1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:18,240 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Fall is finally here, 4 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: the beast time of the year. We're not quite into 5 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: October yet, so it's I mean, it's always spooky season 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: for me, but I thought maybe it would be good 7 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: to do something that is fall horrific, but not necessarily 8 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: in the ghosts and gothic things. Right, Hey, you know 9 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: what fits the bill apples Apples, So today is an 10 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: installment of eponymous foods that is the Autumn Apple edition. 11 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about two different very popular apples, 12 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: neither of which is native to the US. Both of 13 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: them were lucky accidents, as many apple varieties are. Both 14 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: of them have stories which stretch from the early nineteenth 15 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: century right up into present day. Just as a level 16 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: set in case anybody doesn't remember their fruit tree information. 17 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: The thing about apples which came up when we talked 18 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: about Granny Smith on our first Eponymous Food episode, Okay, 19 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: apples can normally only reproduce when they're pollinated by another 20 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: apple tree, at least in the wild. You can do 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: grafting and other types of things in nursery situations. But 22 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: so when a variety is found that's unique, it has 23 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: to be manually propagated through grafting or else you're gonna 24 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:41,279 Speaker 1: lose that particular type of apple when that original tree dies. 25 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 1: So in both of the stories that we're talking about today, 26 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: there is one original tree, which I love. So the 27 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: first apple we're going to talk about is the Bramley apple, 28 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: and that's the most popular cooking apple in the UK. 29 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: It's not one that most people I would probably enjoy 30 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: raw because raw it is very sour, but once it's 31 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: cooked it has a light sweetness and an almost fluffy texture. 32 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: So it's used a lot in dessert baking, think things 33 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: like pies, tarts, things like that. You can also use 34 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,960 Speaker 1: this apple to make ciders and fruit wines. Yeah, I've 35 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: heard some people describe it. I have never cooked with 36 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: a Bramley. Describe it as becoming almost frothy when you 37 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: cook it, and I'm like, maybe I should start cooking 38 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: with Bramley's. As I mentioned just a moment ago, all 39 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,799 Speaker 1: Bramley apples can be traced back to one tree. That 40 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: tree can still be visited today, but we're going to 41 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: talk about its current status in a moment. The tree 42 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: has a very charming beginning because it is said to 43 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,079 Speaker 1: have been planted by a teenage girl. Sometimes the way 44 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: this is written about it sounds like she is a child, 45 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: but if you do the math, she was like seventeen 46 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: or eighteen when this happened. That girl, Mary Ann Brailsford, 47 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: took several apple pips left over from her mother's kitchen 48 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 1: cooking and decided to plant them in pots to germinate them, 49 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: and then transplanted the resulting seedlings into the family yard 50 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: in Subtle Nottinghamshire, and the one that became famous grew 51 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: into a small sapling and then into a tree which 52 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: produced apples that cooked up just beautifully. That tree is 53 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: a triploid. It has three sets of chromosomes. Triploid plants 54 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: get some great benefits from their chromosomeal structure. They typically 55 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: are more vigorous growers, they have darker leaves, and in 56 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: the case of fruit bearing trees, they often produce more 57 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: and larger fruit than their counterparts. And that triploid tree 58 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: was the result of a random cross pollination. We don't 59 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: have any idea what varieties were involved to create its 60 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: uniquely perfect baking apples. As we mentioned, Marianne was young 61 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: when she planted this tree. Usually this is dated to 62 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: eighteen o nine. Then she grew up and got married 63 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: and moved away from the house, and in eighteen forty 64 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: six a butcher named Matthew Bramley bought this property and 65 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: its apple trees, which at that point were fully mature 66 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: trees regularly producing apples, and they were so bountiful that 67 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: a local nurseryman named Henry Meriweather noticed them and eventually 68 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: approached Bramley about these trees. Calling Merriweather a nurseryman, that 69 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: sort of makes it seem like he was an adult. 70 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: He was actually only seventeen at the time, but he 71 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: knew a lot about plants and agriculture because he worked 72 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: in his family's nursery from the time he was a 73 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: young boy. Yeah, I read one account that said that 74 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: he had been working with fruit growing tree since he 75 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,279 Speaker 1: was like ten years old. So there's also a weird 76 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: side story in one account that he first encountered the 77 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: apples when like a clergyman was carrying a basket of 78 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: them and I couldn't find any any other validation of that, 79 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:57,840 Speaker 1: so if you see it maybe, But he did get 80 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 1: to the apple tree, which is the important thing, wasted 81 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: those apples, and then he asked if he could take 82 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: a cutting to try to graft it, and Bramley said 83 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: he could. He gave his consent on one condition. If 84 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: Merriweather developed the apple variety and started selling it through 85 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: his nursery, it had to be named the Bramley Apple. 86 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: And Meriweather agreed to those terms and started working with 87 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: his cuttings. That was in eighteen fifty six. So Meriweather 88 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: spent the next several decades working with the fruit. As 89 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 1: he noted, he quote worked all the plants I had 90 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: room for, and by degrees I had a fine stock 91 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 1: of young plants. As a side note, Mary Brailsford had 92 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: died four years before Merriweather and Bramley met, so she 93 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: never knew the fame her little tree would achieve. In 94 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty two, Henry sold his first Bramley apples to 95 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: a customer. Sales records indicate that he sold three fruit 96 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 1: for two shillings on October thirty first of that year. 97 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: That sale was to a mister George Cooper of Upton Hall. 98 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: Two of the grafted trees Meriweather had developed were sold 99 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: to another gardener in eighteen sixty five. In December of 100 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy six, so a little bit later, Henry Meriweather 101 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: showed his apples to the Royal Horticultural Society for the 102 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: first time. They received a rating of highly commended and 103 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: then later were given the rating of first Class. At 104 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: some point in the early nineteen hundreds, the Bramley tree 105 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: was struck by lightning. By some accounts, it was actually 106 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: knocked down, but it rerooted itself and survived the ordeal. 107 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: The Bramley apple had become so popular that by nineteen 108 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: twenty four, an estimated eighty percent of the apples grown 109 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,359 Speaker 1: in Kent were Bramley's. In the second half of the 110 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: twentieth century and into the twenty first, a woman named 111 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:52,640 Speaker 1: Nancy Harrison became the tree's guardian. She bought the two 112 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: cottages and property at auction in the nineteen sixties. Mary 113 00:06:57,440 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: lived on the property in what became known as the 114 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 1: Brand Family tree House or the adjacent cottage for the 115 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: rest of her life. Yeah some accounts put her in 116 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: just one of the cottages, and some say she moved, 117 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: so I'm not clear on that, just FYI. In the 118 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: early nineteen nineties the trees age was really beginning to show. 119 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: It also had developed honey fungus. So this is a 120 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: blanket name for several types of Armilaria fungus that destroy 121 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: woody and perennial plants from the root. So it displays 122 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: as a white fungal growth that appears between the wood 123 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: and its bark. It sort of separates the two and 124 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: causes problems. Sometimes trees that are infected with this will 125 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: grow mushrooms, typically in the autumn. The upper parts of 126 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: the plant may die, and the leaves that it will 127 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: produce if it does continue to, will be smaller than normal. 128 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: They also turn kind of a yellowy or pale green 129 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: color underground. The roots are slowly rotting from this fungus 130 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: and treatment options are not very good. There is no 131 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: way to get rid of honey fungus. Normally, if a 132 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: plant or tree has it, the course of action would 133 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: be to dig it up and burn it so that 134 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 1: that fungus won't spread, But no one wants to destroy 135 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: the Bramley tree. Biologists from the University of Nottingham stepped 136 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: in and then, in addition to providing supportive care for 137 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: this tree to keep it alive as long as possible, 138 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: they also undertook a project to clone it that was 139 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: supervised by Professor Ted Cocking and doctor Brian Power of 140 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: the School of Biology. In an article the University released 141 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: in two thousand and nine, they described this process quote 142 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: shoot tips were taken from the original Bramley tree in 143 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: the spring of nineteen ninety. These were cut into smaller 144 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: pieces and treated to eliminate all bacteria, fungi and fungal 145 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: spores which are always present, particularly in an old tree 146 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: like the original Bramley. The inactive leaf buds were then 147 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: removed and placed in a liquid nutrient growth medium, changing 148 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: to fresh medium every four weeks. When the individual roots 149 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: reached three centimeters, they were ready for rooting in a 150 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 1: new growth medium. These rooted clones were then transferred to 151 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: soil in a mist propagator and then to an open glasshouse. 152 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,959 Speaker 1: The paper explained that rooted clones versus grafts, can grow 153 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: quickly and reach a height of six to eight feet 154 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: in a couple of years. There are twelve Bramley clones 155 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: that are part of the University Park Millennium Garden, and 156 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,359 Speaker 1: there are always shoots being cultivated and distributed to nurseries 157 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: to keep this line alive. There's also one clone planted 158 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: next to the original. I was just idly wondering how 159 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 1: close to the original. It's not super close, like when 160 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: you see pictures of the original tree. You can't see 161 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: the other tree in the picture. Oh I see, yeah, yeah. 162 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: And also I presume they probably have some ground level 163 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: barriers involved as well. There are some interesting side benefits 164 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: to the cloning work done from the original tree. So 165 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: prior to this project, any Bramley tree that was grown 166 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: outside of the original site was of course a grafted cutting, 167 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:13,200 Speaker 1: and most were grafted cuttings taken from prior grafted cutting, 168 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,959 Speaker 1: so over time the flavor of the resulting apples had 169 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: faded a little bit. But the cloned trees taste just 170 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,839 Speaker 1: like the original, and by some accounts even better because 171 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:26,560 Speaker 1: they are young trees, so they're producing sweeter fruit and 172 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 1: they have more vitamin C than the grafted ones. The 173 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,960 Speaker 1: clone trees have a more compact shape. Growers who have 174 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: received the cloned saplings have often expressed doubt about them, 175 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: initially saying they look kind of like tomato plants, and 176 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: then they are just happily surprised at how rapidly they 177 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: mature and how hardy they are, and they're really really 178 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: impressive fruit production. In two thousand and nine, in honor 179 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 1: of the trees By Centennial, there was a huge celebration 180 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: and a stained glass window featuring the tree was designed 181 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: by Helen Whittaker of Bartos, York. This was dedicated in 182 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:07,560 Speaker 1: the Subtle Minister Cathedral. Coming up, we'll talk about some 183 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: ongoing issues with the tree and efforts that are being 184 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,000 Speaker 1: made to take care of it, but first we will 185 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 1: pause for a sponsor break. In recent years, the original 186 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: Bramley Tree has continued to have some challenges. Nancy Harrison, 187 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: the woman we mentioned that's been caretaking it for so long, 188 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: died in twenty fourteen at the age of ninety four, 189 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: and her nephew, Colson Howard, became the owner and steward 190 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:41,679 Speaker 1: of the tree. While Howard, who was fifty five when 191 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: his aunt died, kept a garden, he did not feel 192 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: qualified to care for a historic tree, especially one that 193 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: everyone knows has serious issues, so he got assistance from 194 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: tree experts, many of whom had also helped his aunt 195 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: then shown the tree a great deal of care over 196 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 1: the years. In twenty sixteen, the BBC reported on the 197 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: honey fungus problem, which was deemed untreatable. Howard told the 198 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: news outlet quote, it's all very sad. The tree has 199 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: honey fungus, and I have asked everybody if there is 200 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: a treatment. All the advice seems to be that it 201 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: is fatal in the long term once it has died. 202 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 1: I would like to preserve the tree where it stands 203 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: for as long as possible. As an aside, Many mentions 204 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: of this tree suggest the twenty teens as the time 205 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 1: when it developed honey fungus, but the University of Nottingham 206 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: lists the nineteen nineties, and for them who have cultivated 207 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 1: fully mature trees, that earlier date makes a lot more sense. Yeah, 208 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: it gets a little confused in the telling sometimes. Professor 209 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: Ted Cocking, who we mentioned before, he worked on the 210 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:45,760 Speaker 1: cloning project and he works on the ongoing care of 211 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,480 Speaker 1: the tree told the press quote, it looks as though 212 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: it is going to die, although we can never be 213 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: one hundred percent certain with a tree. It is a 214 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 1: great shame. Miss Harrison devoted most of her life to 215 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: looking after the tree and entertaining people who came from 216 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 1: all over the world to visit the tree. Even if 217 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: it is dying, we all want it to die with dignity. 218 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: It needs to be nursed in its terminal years. In 219 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, Nottingham Trent University acquired the property where the 220 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: tree is and its two cottages to expand its student 221 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 1: housing and in the process the university also became the 222 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: custodian of the tree and this has meant that the 223 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 1: Biology department can carefully monitor the tree's health and work 224 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,199 Speaker 1: to stave off the inevitable for as long as possible. 225 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty two, as part of the celebration of 226 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, His Royal Highness the Prince of 227 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: Wales begin a project for the Queen's Green Canopy, and 228 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: as part of this effort, seventy woodlands and seventy ancient 229 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: trees in the UK were selected to be part of 230 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:52,200 Speaker 1: a network of growth called the Ancient Canopy. Those seventies 231 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: were to mark the seventy years of the Queen's reign, 232 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: and the Bramley Tree was selected as one of the trees. 233 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:03,079 Speaker 1: Today there are about three hundred different growers growing Bramley 234 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: apples in the UK, producing more than eighty three thousand 235 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: tons of apples every year. This tree is still alive 236 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: and is still producing fruit. It will eventually die, although 237 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,720 Speaker 1: it gets extraordinary care. It does still have honey fungus 238 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: and it's more than two hundred years old. But another 239 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: scientific effort is underway to preserve everything possible about the 240 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: tree's DNA. There's a research project taking place at Nottingham 241 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 1: Trent University. It's working to quote complete Bramley tree genomic 242 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: DNA sequencing and mapping and in addition to creating a 243 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: scientific record of the tree's genetic makeup, this will help 244 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 1: scientists identify the genetic information that creates some specific qualities 245 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 1: and plants which could maybe be useful in future agricultural efforts. 246 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 1: The Bramley tree has its own blue historical plaque which 247 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: reads the Bramley Apple tree was grown from a pip 248 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 1: by a young lady, Mary Ann Brailsford between eighteen oh 249 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: nine and eighteen fifteen. It was thought it came from 250 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:06,440 Speaker 1: an apple grown on a tree at the bottom of 251 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 1: her garden. Now number seventy five, that's the street number 252 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: one seedling produced very fine apples in eighteen thirty seven, 253 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: when the new occupier was mister Matthew Bramley. A local gardener, 254 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 1: Henry Merriweather later obtained permission to take cuttings from the 255 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,280 Speaker 1: tree and it was duly registered as the Bramley seedling. 256 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,520 Speaker 1: So what I love about this is even though the 257 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: butcher who lived at seventy five Church Streets, southled Nottinghamshire 258 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,120 Speaker 1: in the mid eighteen hundreds did not plant or cultivate 259 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 1: the Bramley tree in its apples, all he said was 260 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,360 Speaker 1: sure you could take it. They still bear his name. 261 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: It's just kind of the least involved eponymous food story 262 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: we can. Next up is the Macintosh apple. This variety 263 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 1: is well known all over the world for its bright 264 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: red skin with tinges of green, and the crisp flesh, 265 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:00,120 Speaker 1: which has a flavor that's both sweet and tart. These 266 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: are often eaten raw, but they're still also very popular 267 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: for cooking because they break down easily under heat, so 268 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 1: that shortens the cooking time. Yeah, you can bake an 269 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: apple pie with those a little bit faster. John McIntosh 270 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 1: was born on August fifteenth, seventeen seventy seven, in Harpersfield, 271 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:22,359 Speaker 1: New York. His parents, Alexander and Juliette McIntosh, were Scottish immigrants, 272 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 1: so you will sometimes see John called a Scottish Canadian 273 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 1: because he moves in a moment, and sometimes an American Canadian, 274 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: just in case you see both. That's the explainer. Alexander 275 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: McIntosh moved to Harpersfield four years before John was born, 276 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: and he was a loyalist during the Revolutionary War. As 277 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,880 Speaker 1: a young man, John moved to the colony of Upper Canada, 278 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,920 Speaker 1: that's the precursor to modern day Ontario. Upper Canada was 279 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: formed in seventeen ninety one by the Constitutional Act of 280 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety one, which separated what had been the province 281 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Lower Canada, 282 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 1: which was largely Catholic and French speaking, would later become 283 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:07,880 Speaker 1: modern day Quebec, and then Upper Canada was mostly Protestant, 284 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,360 Speaker 1: English speaking and loyalist. John is said to have made 285 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: this move after a fallout with his family, which happened 286 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 1: due to his relationship with a woman who was deemed unacceptable. 287 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:22,080 Speaker 1: Whoever that woman was, she does not appear to have 288 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:25,879 Speaker 1: gone with him. Yeah, there's some question marks around that 289 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: whole thing. Exactly when John McIntosh moved to Upper Canada 290 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,240 Speaker 1: is also a little fuzzy. Some accounts list his arrival 291 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 1: as seventeen ninety six. That's the earliest date you'll typically see. 292 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 1: Others put it in the early eighteen hundreds. It seems possible, 293 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 1: and I most historians have reconciled this as a result 294 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: of him moving from one location to another. So different 295 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:55,159 Speaker 1: municipalities records are reflecting their own arrival dates, and depending 296 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:57,360 Speaker 1: on which one of those you reference, you will see 297 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: something different he did once he was there, Mary, a 298 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: woman named Hannah Dorian, and the macintoshes, and I was 299 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: not able to verify this, are said to have had 300 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: eleven children, six boys and five girls. I didn't find 301 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,399 Speaker 1: any info on like whether that was the true number, 302 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,720 Speaker 1: whether they all lived to adulthood, et cetera. One of 303 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,639 Speaker 1: his sons becomes very important in the story, though The 304 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: Dictionary of Canadian Biography cites the date of March eighth, 305 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:25,879 Speaker 1: eighteen thirteen as the day John purchased a lot of 306 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,360 Speaker 1: land in Matilda Township in the Saint Lawrence Valley, which 307 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 1: would eventually become the town of Dundela. This is the 308 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:35,119 Speaker 1: only place Holly saw that night. Every everywhere else seems 309 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,360 Speaker 1: to say this was in eighteen eleven. In any case, though, 310 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 1: he started clearing the land to grow crops there, and 311 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: it said that in doing so he found apple seedlings. 312 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: This story has some hazy edges. Once again, this might 313 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:53,879 Speaker 1: have been one seedling, maybe multiple. It also might not 314 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,240 Speaker 1: have been John. It could have been his son Alan, 315 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: although an account from Allan himself credits his father. We'll 316 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,159 Speaker 1: get back to that in a minute. Some versions of 317 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:06,640 Speaker 1: this story say that John found quite a few seedlings 318 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 1: in the brush while clearing this property and then replanted 319 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: a lot of them, but then only one survived and 320 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: was the foundation of the Macintosh apple line. As with 321 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: the Bramley, we don't really know what kind of hybridization 322 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: this original seedling had. Yeah, there are some efforts to 323 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 1: figure it out we'll talk about in a minute. But 324 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:30,080 Speaker 1: as late as eighteen seventy six, it kind of seems 325 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:32,840 Speaker 1: if you're looking at some records, like there weren't any 326 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: growers including McIntosh apples in their orchards in Ontario. That 327 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: information comes from the Centennial Exposition of eighteen seventy six, 328 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: which took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and according to the 329 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry on John McIntosh, there was 330 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 1: an exhibit there mounted by the Ontario Fruit Growers, but 331 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 1: the Macintosh was not listed as a variety of fruit 332 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: grown in the province. But there is some counter evidence 333 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,639 Speaker 1: to that, and we'll dig into it and get the 334 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 1: story in Alan McIntosh's own words after we hear from 335 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:07,800 Speaker 1: the sponsors that keep stuff you missed in history class 336 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: going on April ninth, eighteen seventy four, so two years 337 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:24,720 Speaker 1: before the centennial Expo we mentioned before the break, a 338 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:27,679 Speaker 1: column of entries about the apple tree appeared in the 339 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,600 Speaker 1: Argus and Patriot newspaper of Montpelier, Vermont, under the heading 340 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 1: the Macintosh read apple and this column. And when I 341 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 1: say that, I mean like a full column of the paper, 342 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: not it's a column written by someone. Opens with a 343 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: letter from Johnson Alan McIntosh, dated February fifteenth of that year, 344 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 1: outlining the differences between the Macintosh and another apple. That 345 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,159 Speaker 1: letter is long, but it includes a lot of information 346 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: about the tree as known to the macintosh family and 347 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: other growers over what seems like a significant period of time, 348 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 1: as well as the family's version of the origin story. 349 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,200 Speaker 1: So I'm going to read the whole thing. It reads 350 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,399 Speaker 1: as follows, mister Webster, Dear sir, I received yours of 351 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 1: the tenth asking relative to my apple and tree, whether 352 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: it was the famous or some other variety. Sir, it 353 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: appears that the famouz is called here the snow apple. Now, 354 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: the Macintosh reds are not the snow variety. In the 355 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 1: first place, the meats of the two are not alike. 356 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: The snow are much whiter. Again, the snow apple does 357 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,119 Speaker 1: not stay on the tree in the fall like the 358 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:37,440 Speaker 1: red variety. The snow falls with early frosts and the leaves. Also, 359 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 1: the reds stay in the trees until the ground freezes, 360 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 1: and also the leaves. Again, the reds are very smooth, 361 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: while the snow has a very rough bark. Again, the 362 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: limbs are very different. The snow are very liable to 363 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 1: split down, while the red does not for the reason 364 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: it cannot. The limbs come out like pins, being smooth 365 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 1: with no seam both in crotch and big limbs that 366 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: say there is no tree like them in this respect. Again, 367 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,439 Speaker 1: the tree is a constant bearer. Now, Sir, I am 368 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,119 Speaker 1: quite positive. There is no man living who has even 369 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,560 Speaker 1: known this tree to fail one year of bearing a 370 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 1: good crop of apples. I am fifty eight years old, 371 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 1: and do know for fifty years it has borne every 372 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:21,040 Speaker 1: year without fail a single year in that time. Also, 373 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,200 Speaker 1: the young trees are just as good bearers, yes, sir, 374 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:28,000 Speaker 1: every year. Further, the frosts, which are frequent here in 375 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:31,159 Speaker 1: the climate in blossoming time, do not affect my reds 376 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,640 Speaker 1: in the least, while the snow, or yet any other 377 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:37,440 Speaker 1: kind do. In Canada, the red apple is much larger, 378 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,760 Speaker 1: some of them weighing a pound. Again, the snow variety 379 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: will not keep near as long. Also, the snow loses 380 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 1: its flavor and becomes insipid, while the red does not. 381 00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 1: It holds its flavor until Midsummer perfectly now, sir. Relative 382 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: to the tree, it was set by my father where 383 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,480 Speaker 1: it now stands, some seventy years ago, with some twenty more, 384 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:00,159 Speaker 1: which were taken up by the roadside or wherever he 385 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,439 Speaker 1: could find them, and put in his garden. And in 386 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: the course of thirty years all the rest were dead 387 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: and gone. I grafted this kind into some other varieties 388 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,760 Speaker 1: some thirty or forty years ago. The tops of which 389 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:15,040 Speaker 1: are now smooth and bright as a young tree. Now, 390 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 1: I would say I have set an orchard of twelve 391 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,879 Speaker 1: hundred trees of this variety, considering one of these trees 392 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 1: worth four times as much as any other trees for 393 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,280 Speaker 1: this climate. For I have never known one of them 394 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: to die from any cause. Yours respectfully, Alan McIntosh. So 395 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: if that sounds like a sales pitch, sort of is. 396 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,960 Speaker 1: But this is not the start of the family selling 397 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,959 Speaker 1: the trees to other growers. In fact, there's a statement 398 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,200 Speaker 1: about the quality of the trees and Alan McIntosh's honesty 399 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:49,160 Speaker 1: in the same column of entries that signed by sixteen growers, 400 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: and several of them include their own testimonials about the 401 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: Macintosh red and their experiences growing them. So there were 402 00:23:56,280 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: clearly orchards in Ontario that were growing these before eighteen 403 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 1: seventy six. One of these growers, William Arrington, states that 404 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:09,720 Speaker 1: he has been growing McIntosh reds for five years. Another 405 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,040 Speaker 1: orchard SS Clow and Son of Braintree, Vermont said, in 406 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: their testimonial quote, we understand that some parties are claiming 407 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,200 Speaker 1: they can furnish the same tree. Now if they will 408 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: furnish the same tree not raised in the Macintosh nursery, 409 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,440 Speaker 1: we will give one hundred dollars. So clearly, not only 410 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:31,320 Speaker 1: was the McIntosh being grown and sold by other growers 411 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:33,400 Speaker 1: at the time, but it had a really good reputation 412 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: that had reached well outside of Ontario. There are we 413 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,639 Speaker 1: should point out some inconsistencies in Allen's account with the 414 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:44,920 Speaker 1: historical record, though in particular, he mentions that his father 415 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: planted the first Macintosh seventy years prior, but John McIntosh 416 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,440 Speaker 1: didn't own that land until eighteen eleven or eighteen thirteen, 417 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,480 Speaker 1: depending on the source you look at. Either way, sixty 418 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 1: seems like a more accurate number than seventy. Remember, this 419 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: was being written in in eighteen seventy four, but John 420 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,439 Speaker 1: himself had been dead for almost thirty years when Allan's 421 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 1: letter was published, so it's not entirely surprising that some 422 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: of the historical dates probably just passed down through the 423 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 1: family verbally were noted incorrectly. The elder Macintosh's exact date 424 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 1: of death is not certain, but he died sometime between 425 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 1: the fall of eighteen forty five in the beginning of 426 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: eighteen forty six. By the end of the nineteenth century 427 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 1: and into the early twentieth century, the Macintosh's popularity grew rapidly. 428 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,919 Speaker 1: It was as Alan's statement indicated, a hearty apple that 429 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:39,679 Speaker 1: survived the cold well and produced a lot of sweet fruit. 430 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,520 Speaker 1: One of the only flaws noted about it was that 431 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 1: this fruit bruised easily. Some accounts credit the robust health 432 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:52,159 Speaker 1: of the macintosh with enabling more orchardists to develop commercial farms. 433 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,399 Speaker 1: Alan died in eighteen ninety nine, so he was only 434 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,359 Speaker 1: able to see the early success of this apple that 435 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,159 Speaker 1: he had nursed and developed in promoted his whole life, 436 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 1: and just as that success was reaching a crescendo, the 437 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:09,199 Speaker 1: original McIntosh apple tree was damaged by a fire. It 438 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,280 Speaker 1: didn't recover and it eventually collapsed, and at the time 439 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 1: the tree was given a memorial headstone placed at the 440 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 1: base of the remaining stump, which reads the site of 441 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 1: the original McIntosh apple Tree eighteen eleven to nineteen oh six. 442 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,440 Speaker 1: Another stone marker was placed near the road in nineteen twelve, 443 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,440 Speaker 1: noting that the farm was the location of the original 444 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:33,719 Speaker 1: macintosh apple tree. In nineteen sixty two, a historical marker 445 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:37,520 Speaker 1: was placed outside the homestead by the Ontario Heritage Foundation. 446 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:41,440 Speaker 1: It lists eighteen eleven, not eighteen thirteen, as the year 447 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:45,359 Speaker 1: John McIntosh acquired the land. The pla'x version of the 448 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,200 Speaker 1: story is brief, and it reads in full quote John 449 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 1: McIntosh seventeen seventy seven to eighteen forty six. McIntosh's parents 450 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,720 Speaker 1: immigrated from Inverness, Scotland, to the Mohawk Valley, New York, 451 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 1: and John moved to Upper Canada in seventeen ninety six. 452 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: In eighteen eleven he acquired a farm near this site, 453 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: and while clearing the land of second growth, discovered several 454 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 1: apple seedlings. He transplanted these, and one bore the superior fruit, 455 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:14,720 Speaker 1: which became famous as the Macintosh read apple. John's son, Alan, 456 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:20,399 Speaker 1: established a nursery and promoted this new species extensively. It 457 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,719 Speaker 1: was widely acclaimed in Ontario and the northern United States, 458 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: and was introduced into British Columbia about nineteen ten. Its 459 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:32,280 Speaker 1: popularity in North America and propagation in many lands attest 460 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,840 Speaker 1: the initiative and industry of John McIntosh and his descendants. 461 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: There are some people who think John McIntosh gets a 462 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,399 Speaker 1: little too much credit in all of this, and that 463 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,440 Speaker 1: Alan should be the one that everyone talks about, just Fyi. 464 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,560 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy, efforts were made to see if the 465 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,239 Speaker 1: Macintosh could be proven to have been a descendant of 466 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 1: the famouz Or snow apple that Alan McIntosh referenced in 467 00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:57,400 Speaker 1: his letter to the paper. A lot of apple experts 468 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,760 Speaker 1: have concluded that the Famous, which was in the region 469 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,760 Speaker 1: when John McIntosh moved there, had to be a genetic ancestor. 470 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,840 Speaker 1: But in nineteen seventy W. H. Upshaw of the Horticultural 471 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:13,240 Speaker 1: Experiment Station in Vineland, Ontario, conducted experiments to see if 472 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:15,920 Speaker 1: he could cross the Famous with other breeds to get 473 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: anything close to a Macintosh, but he never could. Based 474 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,320 Speaker 1: on his work, he listed the fall Saint Lawrence Apple 475 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: and the Alexander apple as likely progenitors. In two thousand 476 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,679 Speaker 1: and one, another plaque was installed, this time by the 477 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,400 Speaker 1: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. This plaque also 478 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 1: supports that eighteen to eleven date and it reads quote 479 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: In eighteen eleven, John McIntosh discovered an apple sapling on 480 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 1: his land in Matilda Township. By bringing about its propagation 481 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: and wide dissemination, he and his family had a significant 482 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:54,840 Speaker 1: impact on Canada's fruit growing industry. The Macintosh apple not 483 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:59,240 Speaker 1: only possessed a highly desirable taste, texture, aroma, and appearance, 484 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 1: who was also's so ideally suited for growing in the 485 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:06,200 Speaker 1: country's colder climate. A number of well known hybrids, such 486 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: as the Cortland's Empire, Lobo and Spartan were derived from 487 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,120 Speaker 1: this fruit. The macintosh has become one of the most 488 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: popular varieties grown in Canada and abroad. The second plaque 489 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,560 Speaker 1: was not installed at the Macintosh Farm, but instead at 490 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: a nearby park which is also named McIntosh Park. In 491 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: twenty eleven, the last known Macintosh apple tree that was 492 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 1: a first generation graft from the original tree was cut 493 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:36,520 Speaker 1: down on July twenty fifth after it died. According to 494 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:39,560 Speaker 1: the owner of the property, Sandra Bexted, the summer had 495 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 1: just been too dry for the aging tree. It produced 496 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,560 Speaker 1: some leaves before it died, but they fell off as 497 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 1: it reached its end. The tree had been grown from 498 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: cuttings from the original by Sandra's great grandfather, Samuel Smith, 499 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,320 Speaker 1: who They still have that orchard and it still functions 500 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 1: once again. Scientists stepped in horticulture lists from the Upper 501 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,280 Speaker 1: Canada village, collected twigs from the tree before it was 502 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:08,240 Speaker 1: cut down and grafted them onto rootstock. Three of those 503 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 1: took root, and they were headed to an orchard in 504 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:14,160 Speaker 1: the village once they grew large enough. The Macintosh farm 505 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,719 Speaker 1: where it all began has also had some challenges. In 506 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,959 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, a story ran on CBC News about the 507 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,920 Speaker 1: state of the property. At that point, it was owned 508 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 1: by a man from Austria named Gerd Scoff, who had 509 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 1: bought it in nineteen eighty seven and was eager to 510 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,120 Speaker 1: sell it. The orchard and the farmland were a lot 511 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 1: to manage. He was also ready to move on. In 512 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: addition to how big and hard to care for this 513 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:42,840 Speaker 1: property was, it was also just too remote. He wanted 514 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,520 Speaker 1: to live closer to a hospital as he and his 515 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 1: wife got older, in case they ever had any kind 516 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 1: of emergency. At the time, he was asking for eight 517 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:55,560 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy five thousand Canadian dollars. According to a 518 00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:58,760 Speaker 1: BBC report about the farm, that was equivalent to six 519 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:02,240 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy five thousand dollars US or five hundred 520 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:06,200 Speaker 1: and fourteen thousand British pounds. The property was listed as 521 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,240 Speaker 1: five point five hectares that's a little bigger than thirteen 522 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 1: and a half acres. The farmhouse and its surrounding structures 523 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:19,480 Speaker 1: had really fallen into disrepair. There were frequent visitors from animals, 524 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,720 Speaker 1: unwanted animal visitors, we will say, and occasional human break 525 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 1: ins as well. Scoff's moved away from the property in 526 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, and it was still vacant, so it further deteriorated. 527 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: According to a CBC Canada report on the land, most 528 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:39,760 Speaker 1: of Scoff's neighbors saw that his asking price was too high. 529 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:43,440 Speaker 1: Even other orchard owners in the area indicated that the 530 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 1: property had been neglected for so long that it would 531 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:48,440 Speaker 1: just be really difficult even for a pro to get 532 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,760 Speaker 1: it up and running again. Scoff was not interested in 533 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: working with the government on making the pharm a tourist destination, 534 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:57,240 Speaker 1: and while he said he would not sell to the 535 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 1: local or federal government, there were also no offers from 536 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: those municipalities. Scoff cited his distrust of the government generally 537 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,680 Speaker 1: as his reason for not wanting to work with them. 538 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: It is unclear to me if this is related to 539 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,440 Speaker 1: the historic marker that was placed in the park rather 540 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:16,400 Speaker 1: than on the property. I don't know if there was 541 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:20,400 Speaker 1: like a long history there, but there have been public 542 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 1: calls over the years for the Macintosh to be more 543 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 1: fully recognized by the Ontario government as a historically significant 544 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:31,040 Speaker 1: part of the province's heritage, but so far it has 545 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:34,680 Speaker 1: not been deemed important enough. Even though it has appeared 546 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 1: on Canadian money. We don't really know if anybody has 547 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:42,200 Speaker 1: ever made a real offer on this. A New York 548 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,280 Speaker 1: Times article about the McIntosh apple from twenty twenty one 549 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:49,760 Speaker 1: states that the Macintosh farm is long gone. This sites 550 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:54,240 Speaker 1: the Smith Farm nearby as the oldest operating orchard still 551 00:32:54,280 --> 00:33:01,840 Speaker 1: offering the variety ah apples apples. Listen. Do I always 552 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:03,960 Speaker 1: think I want to try to grow apple trees? Yes? 553 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: Does it ever work? No? I know who I am, 554 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,760 Speaker 1: and I am a lazy gardener, but I do have 555 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,080 Speaker 1: a listener mail about UV protection one of my favorite things. 556 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:18,719 Speaker 1: This is from our listener Alyssa, who writes, Hey, ladies, 557 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,000 Speaker 1: been a fan for many years now. Thank you for 558 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 1: all your research and well delivered information. I just wanted 559 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:26,760 Speaker 1: to drop a quick note about UV protection. I'm a 560 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: conductor for a freight rail company. I'm also what you 561 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:32,320 Speaker 1: might call pasty. I always do my best to use 562 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,000 Speaker 1: as much sun protection as possible, but it's not always 563 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,480 Speaker 1: possible to reapply throughout the day due to being in 564 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:39,640 Speaker 1: the middle of the yard and either not having it 565 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,560 Speaker 1: available or dirty hands. They would break my skin out. 566 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:46,800 Speaker 1: My biggest suggestion is always wearing long sleeve shirts. As 567 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,479 Speaker 1: you mentioned, there are some with UV protection built in. 568 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:54,440 Speaker 1: Wearing long sleeves carries two benefits, one keeping the sun off, obviously, 569 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:57,240 Speaker 1: but also keeping the grease and likely chemicals that are 570 00:33:57,240 --> 00:34:00,120 Speaker 1: on the cars off my skin as well, hopefully. I 571 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 1: often have people ask me how I can wear long 572 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:04,680 Speaker 1: sleeves in the summer, but I swear you aren't any 573 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:07,280 Speaker 1: hotter than you would be otherwise, if it's ninety five, 574 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:09,759 Speaker 1: you're gonna be hot no matter what. It'd be worse 575 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:11,880 Speaker 1: for it to be ninety five and have a sunburn, 576 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,840 Speaker 1: and then you can't sleep at night too. I laughed 577 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:16,879 Speaker 1: when Holly described her get up for mowing the lawn 578 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:20,600 Speaker 1: and absolutely related. Sadly, I didn't really start properly protecting 579 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:23,879 Speaker 1: my skin until I got tattoos, but hopefully better late 580 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:27,680 Speaker 1: than never. And then she sent the pet tax of 581 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:32,960 Speaker 1: her dog Lucy and her cat Phoenix, the absolute very cutest, 582 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:38,319 Speaker 1: cutest and they're together and Phoenix is a torty, so 583 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,120 Speaker 1: I'm surprised that she looks like a sweet little cuddler 584 00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:44,160 Speaker 1: with a puppy, because sometimes torties can have a little latitude. 585 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:48,520 Speaker 1: She also sent a picture of herself at work fully 586 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:54,160 Speaker 1: covered in all of her long sleevitude, so that is 587 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:59,200 Speaker 1: a good point. Listen long sleep clothes again. Will I 588 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:03,319 Speaker 1: feel like this is my soapbox lately? Everybody wears sun 589 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:07,160 Speaker 1: protection long sleeves. We're great. If you would like to 590 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,799 Speaker 1: write as you can do so at History podcast at 591 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:12,360 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio dot com. You can also find us on social 592 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,839 Speaker 1: media as Missed in History. If you have not subscribed yet, 593 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:18,319 Speaker 1: it is easy peasy to do it on the iHeartRadio 594 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:23,240 Speaker 1: app or wherever it is you listen to your favorite podcasts. 595 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:30,240 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 596 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 597 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,320 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.