Has anyone heard of the GOLDEN HARVEY APPLE>
I have an aquaintance who is looking high and low for this one?
Thanx in advance for any information
Mike
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Thanx
Mike
Golden Harvey and the similar Court of Wick are on my grafting list for next spring.
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From “The Fruit Manual” (Hogg, 1884):
GOLDEN HARVEY (Brandy Apple; Round Russet Harvey).— Fruit, small, two inches wide, and an inch and three-quarters high; oblato-cylindrical, even, and free from angles. Skin, entirely covered with rough scaly russet, with sometimes a patch of the yellow ground colour exposed on the shaded side, and covered with brownish red on the side next the sun. Eye, small and open, with very short, reflexed segments, set in a wide, shallow, and slightly plaited basin. Stamens, median ; tube, short, funnel-shaped. Stalk, half an inch long, inserted in a shallow cavity. Flesh, yellow, firm, crisp, juicy, sugary, with an exceedingly rich and powerful aromatic flavour. Cells, obovate; axile, closed.
This is one of the richest and most excellent dessert apples; it is in use from December to May, but is very apt to shrivel if exposed to light and air, as most russety apples are.
The tree is a free grower, and perfectly hardy. It attains about the middle size, and is an excellent bearer. When grown on the paradise stock it is well adapted for dwarf training, and forms a good espalier.
Independently of being one of the best dessert apples, it is also one of the best for cider; and from the great strength of its juice, the specific gravity of which is 1085, it has been called the Brandy Apple.
COURT OF WICK (Fry’s Pippin; Golden Drop; Knightwick Pippin; Phillips’s Reinette; Wood’s Huntingdon; Weeks’s Pippin; Yellow Pippin).—Fruit, below medium size; roundish ovate, regular and handsome. Skin, when fully ripe, of a fine clear yellow, with bright orange, which sometimes breaks out in a faint red next the sun, and covered all over with russety freckles. Eye, large and open, with long, acuminate, and reflexed segments, set in a wide, shallow, and even basin. Stamens, marginal or median; tube, funnel-shaped. Stalk, short and slender, inserted in a smooth and even cavity, which is lined with thin russet. Flesh, yellow, tender, crisp, very juicy, rich, and highly flavoured. Cells, roundish elliptical; axile.
One of the best and most valuable dessert apples, both as regards the hardiness of the tree and the rich and delicious flavour of the fruit, which is not inferior to that of the Golden Pippin. It is in use from October to March.
The tree attains the middle size, is healthy, hardy, and an abundant bearer. There is scarcely any description of soil or exposure where it does not succeed, nor is it subject to the attacks of blight and canker. It grows well on the paradise stock, producing fruit much larger than on the crab, but not of so long duration. There are some soils, such as the Hastings Sand, which produce the fruit of Court of Wick of a fine clear orange with a somewhat crimson cheek on the side next the sun.
This variety is said to have originated at Court of Wick, near Yatton, in Somersetshire, and to have been raised from seed of the Golden Pippin. In his Survey of Somersetshire, Billingsly says, “The favourite apple, both as a table and cider fruit, is the Court of Wick Pippin, taking its name from the spot where it was first produced. It originated from the pip or seed of the Golden Pippin, and may be considered as a beautiful variety of that fruit. In shape, colour, and flavour it has not its superior.” It was called Wood’s Huntingdon from being propagated by Mr. Wood, nurseryman, of Huntingdon, and sent out by him under that name about the year 1790.
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@jerry Did you succeed in grafting Court of Wick? You may have had a debut crop by now. If so, does it taste of anise, or licorice?
I did, though it was touch-and-go for a bit. It looked as though the graft had failed, but it eventually rallied. Still lost a season or two of growth, but it finally grew well over the past year. No fruit yet, but I expect that I’ll see some in 2024.
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