REINETTE GRISE DE CANADA.
einette Gris de Canada (Beschrijving der vruchtsoorten [Description of fruit varieties], second series, N°. 137).
Royal Russet (Catalogue of the Fruits , 749; HOGG , the Fruit Manual, 3rd ed., page 40).
Passe-pomme du Canada.
Reinette du Canada grise.
Reinette du Canada plate.
Leathercoat.
Origin most probably England; grown in The Netherlands for a long time already. There is much confusion about this variety, caused by the fact that the Pariser Rambour or Reinette de Canada blanche (N°. 2) has the name Reinette Grise de Canada as a synonym.
SHAPE: usually regular.
SIZE: third or fourth grade; seldom bigger than our illustration.
EYE: small, closed; pointed, grey sepals, surrounded by russeting; small, narrow, shallow basin with a heavy russeting.
STALK: 20 mms long, thick, woody and brown, also often fleshy and dull green with brown, in a rather wide, shallow, heavily russeted cavity.
The COLOUR is light yellowish green, at the sun side sometimes a bit brown-red, entirely covered with a dark brown-grey russeting with very clear white-grey lenticels.The skin is thick and rough.
The FLESH is greenish white with green veins, rather firm and fine, not very juicy, very sour, hardly any aroma. The core is medium sized, with medium cells and dark brown pips.
TIME OF USE: January - May; second or third grade for dessert, first grade for the kitchen.
The TREE is an irregular grower and very fertile. The twigs are medium sized, snub, light violet-brown with olive-grey, with grey, unevenly spread lenticels; the buds are rather close together and stand off; the shoots are medium, woolly; the leaf is broad oval, dark green, coarsely veined with a dull tip, woolly underneath. This variety is best suitable as a standard tree. It can hardly be recommended for our climate; English writers claim good results on sandy soil, in our country it is rather susceptible to cancer.