Melcombe Russet

Fruit, small, two inches wide, and one inch high; oblate, even and regular in its outline, except round the eye, where it is undulating. Skin, entirely covered with bright cinnamon-coloured russet, which has a warm orange tinge next the sun, and no trace of any ground colour is visible. Eye, half open, with erect, leafy, convergent segments, which are reflexed at the tips, and set in a wide saucer-like and undulating basin. Stamens, basal; tube, very shallow, conical. Stalk, very short, not extending beyond the base; stout, and inserted in a narrow cavity. Flesh, yellowish, firm, not very juicy, agreeably flavoured. Cells, round; axile, closed or slit.

A second-rate dessert apple, which keeps well till January. It is a Dorsetshire apple.

Melon Apple

Fruit, medium sized, two inches and three-quarters wide, and two inches and a half high; roundish, but narrowing a little towards the crown, and somewhat bluntly angular on the sides. Skin, smooth, lemon yellow tinged with green, veined with very delicate pale brown russet, on the shaded side; on the side next the sun it is pale bright crimson, with broken streaks of darker crimson and patches and veins of very thin smooth pale brown russet. Eye, small and half open, placed in a narrow, sometimes slightly angular basin. Stamens, marginal, median or basal; tube, conical. Stalk, half an inch long, very slender, straight, and woody, inserted in an even, funnel-shaped, and rather deep cavity, which is lined with brown russet. Flesh, yellowish white, very tender and crisp, juicy, sweet, and vinous, with a delicate and very agreeable perfume. Cells, round; axile, slit.

A first-rate dessert apple; in use in December.

An American apple of great excellence. It was raised in the State of New York at a place called East Bloomfield.

Melrose (White Melrose)

Fruit, large, three inches and a quarter wide, and three inches high; roundish ovate, inclining to conical, and broad at the base; it has an irregularity in its outline, caused by prominent ribs, which extend from about the middle to tho basin of the eye, where they form large and unequal ridges; and also by several flattened parts on the sides, giving it the appearance as if indented by a blow. Skin, smooth and shining, pale yellow tinged with green on the shaded side; but yellow tinged with orange, and marked with crimson spots and dots, on the side exposed to the sun. Eye, large and closed, with broad flat segments, and deeply set in a plaited and prominently ribbed basin. Stamens, marginal; tube, funnel-shaped. Stalk, very short, not more than a quarter of an inch long, inserted in a deep, irregular cavity, in which are a few streaks and patches of rough russet. Flesh, yellowish white, firm, but tender and juicy, with a sweet and pleasantly sub-acid flavour. Cells, elliptical; abaxile.

A very valuable and fine-looking apple, of first-rate quality, suitable either for culinary purposes or the dessert; it is in use from October to January. The tree is a strong, healthy, and vigorous grower, and forms a large round head. It is also an abundant and free bearer.

This is an old Scotch apple, the cultivation of which is confined exclusively to the Border counties, where it was probably first introduced by the monks of Melrose Abbey. Though it is one of the most popular apples of the Tweedside orchards, it does not seem to have been ever known beyond its own district. It is without doubt the largest, and one of the most useful of Scotch apples, and requires only to be more generally known, to be cultivated throughout the length and breadth of that country. Even in the south it is worthy of cultivation as being both in size and quality one of the most attractive market apples. I have known them sold at two shillings a dozen.