Bid to revive rare Redditch apple tree

[phantom power]

The Doddin apple tree is found only in Redditch and although actual numbers in existence are not known it is believed it could be less than 20. But with the help of residents, the Transition Redditch movement, The Doddin Preservation Society (DPS) and Walcot Organic Nursery in Drakes Broughton near Pershore, efforts are being made to revive the out of favour local variety by encouraging people to plant them in their gardens. Redditch Borough Council already has plans to plant some more Doddin trees this winter.

Neil Marsh, one of the residents behind the community orchard in Headless Cross, said: "Like many of my generation, I remember the Doddin. It’s a sweet little apple. We used to go scrumping for them in our neighbours’ gardens when we were kids. We used to eat them whole, core and all.

...

Alistair Waugh, who is involved in the Transition Redditch movement which aims to find local ways to tackle climate change and peak oil, said: "Every area of the country has its own distinctive fruit varieties.

"Many of these have grown out of favour because we no longer rely on that local supply of fruit. The range of fruit is shrinking all the time. As a result, our local varieties are rarely seen and tasted. I think it’s worth people growing them for the sake of heritage and to promote diversity in our orchards."

http://www.redditchstandard.co.uk/story-Bid-to-revive-rare-Redditch-apple-tree--31065.html

[xchrom]

1. love it. nt

[FSogol]

2. I guess they are bringing back words like "scrumping" too.

Scrumping? :shrug:

[MineralMan]

3. It's England, innit?

They speak something similar to English there, I understand. :rofl:

[MineralMan]

4. Here's an entire web page on 'scrumping.'

Very interesting.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-scr2.htm

[FSogol]

5. Cool, thanks for that site. Looks like I have a lot of reading to do.

Wonder how many of the words on that site are derived from some Cletic form like persnickety.
I wish he had used examples older than 2004.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Well, the 2004 example does show it not 'being brought back'; but here's the 1866 one

"1866 R. Hallam Wadsley Jack iv. 17 Dick Greasy‥ax'd me if I'd mak' one to goa a scrumpim', that is, fetchin' apples off sumboddy's trees."

Ooooh arrrhhh.

The etymology the OED gives is via the noun 'scrump':

Anything withered or dried up; spec., a withered or stunted apple.
1840 Lady C. M. C. Bury Hist. Flirt xxiii, You two old scrumps, suppose you sit an hour in the pump-room.

which it thinks is related to 'scrimp', for which it says:

This and the related scrimp v. first appear in the 18th cent. The origin is obscure; cognate forms are Swedish, Danish skrumpen shrivelled, Middle High German schrimpfen (Middle German schrimpen strong verb) to contract, trans. to wrinkle up (the nose), German schrumpfen to shrivel; also shrimp n., in Middle English a diminutive creature. More remotely allied are Old English scrimman to be paralysed, scram adj.

The 'scr' and 'mp' sounds certainly look Germanic to me, rather than Celtic.