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[walter6353@myfairpoint.net]

     The apple in question is red striped over a creamy yellow base. The flesh is white with pinkish red streaks, especially near the core. It ripens in August and has a fine sweet/tart taste, and becomes mealy only if it is actually rotten.  The owners know it as a "Hess", and some research turned up this name with a description in the second revision of Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees. The description is a little too vague to really confirm anything, however The apple, however, does not match the description of a  Haas, a Hoss (same thing) or a Hays. So what we really need is either someone from Lancaster Co. PA who knows the Hess apple, or another citation with a little more information. The tree is in southern VT.