Famous for its frequently huge size (one apple makes a pie), used primarily for cooking, also used fresh and for drying. Fairly round shape, skin mostly blushed and striped red over pale yellow, some russeting. Firm, juicy flesh is slightly aromatic, with a distinctive, mild, subacid flavor. Early harvest, about with McIntosh. (Fruit picked too late will be mealy.) Very winter hardy, disease-resistant, long-lived, sturdy tree. Spreading growth habit. Slower to begin bearing than other apple varieties. Chance seedling discovered about 1875 near the Wolf River in Wisconsin.