John Martin apple tree, Bangor, ca. 1862
Contributed by Maine Historical Society and Maine State Museum
Description
John Martin (1823-1904) of Bangor, an accountant, shopkeeper, and garden and landscape enthusiast, drew this illustration of an apple tree on page 42 of a "Scrap and Sketch Book" he started in 1864.
Martin entitled the drawing "The Tree I Lost." He wrote that he planted the tree, which came from Nath Harlow's nursery in Bangor, in 1856 "on the very best soil I had." He wrote, "Samuel C Harlow supposed it to be a Hubbard none such which is represented in the agricultural books as being the king apple as to quality, size, durability, and soundness."
Martin found it "a specie of greening with a red cheek the flesh when ripe a juicy tender tart very sharp."
In 1862, the tree was heavily laden with apples when a September tornado split the tree and "laid the largest half on the ground."
View additional information about this item on the Maine Memory Network.