Old Southern Apples [Paperback]

Creighton Lee Calhoun (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1996

Old Southern Apples is a delightful and definitive review of the history and uses of apples in the South from Maryland to Texas and Florida to Arkansas. Although apples became a major commercial crop in parts of the South in the late 1800s, for three hundred years southern farm families grew apples as an important, year-round food source. Through the selection and grafting of wild seedlings, Southerners developed unique apple varieties adapted to the climate and soils of the South and suited to specific uses such as drying, cider, apple butter and winter keeping. It is truly astonishing to learn that Southerners developed more than 1300 apple varieties and grew another 300 varieties of northern and European origins.

Old Southern Apples opens with an overview of apple history, culture, and uses in the agrarian South. This is followed by an exhaustive compilation of apple varieties grown in the South before 1928. The more than 1600 varieties are divided into extant and extinct groups, and all known facts concerning the history and description of each apple are given, plus a listing of synonyms.

Appendices include a bibliography, a description of nurseries, which sell old southern apple varieties, and an index of more than 3,600 apple names and synonyms. Forty-eight color plates painted by United States Department of Agriculture staff artists between 1880 and 1930 illustrate important varieties of southern apples. Old engravings and drawings illustrate apple cultivation and propagation practices in the South.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Old Southern Apples is a lovely book, filled with information that has been nearly inaccessible until now. It is so well-researched and well-written that Southerners from Texas to Virginia and fruit lovers everywhere will find it interesting." -- The Permaculture Activist, June 1996

"Wow! would be a concise description of my reaction to this exceptionally researched, extremely valuable reference work that manages to be fun and readable at the same time, thanks to the silky, southern prose of its talented author..." -- Traditional Gardening, Autumn 1997

A review of the history and uses of some 1600 varieties of apples in the American South, detailing apple cultivation, insect-control, and grafting practices, and describing methods of storing and using apples for products such as apple cider, apple butter, and apple brandy. The bulk of the book consists of descriptions and facts concerting extant and extinct Old Southern apple varieties. Includes a list of vendor sources for Old Southern apples, color and b&w illustrations, and an index of apple names and synonyms. No subject index. -- Book News, Inc.

About the Author

Lee Calhoun graduated from North Carolina State University in 1956 with a BS degree in Agronomy. He entered the US Army upon graduation from college, and remained in the military until retiring in 1976 as a lieutenant colonel. Along the way, he earned an MS degree in Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin. Lee Calhoun presently owns and operates a small nursery in Pittsboro, North Carolina that specializes in old southern apple varieties.

Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company (November 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939923599
• ISBN-13: 978-0939923595
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,271,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference and history of old apple varieties, April 13, 2000

By 

Eric (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Old Southern Apples (Hardcover)

This book successfully conveys what is lost when an old apple tree is cut down. It emphasizes the importance of apples throughout the history of the south. Furthermore, it provides excellent descriptions of the many varieties of old southern apples. The research that went into creating this book was obviously tremendous.The descriptions include over 1600 varities of apples. Throughout the book, the author is able to relate his great enthusiasm for old apple varieties as well as a profound sense of loss over the destruction of an important part of Southern heritage. "Old Southern Apples" has even inspired me to start my own search for the old varieties of apple trees. This is a resource that no Southern fruit grower should be without.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference and history of old apple varieties, April 13, 2000

By 

Eric (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Old Southern Apples (Hardcover)

This book successfully conveys what is lost when an old apple tree is cut down. It emphasizes the importance of apples throughout the history of the south. Furthermore, it provides excellent descriptions of the many varieties of old southern apples. The research that went into creating this book was obviously tremendous.The descriptions include over 1600 varities of apples. Throughout the book, the author is able to relate his great enthusiasm for old apple varieties as well as a profound sense of loss over the destruction of an important part of Southern heritage. "Old Southern Apples" has even inspired me to start my own search for the old varieties of apple trees. This is a resource that no Southern fruit grower should be without.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Southern Apples, June 23, 2001

By 

Kurt Trampel (Cumming, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Old Southern Apples (Paperback)

Great Book. If you like apples, get this book and you'll become passionate about apples. Great history on old apples grown in the old south, most of which are now very rare. This book made this transplanted Yankee feel like an old southern rebel farmer.