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What else was grown here?
What else was grown here?
This is the map that was used to plant the cherries and the apricots. Perhaps we have 'Hemskirke' apricots in additon to 'Blenheim' apricots.
Someone in the 1990s put this chart together using one of the orchard books. They then used this to plant apricots, peaches, and cherries.
The rows are numbered from north to south and the trees from west to east. Row 1 Tree 1 is the first row and tree that you would have encountered walking from the front of the nursery toward the Western Pacific tracks (todays BART line).
For fruit history prior to 1921, check on The California Fruits and How to Grow Them by E.J. Wickson (1848-1923). E.J. Wickson is allegedly the person who directed Charles Howard Shinn to obtain 600 apples - all the apples known in California in 1895 - so Albert Etter could start his breeding Experiments. Both Albert Etter and Luther Burbank named fruits after Wickson. And there was a Shinn apple variety, presumed to be named after CHS.
Peaches
Peaches
The 1943 catalog features three luscious looking peaches: 'Fisher', 'Nectar', and the 'Rio Oso Gem'. These three peaches were planted in the Experimental Orchard.
The 'Fisher' peach was discovered in Canada in 1934, not too far from Niagara Falls. The chance mutation (sport) created a peach that ripened a full 3 weeks earlier than the mother tree.
The 'Fisher' peach was planted here in Niles in 1940 and was one of the many fruits in the Roeding Test Orchard in the 1930s on. In July 1939, Howard Fisher visited the nursery with 300 other members of the American Association of Nurserymen.
The 'Rio Oso Gem' was possibly a seedling of J.H. Hale; introduced by William Yerkes, Rio Oso, CA., 1926, according to Trees of Antiquity.
Other Peaches:
Seller's (Stellar's?) Orange Cling - "Originated on the farm of S. A. Sellers, Contra Costa County, and introduced by James Shinn."
Sim's Peach
Meadow Lark
Springtime
Red Globe
Hollbrook Cling
Salway
Flaming Gold?
Fisher from Paradise?
Bonita from UC
Ramona from UC
Millar's Late
Strawberry Cling
Nectar Peach
Nectar Peach
Many Nectar Peaches were planted in the orchard.
Fisher Peach
Fisher Peach
The Fisher Peach, a sport found in Ontario, Canada. Plant patent PP00233
Several Fisher peach trees were grown in Row 4.
It is unknown which catalog the Fisher peach first turned up, but this advertisement is from 1941.
The 1941 catalog has a color photo of Fisher.
Howard Fisher was one of the nurserymen who visited the California Nursery Company in 1939, on a field trip of the American Nurserymen Association from the 1939 World's fair on Treasure Island.
Nectarines
Nectarines
Nectarines are naked peaches.
Fireglobe
Stanwick
Mabel?
Guy Phillip?
Fisher
Apricots
Apricots
Blenheim - the variety that most commercial orchards planted.
Hemskirke
Sebastian
Routier's Peach Apricot?
R.S. Coe from ?
Burbank's fruits
Burbank's fruits
Burbank and George C. Roeding had a short marketing relationship in 1907. Burbank was rumored to be on someone's board for a while, but the catalog with this information is illusive. Burbank died in 1926. George C. Roeding was Burbank's contemporary.
Luther Burbank's Plums are described here.
There was a trio of plums introduced in this 1908-1909 Fancher Creek catalog: Formosa, Gaviota, and Vesuvius. Also in this issue were the the Santa Rosa plum and Plumcot.
In the Roeding Experimental Orchard were these Burbank varieties:
Wickson plum (p. 283 Wickson)
Burmosa plum (Burbank X Formosa) Was this Burbank's experiment or another person's?
Plums
Plums
Bavay's Green Gage (p. 284 Wickson) - so yummy!
The Burton Prune
Red Heart (Redheart?) originated from UC in 1950?
Nubiana?
La Roch?
Plum 1626
Cherries
Cherries
Bing
Black Tartarian (usually a pollinator, but tasty)
English Morello
Apples
Apples
Gravenstein
Lady?
McGilleroy seedling Springtime
Jonathan
White Winter Permain
Apple from China?
Skinner seedling?
Apple Red June? Etter?
Etter's Apples
about one-fourth to one-third of the orchard
Etter's Apples
about one-fourth to one-third of the orchard
Read about the Ettersburg Apple Legacy, Greenmantle Nurserty
The Etter apple names tested in the orchard were the following. If in Bold, they were sold by the California Nursery Company:
Alberkay,
All Gold,
#1 N All Gold,
Amber,
Arcata,
#15 Best,
#15 Best Revallarist,
#12 Big Pink Wickson,
California,
Crimson Gold
Dawn,
Delilah,
Diana,
Dr Player,
#2 Earliest Asiatic,
Epochal,
Etters Gold,
Etters Gold,
Eureka,
Eureka,
Fall Pink Flesh Pearmain,
Felicity,
#11 Golden Dawn,
#11 Golden Dawn,
Golden Hyde King,
Golden Manx,
Humboldt ,
Hybrid,
Hyde King ,
Jonwin,
Manette,
Manxilon,
Marshall,
Newton Snow,
Northfield Beauty,
Ornamental,
#1 Pear Shaped Little Crab,
#1 Pear Shaped Little Crab,
Pink Pearl ,
Psyche,
Red? Asiatic
Red Blossom,
#1 Red Flesh Asiatic,
#1 Red Flesh Asiatic,
Red Flesh Banana
Red Flesh Hoover
#4 Red Flesh Spitz
Red Flesh Spitz #4
Red Juicy Golden Crab
Red Manx
Red Ruby Flesh
#5 Red Ruby Flesh
Reinette
Rivallarist
#8 Roe Asiatic
St. Francis
Wickson (missing on map?) in other rows!
#33
#34
#35
#36
#37
#38
and so many more!
Useful References:
National Park Service's "Fruitful Legacy"
Kym Kemp's THE HORTICULTURAL GENIUS OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY "Through the courtesy of the Agricultural Experimental stations connected with the University of California. Albert F. Etter has now growing in the Ettersburg nurseries over 450 varieties of apples and next season these will be increased by several hundred additional varieties. This collection will embrace not only all the standard varieties in cultivation but many varieties of local fame from all over the United States and also a very large number from foreign countries all over the world." Humboldt Times August 15, 1900
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