The Apple Book

Someday, American consumers may demand and consistently get apples with crunch and full flavor, free of blandness. Only then will this guide to 122 kinds of apples, observed in careful prose and splendid watercolors, be fully appreciated. The author's descriptions of apple varieties, presented in chart format, cover shape and size of fruit, core, seeds and tree; color; flavor; and month(s) of fruit-bearing. Her final chapter advises readers on apple growing: choice of site, planting, pruning, diseases and pests. The pity is that Sanders, a prize-winning botanical artist, concerns herself mainly with English apples. These include many grown in the United States (MacIntosh, Granny Smith, Gravenstein), but others raised here are omitted, from new species (Freedom, Empire) to venerable family members (Winesap, Spitzenburg). Regrettably, a reliable means of identifying apple trees also goes unmentioned. (Nov.)