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Apple tree, Apples, Geneting Plate 151 of 171, engraved for Newton’s Compleat Herbal .
Apple and a Agreat Red walde ayellowish Named on this plate: Apple tree, Apples, Geneting, Queen Apple, Codlin P, Fairewhite
2026 Editor's Note: The apple varieties shown on this 18th-century plate would have required cross-pollination to bear fruit; most apple trees are not self-fertile and need a compatible partner nearby. Modern apple breeding continues this genetic mixing: Washington State University's program developed the Cosmic Crisp and Sunflare apples by crossing parent varieties, just as the unnamed growers once did to create the cultivars on this plate. Without a pollination partner, even a healthy tree like the 'Queen Apple' or 'Codlin' depicted here would produce few or no apples. The biennial bearing tendency of apple trees—a heavy crop one year and little the next—was managed historically by thinning, a practice still used today. (Ed: DS 2026-08-07)
