In February 2016, the Biodiversity Heritage Library set out to digitize over 450,000 pages of field notes. While the BHL had already added some archival material to its collection before this project, the Field Notes Project is BHL’s largest undertaking of digitizing field notes to date.

Taylor, Thomas. Drawings of Fungi. Contributed by Harvard University Botany Libraries.

Funded by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Digitizing Hidden Special Collections initiative, this was a collaborative project with eleven partners:

• American Museum of Natural History
• The Field Museum of Natural History Library
• Harvard University Botany Libraries
• Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library
• Internet Archive
• The New York Botanical Garden, LuEsther T. Mertz Library
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Peter H. Raven Library
• Smithsonian Institution Archives
• Smithsonian Libraries
• University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
• Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

Schuchert, Charles. Field Notebook: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Ontario 1916, 1917, 1920. Contributed by Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History Archives.

The importance of field notes is well known to curators, researchers and historians. Diaries, correspondence, journals and photographs serve as records of the flora and fauna of a particular time and place, providing reference points when observing how a habitat has changed. They also offer insight on expeditions, the origins of a museum collections, and contextualize the work through the eyes of the scientists and narratives about how they interacted with the people, land and cultures they studied.

Blacow, Chester E. Bee keeping activities and field catalog of birds collected in Hawaii, v4273. Contributed by University of California, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.

If you have ever used historic field notes for your own research, you may understand why this wouldn’t be a cut-and-dry project. Field notes can pose a number of challenges, and our partners certainly had to manage many of them. Conservation concerns are always at the top of the list, ensuring that field notes are in the proper condition for digitization. Through digitization, we can also reduce the need to refer to the physical object and further protect these unique items. Other concerns stemmed from how researchers took notes, including writing right into the gutter of a notebook or frugal researchers who would start a new notebook by simply flipping a used one and writing in the other direction. Together, the project team was able to overcome these challenges to provide open access to their field notes collections.

Plowman, Timothy. Timothy Plowman botanical collecting notebook : 1900-2286 : 1968-1969. Contributed by The Field Museum of Natural History Library.

We finished work on the project May 31, 2018 and are pleased to report that the project team digitized over 517,000 pages of field notes! 

Those who follow the blog closely will have read posts from the BHL Field Notes Project series where project partners highlighted their collections and digitization process. With several expeditions, disciplines and institutions represented, we are excited to see what our users discover, and see how they use field notes in their own work. Take a look and delve into field notes digitized for this project in BHL and Internet Archive.

Correia, José G. Whitney South Sea Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History. Letters and journal of José G. Correia. Volume 2. Contributed by American Museum of Natural History.

The project team and BHL would like to thank the Council on Library and Information Resources for generously funding the BHL Field Notes Project.

Mycroporus affinis, photo by Robert Gergulics. The Mycophile, v. 57, no. 6. 2017. Contributed to BHL by the North American Mycological Association.

“Birds, flowers, insects, stones delight the observant. Why not toadstools? A tramp after them is absorbing, study of them interesting, and eating of them health-giving and supremely satisfying.” – Charles McIlvaine (1840-1909), mycologist

The North American Mycological Association (NAMA) could be described as a mutualism between citizen scientists and academics who share dedication to the study of fungi. Founded in 1967, the organization of volunteers collaborates with professional mycologists from academic centers. With over 80 affiliated clubs and 1,700 members in the United States, Canada and Mexico, NAMA’s initiatives cover a lot of ground.

“We explore all aspects of fungi, including edibility, toxins, dying fabric, cultivation, using mushrooms to support the environment, potential medicinal applications, and photography,” says NAMA President David Rust. “This working relationship between amateur volunteers and professionals helped self-taught mycologists like Gary Lincoff [author of ‘National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms’] to learn and document developments in the field before such information sharing became routine on the Internet.”

Wool dyed with Cortinarius semisanguineus, photo by Noah M. Siegel. The Mycophile, v. 49, no. 2. 2008. Contributed to BHL by the North American Mycological Association.

In that spirit of collaboration and open access, NAMA licensed its journal McIlvainea (named for mycologist Charles McIlvaine of the epigraph) and newsletter The Mycophile to BHL as a part of the Expanding Access to Biodiversity Literature project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. NAMA made digital copies of its publications available to project staff members and volunteers at The New York Botanical Garden for uploading into BHL. (The Mycophile is currently available on BHL, with McIlvaninea upcoming.)

“The Mycophile is our bi-monthly report on developments in the field of mycology, in particular amateur mycology; book reviews; club activities; and the accomplishments of our affiliated clubs,” Rust explains. “The newsletter reports on our annual foray, a gathering of approximately 350 mushroom enthusiasts where we collect, document, and voucher specimens of all types of fungi found at that location. These fungi end up in The Field Museum of Chicago and are entered into a database which is now available to the public on their website. NAMA has over 20 years of mushrooms and data available to researchers at The Field. In McIlvainea, we publish an annual report on mushroom poisonings around North America, gleaned from poison control centers and incidents reported by our network of 150 emergency mushroom identifiers. We also publish articles by renowned mycologists on current taxonomic developments and new research.”

“Our newest initiative, the North American Mycoflora Project, will provide a look at all fungi on the continent which have not been properly classified or named,” continues Rust. “It would provide online keys and downloadable applications, up to date distribution maps, links to macroscopic and microscopic images, and links to nucleotide sequences and phylogenetic trees.”

Unfortunately, not all fungi are “health-giving”… image caption reads: “This month’s featured fungus is Amanita muscaria var. Formosa. See inside this issue for NAMA’s Summary of Mushroom Poisonings in 2004 along with lovely photos of ‘the usual suspects’.” The Mycophile, v. 46, no. 3. 2005. Contributed to BHL by the North American Mycological Association.

As well as sharing more recent initiatives, these publications have value as records of past mycological study. In ‘Mycology Meets History: The NAMA Archive’, a 2008 Mycophile article, David W. Rose elaborates on the value of the organization’s record keeping:

“In the case of the NAMA records, there is, for example, a file of documents on every annual foray complete with programs, board agendas and meeting minutes, mushroom collection lists, participants lists, and photographs; and this detailed abundance is a testament to an organization that takes science, history and its educational mission very seriously.”

Small white fungus Christiansenia mycetophila parasitizes Collybia dryophila. The Mycophile, v. 47, no. 4. 2006. Contributed to BHL by the North American Mycological Association.

This article also closes with a punchline on the dangers of mycological work that is just too good not to share.

“The moral about ‘history lost’ bears repeating, in an anecdote that should have special resonance for mycologists. One huge collection that I processed in my archival work at the New York Botanical Garden was the William Jacob Robbins Papers. Robbins was a plant physiologist and Director of the Garden from 1938-1958, and though he is scarcely remembered for his mycology, he conducted a lengthy series of chemical assays of many species of fungi in the 1950s in the attempt to determine potential sources of antibiotics. […] his laboratory notebooks were extensive, and I organized and catalogued them all. All his note-books were clear labeled by genus or by species […] Most were in good condition, some were in bad shape. The final lab notebook in the series was labeled ‘Various Molds,’ and it had been damaged, unfortunately: completely covered by – you guessed it – various molds.”

Schizophyllum commune, photo by Mark Bower. The Mycophile, v. 57, no. 6. 2017. Contributed to BHL by the North American Mycological Association.

Many thanks to NAMA for sharing its publications with BHL, and to David Rust for contributing to this post!

Reference

North American Mycological Association

Provenance can be defined as the chain of ownership of any type of object from its creation to the present day. The Smithsonian’s Material Culture Forum recently held a lively session of presentations and discussions on this topic, with speakers from across the Institution: the National Zoo; Natural History Museum scientists and researchers in anthropology and paleobiology; archivists of World War II-era material; and curators from the National Museum of American History, the National Air & Space Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. There were many other subject specialists (such as a horticulturist) who could have participated, given time and world enough, as ownership history is a crucial matter and a commonality in the work of Smithsonian staff. Issues and questions about the history of a collection, transfer of possession, and unlawful appropriation can be applied to a living object (for example, the golden lion tamarin) as well as works of art or rare books.

The provenance of a botanical specimen was recently presented to a world-wide audience, even if they did not quite realize it. One detail of the Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had commentators confidently offering up the history of the sprig of myrtle used in the bride’s bouquet. This was commonly reported to be from the plant nurtured from the flower used in the marriage ceremony of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Every bride in Royal nuptials after Victoria carried on the ritual. If not quite true, it made for a nice, simplified story line.

Myrtle growing in Sardinia, Villacidro (photo supplied from Wikimedia Commons)

The tidbit no doubt had some wondering just what myrtle is. In this present age, it is not a common wedding flower nor used much for culinary or medicinal purposes. Some may know myrtle as potted topiary, from its many references in poetry, or as the name of a character in literature—The Great Gatsby or Harry Potter, for instance.

Myrtus communis (true myrtle), of the family Myrtaceae, is a fragrant, evergreen shrub with small, glossy green leaves and white, star-shaped flowers with long stamens, and, after their blooming, purple-black berries. It is native to Mediterranean Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey. In these temperate climates it is sometimes clipped as a hedge. As a container plant of topiary, it is often trimmed to look like a fuzzy bowling ball balancing on top of a long stem or a pyramid, and is brought inside in cooler weather.

Myrtus communis (true myrtle). Album de la Flora Médico-Farmacéutica é Industrial, Indígena y Exótica (Madrid, 1862-1864), New York Botanical Garden, LuEsther T. Mertz Library copy

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha were married in 1840. The only flowers adorning her during the ceremony were orange blossoms. In 1843, Princess Augusta of Cambridge (cousin to Victoria), in her wedding to Prince Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburgh-Strelitz, was decorated all over with myrtle: on her dress, train, head-dress, and bouquet. The Court Circular for this ceremony reported that myrtle was “the emblematic flower of Germany.” And a nosegay of myrtle was presented to the Queen in 1845 in Gotha, Germany by her husband’s grandmother. The British Royal tradition of brides carrying myrtle was firmly established when the Queen’s eldest daughter (also named Victoria) married in 1858. The Princess Royal was decked out with so many flounces of myrtle and orange blossoms on her gown that she appeared to be a tiered wedding cake. Queen Victoria commanded that every bride of the Royal family should have myrtle planted at her Osborne House to commemorate each wedding.

Osborne House (photo source geograph.org.uk Wikimedia Commons)

Myrtle thrived at Osborne House, Victoria and Albert’s beloved country retreat on the Isle of Wight. Long abandoned as a Royal residence (Victoria’s many offspring were not so enamored by the place) and subsequently used as a nursing home and naval college, the home and its 170-year old gardens have been recently restored by English Heritage. There is myrtle growing there today, from descendants of Victoria’s planting.

Myrtle roots easily, and there are probably others of prominent lineage growing in many of the Royal gardens, greenhouses, and orangeries. Apparently, the sprigs in the most recent Royal bouquet either came from the myrtle planted for Queen Elizabeth II in 1947 or the “original” at Osborne House. The myrtle in Camilla Parker Bowles’s wedding bouquet came from Cornwall (Charles, Prince of Wales, is the Duke of Cornwall and Camilla is now Duchess).

What was not as frequently reported about the tradition of the wedding bouquet in the lead-up to the Royal wedding in May, was the ancient history and symbolism of myrtle. Queen Victoria was well-versed in the language of flowers; the interest in floriography was at its peak in England during her reign. Blooms of various flowers were arranged in bouquets, nosegays, and tussie-mussies, a way of conveying a message, sometimes discreetly if need be. Queen Victoria’s presentation to her daughter, the Princess Royal, and, later, to her several other daughters, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters on their wedding days was not incidental. Victoria was both continuing and transforming the long traditions associated with myrtle.

There are many references to myrtle in ancient mythology and the Bible. The Greeks and Romans knew the plant as Myrtos and Myrtus and it was closely associated with the goddesses Demeter and Aphrodite. Venus is described by Ovid as emerging from the sea on her half-shell holding a sprig of myrtle. The wonderfully scented plant was considered an aphrodisiac, known to appear in wedding crowns for either the bride or the groom. In the Greco-Roman world, myrtle in laurels or crowns were sometimes presented to poets and woven into garlands of honor for athletic prizes, and was also worn to sacrifices and banquets. As opposed to laurel wreaths, myrtle signified victory from a bloodless battle. Myrtle wreaths made of gold have been excavated around the ancient world, particularly in Macedonia. Neat of appearance and amendable to clipping, myrtle was a common feature of gardens.

Myrtle (Myrtus communis). Favourite flowers of garden and greenhouse. (v. 2, 1897). Missouri Botanical Garden copy.

The ancient plant had a great ceremonial role in other civilizations. In Judaism, myrtle is known as Hadassah, as one of four sacred plants in the Feast of the Tabernacles, or, Sukkat, in 445 B.C. The Targum Sheni to Esther (2.7) states that “she was called Hadassah (Myrtle) because the righteous are compared to myrtle … As the myrtle spreads fragrance in the world, so did she spread good works.” Myrtle represents the community, thought of as a symbol of peace and of Eden and of marriage. In Christianity, losing its Greco-Roman association with female sexuality, myrtle came to be an emblematic symbol of the purity of the Virgin Mary.

As an ornament for brides, this tradition eventually made its way to Germany, an old custom that Queen Victoria adopted as her own. Publications of her era or earlier, such as Henry Philips’ Floral Emblems (1825), Charlotte de La Tour and Frederic Shoberl’s The Language of Flowers, with Illustrative Poetry (1839), Flora Symbolica, or, the Language and Sentiment of Flowers (1866), and Richard Folkard’s Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics (1884), well describe the significance of myrtle. The plant has many, layered meanings—youth, virginity (before marriage), fertility, innocence, immortality, fidelity—but, above all, love.

Queen Victoria did not introduce the myrtle plant to England from her visit to Germany. Tradition has Sir Walter Raleigh bringing it back from Spain in 1585, but it may well have been imported earlier. The Islamic gardens of the Iberian Peninsula featured myrtle since the Middle Ages. Unlike the Isle of Wight myrtle, the Alhambra and its Generalife Palace in Granada, Spain still have specimens that are hundreds of years old. John Gerard in his herbal of 1597 identifies six varieties grown in southern England. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries myrtle was a fashionable potted plant of the aristocracy, brought into the orangery when not adorning a garden. John Parkinson, in his Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris, or, A Garden of All Sorts of Pleasant Flowers wrote of “mirtle”: “Wee nourse [nourish] them with great care for the beautifull aspect, sweete sent and raritie, as delights and ornaments for a garden of pleasure, wherein nothing should be wanting that art, care and cost might produce and preserve.”

Illustration with myrtle (at top) form Parkinson’s Paradisi in Sole from the copy in the Library of the Getty Research Institute

Myrtle has thrived on a sheltered terrace of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, overlooking the Solent, a seaside view that reminded Prince Albert of the Bay of Naples. Here, he was free to prove his gardening, architectural design, and landscaping abilities by supervising the building of an Italian-style palazzo and its grounds. On 17 September 1846 Victoria wrote in her journal, “… Albert supervised the transplanting of all the … myrtles … which is a tremendous job; one myrtle required 15 men to move it!” The home was their own creation and a retreat from the stiffness and oppressiveness of the court.

Victoria’s family spent July and August on the Isle of Wight when the myrtle was in bloom. The sprigs planted from successive bridal bouquets signal a continuity that many find reassuring, as attested by news reports to this day. A separate structure at Osborne House, Swiss Cottage, provided the Royal children an area where they were encouraged to learn gardening. For her granddaughter’s wedding, 18 February 1878, Victoria recorded that she “Walked … to the Swiss Cottage & planted a myrtle bush in honour of the day … grown from a sprig of myrtle in Vicky’s wedding bouquet, 20 years ago, of which I have sent a piece for Charlotte’s wedding nosegay.”

Queen Victoria was to see many more plantings of myrtle. She died at Osborne House on 22 January 1901. The provenance and significance of myrtle continues on into the 21^st century, at least for British Royalty, as we saw with the bouquet that Meghan Markle carried.

John Gerard, The Herball, or, Generall Historie of Plantes (1597), from the scanned copy in the Missouri Botanical Garden, Peter H. Raven Library

Notes

Page from Henry Philips’ Floral Emblems (1825). Page from copy of the University of California Libraries

For more on bouquets and the language of flowers (link); from Smithsonian Gardens.

Connors, Catherine. “Scents and Sensibility in Plautus’ Casina,” The Classical Quarterly, volume 47, number 1 (1997), pages 305-309.

Lachs, Samuel T. “Hadassah that is Esther,” Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period, volume 10, number 2 (1979), pages 219-220.

Nelson, E. Charles. “Victorian Royal Wedding Flowers: Orange, Myrtle, and the Apotheosis of White Heather,” Garden History, volume 37, number 2 (Winter 2009), pages 231-236. The author thoroughly examined Court Circulars in The Times for mentions of wedding flowers, dispelling many, persistent myths.

Queen Victoria, in her wedding dress, veil and what appears to be a tiara of myrtle. This charming painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, in the Royal Collections, was an anniversary gift to Prince Albert, seven years into their marriage.

The Herefordshire Pomona. v. 2 (1876-1885). Art by Edith E. Bull. Digitized by Cornell University Library, Mann Library. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55785827.

It is a glimpse into a lush diversity of the past….and into possibilities for a resilient future. The Herefordshire Pomona is a classic in the science and practice of pomology. Compiled and edited by the eminent 19th century horticulturalist Robert Hogg and the physician Henry Graves Bull, who moonlighted as an enthusiastic amateur naturalist, the Pomona was an outgrowth of efforts by the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club to record and showcase the different varieties of apples and pears found in the orchards of Herefordshire, a county in the West Midlands region of England.

For centuries, Herefordshire was known as the center of English apple cider production, a reputation that it continues to enjoy today. And yet, already in the mid-1800s there was growing concern among English horticulturalists and naturalists that many of the region’s orchards were falling into disuse, the fruits of their trees being passed over and forgotten in favor of more popular imports from other parts of the country and world.

The Herefordshire Pomona. v. 2 (1876-1885). Art by Edith E. Bull. Digitized by Cornell University Library, Mann Library. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55785532.

To counter this erosion of agricultural heritage, each year the Woolhope Club staged exhibitions of locally grown apples, inviting renowned experts, including Dr. Hogg, to judge the quality of the featured fruits, and to help identify any fruits not already clearly recognized. To fully capture the insights gained from these explorations, Hogg and Bull enlisted the help of artists Alice Blanche Ellis and Edith Elizabeth Bull (thought to be Dr. Bull’s daughter), who drew their pomological subjects as they saw them— glorious hues, unsightly warts, odd-lot shapes, fluky speckles and all. The resulting work was issued in seven parts between the years 1876 and 1885, purchased on subscription basis by English town and country gentry willing to pay a tidy sum for this comprehensive and gorgeously illustrated work.

List of cider apples and perry pears recommended for planting by the Woolhope Club. List of cider apples and perry pears recommended for planting by the Woolhope Club. The Herefordshire Pomona. v. 2 (1876-1885). Digitized by Cornell University Library, Mann Library. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55785887.

While the Pomona may thus have been born as the ultimate coffee table book for upper class households, it performed an invaluable service by documenting the presence of over 400 apple and pear varieties in 19th century England. Its indexes alone, featuring variety names like Garter Apple, Foxwhelp, Cocc-a-gee, Monstrous Pippin, Jolly Beggar, Bess Pool, Kentish Fill-basket, Peasgood’s Nonesuch, Queen of Sauce, Friar, Gipsy King, Schoolmaster, American Mother, Hoary Morning, and Bastard Rough Coat, read like a playful ode to the hidden stories—from lyrically sweet and archly comic to the darkly dramatic—of old English country life. Descriptions for each variety—drawn from Fruit Manual, a significant earlier work by Hogg—are instructive, not just for information about horticultural best practices of the time, but also for their guidance about important qualities of each variety, such as flavor, optimal timing for harvest, and shelf life in storage. And, as the Pomona notes, when it comes to cider apples, one should not be fooled by the size and the often-bitter taste of their varieties, for the smaller the fruit, the better the beverage.

The Herefordshire Pomona. v. 2 (1876-1885). Art by Alice B. Ellis and Edith E. Bull. Digitized by Cornell University Library, Mann Library. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55785803.

In 1885, six hundred copies of the Herefordshire Pomona’s seven published parts were bound and issued as a two-volume set. Mann Library is fortunate to hold one of these extremely rare sets in the Library’s special collections. Over the past several months, we have digitized both volumes.  Now part of the growing online collection of legacy life sciences literature in the Biodiversity Heritage Library, this digitized copy in the BHL collection makes an invaluable record of English horticultural history widely available to today’s scientists and breeders. As current interest in finding lost cultivars, securing genetic diversity, and developing new varieties with appropriate qualities for a re-emergent cider industry grows, the Herefordshire Pomona will help ensure that insights preserved from our past continue to advance both the discovery and conservation needed for a healthier world tomorrow.

The Herefordshire Pomona. v. 2 (1876-1885). Art by Alice B. Ellis and Edith E. Bull. Digitized by Cornell University Library, Mann Library. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55785583.

The week of 4 June 2018, BHL is celebrating cider-making and apples with Cornell University Library and Mann Library. Follow #CornellCider on social media for a sweet dose of apple delight and visit the Pomology: Apples and Cider collection on BHL to explore more great books like Herefordshire Pomona.

Sources:

Arbury, Jim. “Pomonas and Pomology,” The Herefordshire Pomona. Ed. Robert Hogg and Henry Graves Bull. 1876. The Folio Society, 2014

Bunyard, Edward A. Guide to the Literature of Pomology. By E.A. Bunyard … [s.n.], 1915, www.biodiversitylibrary.org//bibliography/33776.

Monbiot, George. “Fallen fruit,” The Guardian, 30 October 30, 1994. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2004/oct/30/foodanddrink.weekend

Nissen, Claus. Die Botanische Buchillustration: Ihre Geschichte Und Bibliographie. 2. Aufl., durchgesehener und verb., A. Hiersemann, 1966.

Roach, F. A., The Cultivated Fruits of Britain: Their Origin and History.  B. Blackwell, 1985

Cider-making is currently undergoing a revival in the United States. Production and consumption of cider is increasing rapidly, and the global cider market is projected to reach $16,252 million by 2023.[1] Cider (sometimes called hard cider) is a fermented beverage made from apple juice. A wide range of apple cultivars, or cultivated varieties of domesticated apples (Malus x domestica), are used in cider production.

The cider apple variety “Foxwhelp.” Knight, Thomas Andrew. Pomona Herefordiensis. 1811. Digitized by Cornell University Library. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55941638.

One of the oldest surviving cider apple varieties is the “Foxwhelp”, which originated in England several centuries ago. The earliest recorded reference to the cultivar comes from John Evelyn’s Pomona from 1664.[2] Though still used for cider making, an aura of mystery surrounds this cultivar, because many apples labeled as “Foxwhelp” today are not true to type. In fact, many cider producers refer to the variety available in the United States under this name as “Fauxwhelp”.

Dr. Gregory Peck, an Assistant Professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University, has been assessing a large number of apple genotypes for their potential use in hard cider production. Through this work, he has discovered inconsistencies between many U.S. varieties and their original counterparts, including “Foxwhelp”. Not only has he imported two “Foxwhelp” strains into the United States so that growers can have the true genotype, but he also recently teamed up with Dr. Gayle Volk at the United States Department of Agriculture to uncover the truth behind “Fauxwhelp” and other enigmatic cultivars.

Dr. Gregory Peck. Assistant Professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. Photo Credit: Lindsay France, Cornell University.

“We employed DNA fingerprinting tools to confirm our suspicions that these were misnamed cultivars,” explains Peck. “But now we’re left with a mystery. What are the misidentified cultivars?”

As it turns out, it’s a mystery that the Biodiversity Heritage Library can help solve.

“In addition to genetic and chemical analyses, we’ve been using books from BHL’s collection to help us identify these unknowns,” shares Peck. “In particular, we often use the Pomona Herefordiensis by Thomas Andrew Knight and several texts by Robert Hogg.”

Gregory Peck (left) checks on research plots with graduate students Nathan Wojtyna (center) and Adam Karl (Right). Photo credit: Dave Burbank, Cornell University.

Peck first discovered BHL thanks to the “fantastic librarians” at Cornell’s Mann Library, who directed him to the site for access to several historic pomology books. Since then, he visits the library every few months, viewing books online and downloading PDFs of useful titles. It has become a valuable and much-appreciated resource for Peck’s research.

“BHL is easy to use and I really like being able to share FREE resources with my students and commercial cider producers,” lauds Peck. “Once I’m on the site, I’m there for hours. I guess time flies when you’re having fun!”

Cider apple harvest in Somerset, UK. Photo credit: Gregory Peck, Cornell University.

Dr. Peck will be sharing more about his work as the featured speaker at the 2018 Cornell Reunion, where he will present on “The Modern Emergence of a Historic Drink”. His presentation will be live-streamed on 8 June 2018 starting at 10am ET via the Mann Library Facebook page. You can view a recording of the talk on YouTube.

In conjunction with the Reunion and in collaboration with Peck, Cornell University Library has developed an exhibit on cider-making entitled Apples to Cider: An Old Industry Takes Fresh Root. Located in Cornell’s Mann Library lobby, this free exhibit is open to the public and will be on display through October 2018. 

To complement the exhibit, Cornell Library has created a new “Pomology: Apples and Cider” collection in BHL, featuring books on a variety of cider and apple-related topics, many of which were recently digitized by Cornell and are featured in the exhibit. The illustrations from some of the most visually-stunning of these books are available for your browsing enjoyment on Flickr.

All this week, Cornell University Library is highlighting the Reunion, Dr. Peck’s work, and the exhibit on social media with #CornellCider. We’re joining the celebrations by sharing some of our favorite books from the “Pomology: Apples and Cider” collection through the @BioDivLibrary feeds. On Thursday, 7 June 2018, we’ll take a deeper look at one of the titles in the Pomology collection, The Herefordshire Pomona, in a special edition of our book of the month blog series.

The “Cowarne Red” apple. Knight, Thomas Andrew. Pomona Herefordiensis. 1811. Digitized by Cornell University Library. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55941787.

Don’t miss out on all the cider fun this week! Follow #CornellCider for a sweet dose of apple delight, and be sure to tune into the livestream of Dr. Peck’s keynote speech on Friday, 8 June at 10am ET to learn more about his work and the wonderful world of cider-making.

[1] Allied Market Research. 2018. “Global Cider Market Expected to Reach $16,252 Million by 2023 – Allied Market Research.” PR Newswire, January 24. Accessed on April 26, 2018. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-cider-market-expected-to-reach-16252-million-by-2023—allied-market-research-670847853.html.

[2] Wilson, Mel. “English Apples: Foxwhelps.” Sutton Elms. Accessed May 2, 2018. http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/apple81.html.