 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. |
