Nutting Bumpus

Late Summer. Duchess of Oldenburg seedling. Perham, ME (Aroostook County), 19th c. Introduced by James Nutting (1839-1893), orchardist, printer and state legislator, who was dedicated to developing apples that would thrive in northern Maine. No one seems to know where this excellent apple got its curious name, though a Fedco customer suggested the James Fenimore Cooper hero, Natty Bumppo, as the source. Large, roundish-conic fruit. Light yellow ground color with a faint washing and penciling of dull red on the sunny side.  Juicy mildly sub-acid fine-grained yellow-white flesh for fresh eating and cooking. Mild sweet subacid taste. Much better eating apple than its parent.  Tree has small upright slightly spreading habit. James' grandson, retired poultry farmer Henry Nutting, maintains the family farm in Perham and has generously provided us with scion wood over the years from two original trees. The most fun and memorable day of fruit exploring I ever spent was searching the vast natural "orchards" of wild apple seedlings in Perham with Henry. We must have tasted the fruit of 100 different trees.