To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] What's in an apple name?
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:27:34 -0500
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