Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/322

300] with a most grateful sweetness; is very pulpy, and marked with a deep furrow; it attains to maturity about the latter end of June, and continues till the middle of July.—The tree has a noble appearance, and affords vigorous and bulky wood.

With a view to encourage the friends of horticulture, to introduce a greater variety of fruit-trees, chiefly for the supply of the table, we have annexed a list of the principal sorts most approved, and that justly claim the first rank.

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1. The White Italian Rosemary-Apple (Mela di Rosmarino), a very beautiful species of the Calville, having no ribs, but a most glossy skin, which resembles the finest virgin wax; is on all sides marked with clear white dots, and on the south, somewhat red; of an oblong figure, and the size of a goose-egg. Its flesh is white as snow, uncommonly tender, and yielding a saccharine juice of a slightly aromatic flavour. Its large pericarpium contains twenty kernels in five cells; the fruit becomes eatable about the middle of November, and remains sound till February.—The tree is of low growth.

2. The Net-formed Rennet (Reinette filée) is of a moderate size; yellow; intersected with grey meshy lines; and frequently covered with warts: it has a very tender, though firm pulp, an agreeably sweet juice, with the peculiar rennet-flavour; maturates towards Christmas; and may be preserved till the succeeding summer.—The tree exhibits a respectable figure.

3. The Punctured Rennet (Reinette piquée), a smooth, reddish-brown apple, approaching to a chesnut-colour, in shape and size resembling the largest Borsdorfer; covered with white punctures, each of which is surrounded with a green edge: its pulp is firm, mellow, and of an excellent vinous flavour; being eatable in February and March.—The tree becomes of a tolerably large size.

4. The Great English Rennet, a fruit which often attains the size of the Pound-apple; has generally flat ribs, and a strong bloom; is of a bright-yellow colour, with many small brown punctures. Its flesh is somewhat mellow, agreeable to the palate, and may be eaten from December to February.—The tree is tall, and very productive.

5. The Norman Apple (Reinette de Normandie); an excellent fruit, of a middling size, and regular form; when ripe, it is of a golden tint, covered with many grey, angular dots; has a very tender, yet firm, yellow pulp, containing a pungent spicy juice; ripens about the end of February, and may be preserved till Midsummer.—The tree is of an inferior size.

6. The Noble Pippin, an exquisite fruit for the table: of an oblong shape, tapering toward the eye; smooth, bright-yellow, with a few red streaks on the southern side. This apple ripens early, and remains sound till the end of April.—The tree, though not growing tall, bears ample fruit, even in those seasons which are unfavourable to the blossoms; it thrives in situations where other orchard-trees will not prosper.

7. The Spotted Pippin is one of the most elegant apples, in form and size resembling the largest Borsdorf-kind, having a stalk deeply inserted in a wide excavation; it