The Apple That Won the 'Nobel Prize' of Fruit

The American Pomological Society, at its convention recently held at Council Bluffs, Iowa, awarded the Wilder Medal to the Rainier apple, according to a letter received by the Washington Nursery Company of Toppenish, Washington. The Wilder Medal is the Nobel Prize of the fruit world. It was provided for by a trust fund left in 1886 by the late Marshall P. Wilder, scientist and pomologist, with instructions that it be awarded to a new fruit only after exhaustive investigation had produced proof of supreme merit. The Rainier apple originated in the Yakima Valley. While it is an old variety with trees in continuous bearing, its commercial importance and quality have only recently been appreciated. The Washington Nursery Company has investigated and checked the fruit for four years, exhibiting storage-tested apples that remained in perfect condition a full year after picking. The fruit is described as having a better flavor and finer texture than the Bing cherry, and is noted for being a dessert apple of the highest order that does not become mealy.