juicy. I have eaten them in high perfection, raised in some of the Patowmack counties of Virginia, and from trees growing in New-York, New-Jersey and Pennsylvania; when produced from trees advantageously situated, and well cultivated, they are every where the finest apple in our orchards, very far superior to all other kinds for exportation: in productiveness, they are surpassed by no apple of any season; they are the fairest and freest from rot of any highly flavoured apple we have.
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)NEWTOWN PIPPIN. Green Newtown Pippin, Green Winter Pippin, American Newtown Pippin, Petersburg Pippin.
American. Native of Newtown, Long Island. It requires a rich limestone clay soil, or a warm, sandy, rich loam, well dressed with lime and bone dust, in order to secure healthy wood, and fair, smooth fruit. On sandy soils, abounding more or less with iron, we have never seen good fruit grown of this variety. It is distinct in fruit from the Yellow Newtown Pippin, for which see further pages; but it is difficult, if not impossible to detect one from the other by the wood. Growth slender, slow; as an orchard tree, a fine round head, with branches diverging, pendent. On the rich limestone soils of Ohio, and farther west, this and the Yellow Newtown Pippin succeed, and produce fruit even superior to the world-renowned Pell Orchard. Fruit, medium; form, roundish, oblong flattened; color, dull green when first gathered, becoming, when ripe, a yellowish green; small minute russet dots, with occasional spots or blotches of russet, and, grown on alluvial soils South, patches of dark green mould: stem, slender; cavity, acuminate, regular; calyx, small; basin, deep, abrupt, hollowed, and slightly wrinkled; flesh, greenish white, very fine-grained, juicy, crisp, sprightly, perfumed; core, compact; seeds, dark brown, ovate. February to May.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Yellow Newtown Pippin", pp. 126–126]
Albemarle Pippin. Fruit, medium or large, round, yellow, with brown specks; flesh, pale yellow, sub-acid. Grown in Virginia; keeps well. (Thomas.)
— John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)YELLOW NEWTOWN.
The origin of this variety of the Newtown Pippin, which has obtained such a world-wide notoriety as the "American Apple," is very uncertain. The distinction between this and the Green Newtown, as described under Class III, I, 2, 1, was well known to Coxe.
Tree resembling that of the Green variety, slow grower in the nursery, having rough bark when old, not an early bearer, but large, spreading, and productive, and in suitable soils profitable. From some cause, however, the orchards of both these apples are much less satisfactory in their results than formerly in many parts of the country. Still it is often seen in great perfection, and I am compiling this description from outlines and notes of a large number that were very fine.
Fruit large, round, more or less modified by being cylindrical, truncated, lop-sided, ribbed, and irregular, sometimes even conic; Surface smooth, yellowish-green, sometimes bronzy, becoming yellow when ripe, like the White Pippin, it is marked with gray stripes near the base while green; Dots minute, scattered, whitish bases.
Basin large, folded, ribbed or plaited; Eye medium, rather open.
Cavity deep, acute, brown; Stem medium or short, rarely long.
Core medium, oval, regular, closed, meeting or clasping the eye; Seeds pointed, brown, sometimes imperfect; Flesh yellow, firm, breaking, juicy, not crisp like the Green variety; Flavor acid, aromatic, rich, very agreeable; Quality best; Use, table, kitchen, market and cider; Season, March.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Green Newtown Pippin", pp. 579–580]
Newtown Pippin. GREEN NEWTOWN. This is probably the original Newtown Pippin, but by no means the more common, which is the Yellow Newtown Pippin, to be described in another place. Fruit medium to large, globular, flattened, sometimes obscurely ribbed; Surface smooth, green, becoming yellowish green when fully ripe, sometimes bronzy, and always showing white irregular striae near the base when first gathered; Dots scattered, minute, dark. Basin shallow, folded; Eye small, closed. Cavity wide, wavy, brown; Stem long, slender. Core round, regular, closed, meeting the eye; Seeds pointed, plump, dark; Flesh greenish white, crisp, tender, juicy; Flavor acid, aromatic, rich, very agreeable; Quality best; Use, dessert, cooking; Season, December to March.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Green Newtown Pippin. Hunt's Fine Green Pippin. Newtown Pippin. American Newtown Pippin. Brooke's Pippin ? Green Winter Pippin. Petersburgh Pippin. Hunt's Green Newtown Pippin ?
The Newtown Pippin stands at the head of all Apples, and is, when in perfection, acknowledged to be unrivalled in all the qualities which constitute a high-flavored dessert apple, to which it combines the quality of long keeping without the least shrivelling, retaining its high flavor to the last. It commands the highest price in Covent Garden Market, London. This variety is a native of Newtown, Long Island, and it requires a pretty strong, deep, warm soil to attain its full perfection, and in the orchard it should be well manured every two or three years. The tree is of rather slender and slow growth, and even while young is always remarkable for its rough bark.
Fruit of medium size, roundish, a little irregular in its outline, caused by two or three obscure ribs on the sides — and broadest at the base, next the stalk ; about three inches in diameter, and two and a half deep. Color dull green, becoming olive green when ripe, with a faint, dull brownish blush on one side, dotted with small gray specks, and with delicate russet rays around the stalk. Calyx quite small and closed, set in a narrow and shallow basin. Stalk half an inch long, rather slender, deeply sunk in a wide, funnel-shaped cavity. Flesh greenish white, very juicy, crisp, with a fine aroma, and an exceedingly high and delicious flavor. Best. When the fruit is not grown on healthy trees, it is liable to be spotted with black spots. This is one of the finest keeping apples, and is in eating from December to May, but is in the finest perfection in March.
This is entirely distinct from Yellow Newtown Pippin.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Yellow Newtown Pippin", pp. 444–444]
Yellow Newtown Pippin.
Albemarle Pippin.
The Yellow Newtown Pippin is handsomer in appearance, and has a higher perfume than the Green or Newtown Pippin, and its flesh is rather firmer, and equally high flavored ; while the Green is more juicy, crisp, and tender. The Yellow Newtown Pippin is rather flatter, measuring only about two inches deep, and it is always quite oblique — projecting more on one side of the stalk than the other. When full ripe it is yellow, sometimes with a rather lively red cheek, and a smooth skin, few or none of the spots on the Green variety, but with the same russet marks at the stalk. It is also more highly fragrant before and after it is cut than the Green. The flesh is firm, crisp, juicy, and with a very rich and high flavor. Both the Newtown Pippins grow alike, and they are both excellent bearers. This variety is rather hardier and succeeds best. February to May.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Yellow Newtown Pippin.* Medium, or rather large, roundish, oblate and oblique, more or less flattened; yellow, with a brownish red cheek, purplish before ripe; stalk very short; flesh firm, crisp, with a rich, mild flavor. Closely resembles the Green Newtown Pippin, and believed by many to be identical, differing only by a warmer exposure. It is fairer in some localities than the Green, but is usually inferior to it in flavor. C. Downing gives the following distinguishing points between these two sub-varieties: "The Yellow is handsomer, and has a higher perfume than the Green, and its flesh is rather firmer and equally high flavored; while the Green is more juicy, crisp, and tender. The Yellow is rather flatter, measuring only about two inches deep, and it is always quite oblique—projecting more on one side of the stalk than the other. When fully ripe, it is yellow, with a rather lively red cheek and a smooth skin, few or none of the spots on the Green variety, but the same russet marks at the stalk. It is also more highly fragrant before and after it is cut than the Green. The flesh is firm, crisp, juicy, and with a rich and high flavor." Fig. 482.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Green Newtown Pippin", pp. 367–367]
Newtown Pippin.* (Pippin, Green Newtown Pippin.) Medium or rather large, roundish, oblique, slightly irregular, remotely conical or else a little flattened; dull green becoming yellowish green, often with a dull brownish blush; stalk short, deep set, and surrounded by thin, dull, whitish russet rays; basin narrow, shallow; flesh greenish white, juicy, crisp, fine-grained, with a high, fine flavor. Keeps through spring, and retains remarkably its freshness. Tree of rather slow growth, with a rough bark. The fruit is very liable to black spots or scabs, unless under high, rich, and constant cultivation. One of the best fruits for foreign markets. A native of Newtown, Long Island. Extensively grown in Virginia and California.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (1905)GREEN NEWTOWN.
TREE.
Tree a rather slow grower or moderately vigorous, of medium size or sometimes becoming large. Laterals shorter, twisted, spreading and drooping more than those of the Yellow Newtown. Form spreading or roundish, rather dense. Twigs medium in length and thickness, pubescent near tips; internodes medium to rather long. Bark clear dark brownish-red, lightly streaked with scarf-skin. Lenticels quite numerous, medium or below, somewhat elongated, raised, rather conspicuous. Buds medium, broad, plump, obtuse, free, slightly pubescent.
FRUIT.
Fruit medium to very large, pretty uniform in size but rather variable in form and coloring. Form usually roundish oblate and more or less angular. As grown in Southeastern New York it often has an oblique axis and is sometimes decidedly elliptical, but in Western New York the tendency of the fruit to grow with an oblique axis is less marked and the fruit is less often elliptical and more nearly symmetrical. Stem medium or short. Cavity deep, acuminate to acute, broad or compressed, often sending out rays of russet. Calyx rather small to medium, closed or nearly so; lobes rather small, acute. Basin medium in width and depth, furrowed and often somewhat wrinkled.
Skin rather tough, smooth or slightly roughened with brownish-russet dots, grass-green at fruit harvest but sometimes pretty yellow later, and often showing some brownish or brownish-pink color, especially near the base. White submerged dots are especially numerous toward the eye and whitish scarf-skin stripes extend over the base.
Calyx tube long, funnel-shape to nearly conical. Stamens median to basal. Core small to medium, somewhat abaxile; cells fairly symmetrical, closed or nearly so; core lines clasping. Carpels broadly roundish or roundish obcordate, emarginate, tufted. Seeds tufted, medium or above, dark, narrow, acuminate.
Flesh yellowish or tinged with green according to the color of the fruit, firm, crisp, tender, moderately fine-grained, juicy, sprightly, with a fine aromatic subacid flavor, best.
Season February to May.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Yellow Newtown Pippin", pp. 257–257]
YELLOW NEWTOWN.
TREE.
Tree more vigorous and more erect than that of Green Newtown the branches growing more freely, the laterals showing less tendency to droop and the twigs averaging somewhat longer than is the case with the Green Newtown, otherwise we find that the two varieties, as Downing says (10) "grow alike."
FRUIT.
The technical description of the fruit of the Green Newtown applies well to the Yellow Newtown in all points excepting the color of the fruit and the color and flavor of the flesh. At fruit harvest the Yellow Newtown is distinguishable from the Green Newtown because both the yellow and the pink tones are more highly developed. When they are fully mature the more highly colored apples are bright yellow often with distinct pinkish blush, especially about the base. Less highly colored fruit is greenish-yellow shaded more or less with duller brownish-pink through which narrow streaks of the ground color often appear, combining with the streaks of whitish scarf-skin to give a somewhat striped effect. In general appearance it is decidedly more attractive than the Green Newtown, and its flesh is apt to be more distinctly tinged with yellow, milder, less sprightly and more highly aromatic.
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Green Newtown.—Origin, Newtown, Long Island. Downing wrote: "Newtown Pippin stands at the head of all apples, and is, when in
[Green Newtown.]
perfection, acknowledged to be unrivalled in all the qualities which constitute a high-flavored dessert apple, to which it combines the quality of long keeping without the least shrivelling, retaining its high flavor to the last." One of the highest-priced varieties for the English market. The tree is of rather slow, slender growth, and remarkable even while young for its rough bark. Fruit liable to black spots or scabs unless the trees are given constant cultivation and plenty of manure. A pretty strong, deep, warm soil is necessary for its full perfection. It has rarely succeeded well in New England and is tender westward.
Fruit medium, roundish, broadest at the base, next the stem, with two or three obscure ribs extending to the basin, giving it irregularity in outline; surface dull green, becoming olive green or greenish yellow at maturity, with faint reddish brown blush on sunny side; dots small, gray, russet, numerous; cavity wide, deep, funnel-shaped, lined with delicate russet which extends over part of base; stem half an inch long, rather slender, deeply sunk; basin small, narrow, shallow; calyx small, closed; cells obovate, axile; tube conical; stamens median; flesh greenish white, very juicy, firm, crisp, fine-grained, fine aroma and exceedingly high and delicious flavor, best. December to May, but at its best in March. See Yellow Newtown.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Yellow Newtown", pp. 218–219]
Yellow Newtown (Albemarle Pippin). — Supposed origin, Newtown, L. I., in the early part of the eighteenth century. It is not definitely known whether the original tree was of the "Green" or the "Yellow" type, nor is a record known of the distinct origin of the two. Coxe, in 1817, first described them as distinct. The Yellow Newtown has now almost superseded the Green Newtown for commercial orchards and exportation, owing to its superiority in size, color, and keeping capacity; both are successfully grown in but few portions of the United States. Choice consignments of Yellow Newtown or Albemarle Pippins often sell in England for two or three times the price of other American apples.
The following description of Yellow Newtown was made from choice specimens from Virginia at the Pan American Exposition:
Fruit large, heavy, roundish cylindrical to roundish oblate, somewhat angular, sometimes inclined; surface yellowish green, overlaid with suffused whitish veinings and roughened by dots and net-veinings of russet, rarely a bronze blush; dots distinct, numerous, minute, russet, a few large russet specks, often some red blotches; cavity regular, wide, deep, obtuse, with large stellate russet extending out over base; stem short; basin wide, ribbed, medium deep to rather shallow; calyx open; segments flat convergent. Core barely clasping, closed; cells ovate, widely slit, with large cellular exudate; tube funnel-shaped; stamens basal; seeds long, sharp-pointed; flesh firm, very juicy, yellow, sprightly subacid.
Downing wrote: "The Yellow Newtown Pippin is handsomer in appearance and has a higher perfume than the Green or Newtown Pippin, and its flesh is rather firmer, and equally high-flavored; while the Green is more juicy, crisp, and tender. The Yellow Newtown Pippin is rather flatter, measuring only about two inches deep, and it is always quite oblique — projecting more on one side of the stalk than the other. When fully ripe it is yellow, sometimes with a rather lively red cheek, and a smooth skin, few or none of the spots on the Green variety, but with the same russet marks at the stalk. It is also more highly fragrant before and after it is cut than the Green. The flesh is firm, crisp, juicy, and with a very rich and high flavor. Both the Newtown Pippins grow alike, and they are both excellent bearers. This variety is rather hardier and succeeds best. February to May."
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Yellow Newtown
The Yellow Newtown is one of the best, if not the best, commercial yellow apples. In pomological literature it is often called Newtown Pippin, Yellow Newtown Pippin and Albemarle Pippin. There is also a Green Newtown, which resembles the Yellow Newtown so closely in all except color that it is difficult if not impossible to distinguish between them in any other way. As its name indicates, the Green Newtown is not so deep a yellow as the Yellow Newtown, especially at the time of picking, but later it takes on a rather deep yellow. It is impossible with the information we have to tell which was the original. Beach says: "It is now believed that Albemarle Pippin is Yellow Newtown, and Brooke Pippin is identical with Green Newtown." Both varieties differ greatly in size, color and quality in different locations. The Yellow Newtown has been most successful in the Piedmont section, Virginia, in the high lands of California, Rogue River, Oregon, Hood River, Oregon, and Yakima and Wenatchee valleys, Washington. There are doubtless other sections where it can be as successfully grown as in the places named, but in these sections it has been tested and proven commercially very successful.
Tree rather a slow grower. Form spreading or roundish, rather dense. Twigs medium in length and thickness, pubescent near the tips. Bark clear, dark, brownish red, lightly streaked with scarf skin. Fruit medium to very large, pretty uniform in size but rather variable in coloring. This rule, however, does not apply in the Pacific Northwest, where the coloring is more uniform. Form of fruit roundish oblate and more or less angular. Skin rather tough, smooth, yellowish at harvest with a tendency to a pink blush on the sunny side. Season from February to May.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Green Newtown Pippin", pp. 450–450]
Green Newtown. Size: medium. Form: roundish (oblate). Color: greenish yellow. Quality: very good. Use: both kitchen and market. Season: winter.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)NEWTOWN PIPPIN. New York, p. 146. G., Köstliche Reinette von Newtown. (Albermarle, Hampshire Greening.) Dessert, till March, fairly large, 3¼ by 2¼, flattened round, fairly regular. Colour, straw yellow. Flesh, very crisp, yellowish-green, of rich pineapple flavour. Eye, closed in a shallow basin. Stem, slender, in a rather deep russet lined cavity. Growth, moderate; fertility, poor in England. Leaf, large, flat, down-curved, coarsely bi-serrate. Originated at Long Island, early in the eighteenth century, and introduced to this country about 1760. This apple does not attain to the same flavour in this country as in America, even under the most favourable conditions. There is a green variety considered distinct, in which the fruits do not have the rich yellow and faint orange flush of this variety.
— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)YELLOW NEWTOWN PIPPIN. See Green Newtown.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Green Newtown Pippin", pp. 51–51]
GREEN NEWTOWN. Fig. 23. Albemarle. Albemarle Pippin. Green Newtown Pippin. Mountain Pippin. Newtown Pippin. Yellow Newtown.
Unfortunately, this apple can be grown in perfection only in certain regions, as: Hood River, Oregon; the Albemarle region, Virginia; and along the Hudson River, New York. By virtue of high quality, longkeeping and beauty of fruit, together with good tree-characters, Green Newtown has high standing in regions where it thrives. Experiments at the Experiment Station, Geneva, New York, show that it is a most excellent apple to use in breeding. Green Newtown is preeminently an American apple. The original tree came into bearing early in the eighteenth century, and the variety was soon widely grown. In 1759 samples were sent to Benjamin Franklin in England, where they attracted much attention; John Bartram, the Quaker botanist, soon after sent grafts to England; and Thomas Jefferson was growing the variety at Monticello in 1778. Some pomologists maintain that there is a Yellow Newtown, a distinct variety from Green Newtown; but the differences in color are due to differences in soil or climate — two varieties do not exist.
Tree moderately vigorous, of medium size, spreading or roundish, dense. Fruit medium to large, uniform in size but variable in form and coloring, usually round-oblate and more or less angular, with an oblique axis, sometimes elliptical; stem medium or short; cavity deep, acuminate, broad or compressed, often with rays of russet; calyx small, closed or nearly so; lobes small, acute; basin medium in width and depth, furrowed and often wrinkled; skin tough, smooth or roughened with brownish-russet dots, grass-green at fruit harvest but yellow later, often showing brownish-pink especially near the base; dots submerged, numerous toward the eye, white scarf-skin over the base; calyx-tube long, funnel-shape; stamens median; core small, abaxile; cells symmetrical, closed; core-lines clasping; carpels broadly roundish or round-obcordate, emarginate, tufted; seeds tufted, dark, narrow, acuminate; flesh yellow, firm, crisp, tender, fine-grained, juicy, sprightly, with a fine aromatic subacid flavor; best; February to May.
— Quentin B. Zielinski, Apple Varieties for Oregon (1964)Yellow Newtown
The Yellow Newtown or Albemarle pippin (as it is known in Virginia and West Virginia) is one of the oldest varieties still being grown in Oregon. The variety dates back to about 1750. Its exact origin is obscure, but it is thought to have come from Long Island, New York.
Characteristics
Fruit is medium to large in size, usually ovate, somewhat flattened, sometimes rather angular, but fairly regular and uniform in size. Skin is green when picked, but becomes an attractive greenish-yellow with a slight blush on highly colored fruits when ripe. Flesh is greenish white, tender, fine grained, juicy, and moderately sweet. The general fruit quality is rated as excellent for dessert and for cooking. Among the outstanding characteristics of the variety are long keeping quality, ease of handling, good tree characters, reliable biennial crops, and the fruit hangs well on the tree.
Limitations
Among the limitations of this variety are its mediocre appearance, susceptibility to scab and internal browning, and very late maturity. Yellow Newtown must be given the best of care. A high percentage of fruit is ill shaped, uneven, and low grade. Within recent years, this variety has lost favor among growers and is seldom planted.
— Central Experimental Farm, Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz BC — Catalogue of Fruit Trees under Test (Bulletin No. 3, 1900) (1900)Planted Spring 1894. Tree a slender grower. Fruit of medium size, roundish. Skin russet green, with a dull reddish blush and many small gray dots. Flesh greenish white, crisp, juicy, pleasantly sub-acid, with a high flavour, quality very good. Season February and March.