From John Jay to Edmund Burke, 12 December 1795
To Edmund Burke
New York 12 Decr. 1795
Sir
The last time I had the pleasure of seeing you we conversed among other things, and spea^eing of the apples of this Country I promised to send you a few ^some apple^ Trees of some of the best Sorts—1 Fifty Trees have been put ^of five different Sorts are now^ on Board the Rosanna Capt. John Pollard,2 whose Rec[eip]t. for them you will find herewith enclosed Ten of these Trees are in the New Town Pippin which you are acquainted know what they are— Ten other are what we call Spitzenberghs, from the Name of the Man in whose orchard the first Tree of the kind was found The Fruit is The apple is red, large and fair, it keeps untill January, and we esteem it next to the New Town pippin— Ten are of a kind called Rhode Island Greenings, from being of very green when ripe, and from having been first produced in Rhode Island— it is a very good apple, tho’ in my opinion inferior to the two first— Ten are Summer Pippins—a very large fair Yellow apple, & in Perfection late in autumn and but seldom sound and good beyond December a mild tart agreeable apple Ten of bear Summer apples ^which bear^ large and sweet ^apples, which are ripe soon after Harvest^ As these Trees are from a Nursery man in whose Care I have confidence I presume no mistakes have been committed—3
The great majority of our orchards consisting of Trees the that which have never been engrafted, the ^afford a^ variety of apples in this Country is so great as not to be enumerated— among them are many that are excellent, and a great Many that are worth but little— The Climate and the contiguous States is very friendly to this Fruit, and
How these Trees will succeed in England or how far their Fruit may be changed by the Climate Experience only can decide — It seems to me it appears probable that the warm Summer With great Respect and Esteem, and with the best wishes for your Health and Happiness I have the Honor to be Sir Yr most obt. & hble Servt
The Honble Edm. Burke Esqr
Dft, NNC (EJ: 12824).
1. JJ had become acquainted with Burke in London during his negotiations for the Jay Treaty. See the editorial note “John Jay’s Mission to London,” above. PAJ’s Memoranda & Statement of Accounts, dated 11 Sept. 1794, records “When we return to America to send a Barrel of Shag Bark nuts to Lord Inchiquin & some Newton Pippin Trees to Mr. Burke—”, AD, NNC.
2. The Rosannah cleared the port of New York on 12 Dec. bound for London. Argus, Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser (New York), 12 Dec. 1795.
3. JJ sent Burke American varieties of apple trees, with three of the four New York varieties. The Newtown Pippin was developed on Long Island and became well-known as an excellent cidering and eating apple. This variety was also famously grown by GW and TJ, and its cultivation in Virginia gave rise to its alternate name, the Albemarle Pippin. The Esopus Spitzenbergh, another New York apple, is also known for being an all-round apple. Rhode Island Greenings, also known as Orange Pippins, first appeared in the 17th century. The Summer Pippin’s alternate names of Champlain, Haverstraw, and Nyack point to its origin in New York State. U. P. Hendrick, Cyclopedia of Hard Fruits (New York, 1922), 29, 34, 36, 54.