Hyde King Apple
By: Anonymous

About

The old homestead varieties of our local region all came from somewhere "Back East", so Humboldt County shares much of its apple legacy with places like New York and New England. For example, Tompkins King, Esopus Spitzenberg and Baldwin were orchard favorites both here and in upstate New york circa 1900 and are still relatively easy to find on old sites in both regions. 
There are two somewhat obscure apple varieties that may be regarded as Humboldt County heirlooms that long ago became virtually extinct in the rest of the country. Hyde King and Northfield Beauty can still be gleaned from local abandoned orchards. Their surprising persistence as heirloom varieties may be attributable to four factors:
1. The relative longevity of fruit trees here due to our benign climate. Trees are more likely to succumb to marauding bears or lightning than to disease and insect pests.
2. Southern Humboldt's period of settlement occurred relatively late, with many homestead orchards planted between 1895 and 1905. This coincides with the period when Hyde King and Northfield were in their heyday.
3. Both varieties were favorites of Albert Etter (1872-1950) and his brothers. Before Etter had created any of his own varieties, he was growing and marketing Northfield Beauty & Hyde King apples for the local trade. He also promoted them in his writing.
4. Greenmantle Nursery has been propagating and selling trees of both these varieties since 1982. While most have been planted in West Coast orchards, an increasing number are finding their own way to other parts of the country. We hope that someday Northfield Beauty and Hyde King will have a renewed presence in the apple orchards of their native regions.

Information
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