North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

There actually is a Duchess apple, but I doubt most Minnesotans have heard 
of it.  It sounds like a name you might give to your favorite anything, it's 
a name to evoke fond feelings.  I think if you gave a familiar name from one 
thing to another, that second thing might sell better because of the feeling 
of familiarity.  My husband says best not use a name like "Edsel" though, 
some words evoke the notion of failure.  Japanese and Chinese are worse 
languages than English for words with bad connotations, but I'm sure we can 
think of plenty of bad selling names.  "Grumpy" apples wouldn't sell well. 
I have to wonder about "Sourpuss" because people who like sour apples but 
can't find any sour enough might at least sample it.  It's an amusing word, 
and if it became bandied about as having to do with the apples some people 
adore while others despise, it could become popular and become a word we 
regard with some fondness.   One sour apple thrown into a pie or other dish 
can make all the difference to the flavor, so now you come across recipes 
calling specifically for Granny Smith's.
   Parkland might have started selling well if you'd called it Scrumptious, 
Sops o Wine, hmmm, how about some good potential apple names that haven't 
been used?  the thing is, that now your false "Duchess" has acquired a bit 
of a following and you'd best stick with it.  This is how confusion reigns 
in the world of variety names.   Jim, you may want to start propagating some 
trees to sell, if it isn't patented, to satisfy those who want their own 
trees.  If it is patented, didn't they just make it easy to pay up?   Donna