Coxe's work A VIEW OF THE CULTIVATION OF FRUIT TREES .... published in 1817, is still a uniquely useful pomological reference for the modern fruit explorer. Bunyard, the eminent English pomologist, says of it, "This book is of great importance in many ways, but most of all for its early records of native varieties" and, "Coxe was an observer and his work gives evidence of original work in many directions and may be considered the foundation of American pomological literature".

William Coxe was born May 3, 1762, in Philadelphia, Pa. He had no formal education but taught himself. His love for studying continued throughout his life fitting him for pomological research as well as for wide and influential public service. In 1789 he married Rachel Smith, like himself a descendant of early estate holders near Burlington, N. J. They had a townhouse there but Coxe spent most of his years, up to his death in 1831, on his farm on the Delaware River above Bridgeboro. The rural establishment of Burlington elected him to the New Jersey Legislature for various terms from 1796 - 1817. Twice he was Speaker of the Assembly, first at the age of 36. As a pomologist he was recognized by honorary memberships in the Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture and in the Horticultural Society of London (later Royal Horticultural Society), for his excellence as a foreign correspondent.

Coxe's first orchards were started in 1794, after some years of dabbling and information gathering. Ten more plantings were added by 1810. Variety test planting, however, went on all his life. The 1828 apple tree inventory of his favorite orchard at Sunbury lists 1,427 trees of 89 varieties including many cider varieties such as Harrison, Hewe's Crab, Winesap and Greyhouse. His variety tests were most commonly done in groups of three which, when promising, were extended to any number from a dozen up.

The Lady Apple (Pomme d'Api), one of the few European varieties, must have been a favourite of his and/or a Christmas bestseller, as he had 31 'Lady' trees in 1828.

Cider making in Coxe's days was considered a most difficult and rather mysterious part of orcharding. He commented that a good cider was not common and common cider was not good. Thus it is not by accident that he devotes forty pages of his book to the meticulous description of cider making emphasizing sanitation, variety selection and his improved mill design. "His orchards and his cider were the talk of the Country" wrote his nephew, J. Jay Smith, editor of THE HORTICULTURIST. When, in October 1823, the plant explorer David Douglas visited Coxe, he was not only given propagation material but also two bottles of seventeen-year-old cider, presents for Thos. A. Knight, fellow pomologist and President of the Horticultural Society of London and Jos. Sabine, its Secretary.

As Coxe's fame as an orchardist and variety tester grew, he found himself increasingly beleaguered by requests for information, expertise and propagating material. He gave of it freely but eventually felt that a handbook would answer many of the questions

he was repeatedly asked. In 1810 a manuscript was drawn up based on his orchard notebook. As new cultivars of apples, pears, peaches, plums and cherries came continuously into fruiting over the next seven years and cider technology was perfected, he added new insights, evaluations and experience to this manuscript. When finally published in 1817 it became an immediate bestseller in spite of its stiff price of $3.50. (One has to remember that the monthly wage of a labourer was $8 - 10 at that time).

A VIEW OF THE CULTIVATION OF FRUIT TREES... was an entirely original work. Apart from European apple favorites such as Golden Pippin, Ribston and Lady, Coxe describes for the first time native American foundlings such as Winesap, Jersey Black, Rhode Island Greening, Esopus Spitzenberg, Swaar, Vandervere, Maiden's Blush. Of many others the name, if not the fruit itself, is familiar to fruit fanciers. Some have become the ancestors of modern cultivars.

For the 200 illustrations "of the natural size" in his work Coxe supplied the engraver with his own drawings, some copied from his orchard notebook, others modified and still others freshly drawn for the purpose. These are superior to the smaller, often simplistic drawings in the works of later American pomologists.

The fast sale and continued demand for his book and the results of his ongoing fruit testing soon convinced Coxe that a second edition was desirable. If all the good fruits which he had assembled and tested were portrayed in color, he felt he could do full justice to the information seekers. In 1818 a water color of a twig with three Seckel pears made by one of his daughters was sent to the London Horticultural Society, followed in 1820 by those of 11 American apples.

A long fruit painting spree set in at the Coxe home, the father assigning certain varieties to each of the three girls who were painting away to capture the specimens at their optimum condition. Coxe's appeal to the filial love of his daughters bore beautiful fruit; at least 160 of their watercolours have been preserved. The girls' proficiency increased remarkably as they painted specimen after specimen; gradually they perceived the finer distinctive characteristics of color and form, mere resemblance becoming identity. An early picture of the White Winter Calville without its characteristic ribbing leaves us guessing, but a later one of the Summer Rose is so unmistakingly realistic that the elegantly printed title seems superfluous. Elizabeth, later Mrs. McMurtrie, was the most accomplished of the three; her portraits of the peaches are equal to the best European tradition.

As the water colors probably show the most typical specimens from Coxe's orchard, their blemishes, often well-portrayed, give an idea of the pests and diseases Coxe was plagued with; we recognize the ravages of the Codling Moth and Apple Scab and the tell-tale marks of Flyspeck (Sooty Blotch), Leaf Blight, Fruit Spot and Peach Scab.

All this time Coxe continued to up-date his orchard notebook where one page was devoted to each variety. Comments and synonyms were added, table or cider quality reassessed, origin of fruit specimens or scions recorded. In 1821 he added grapes, native and imported, to his interests. A later entry reads "89 scions of grapes received from Mr. Murtrie", also, "Isabella, Blue Canaan, White Queen Elsinborough, Catawba, Chasselas, Minorca, Cape of Good Hope". Other typical entries are "These apples (Monstrous Bellflower, HFJ) proving very indifferent. I have grafted the trees with Rambos", or, "French Pearmain from Wm. Throckmorton; on further examination I believe this and the Winter Pearmain to be of the same fruit".

Record-keeping, additions and revisions continued until shortly before his death, although in his later years Coxe appears to have become preoccupied with economic aspects such as tree yields, dollars per acre and the like. With this focus the prospect of

a second, improved edition of his book faded away.

In the forgotten northeast corner of Old St. Mary's Cemetery in Burlington, William Coxe's tombstone still stands. There is nothing old-fashioned about it.

(The above is a condensed version of an address delivered at the 1977 Annual Meeting of NAFEX at Byron, Ga. Coxe's life and accomplishments, and the water colours legacy are more fully discussed, including bibliographical references, in the writer's introduction to the 1976 re-issue of Coxe's book.)