Herefordshire Pomona
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The ''Herefordshire Pomona'' is a 19th-century catalogue of the
apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
s and
pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...
s that were grown in the
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
in England. It was one of the first attempts to fully catalogue the existing varieties of English fruit and has been called "a classic of late Victorian natural history". Only 600 copies were ever printed and originals now fetch high prices whenever they are sold. Over a period of about ten years in the late 19th century, the Pomona Committee of the
Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club The Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club (or simply the Woolhope Club) is a society devoted to the natural history, geology, archaeology, and history of Herefordshire, England. Founded in 1851, it has had many notable members and played an important ...
of Hereford held an annual autumn show featuring the local varieties of apples and pears. The club members were worried that although Herefordshire was famous for its orchards "it was very remarkable that so few of the best varieties of apples should appear in the markets, or the fruit shops". At the behest of the committee, Dr Robert Hogg, at the time Vice-President of the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
, author of ''The Fruit Manual'', and editor of the ''RHS Journal''; and local doctor and former president of the Woolhope club, Dr Henry Graves Bull, catalogued and described the fruit displayed at the shows. The descriptions were painstakingly illustrated over a period of eight years by Alice Blanche Ellis and Edith Elizabeth Bull, the latter of whom was Robert's daughter. The book originally appeared in seven issues, the first part appearing in 1878 and the last in 1884, and included the 441 original
watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...
produced by Alice and Edith of the different fruits, buds, blossoms of the
cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
s and the
blight Blight refers to a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a pathogenic organism. Description Blight is a rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral org ...
s which attacked them. The hand-coloured lithographs were done by the Belgian firm of G. Severeyns. Once complete the seven parts were collected together and published by Jakeman & Carver University of Reading
/ref> as ''The Herefordshire Pomona Containing Original Figures and Descriptions of the Most Esteemed Kinds of Apples and Pears''. 600 copies were published with pebbled green covers, raised bands and gilt decorative panels. They have become highly sought after and originals can command prices of over £10,000, although the information is now available on CD at a fraction of the price.


References

{{reflist 1884 non-fiction books British non-fiction books Gardening books Apples Pears