REA'S SEEDLING, or REA'S MAMMOTH, was raised by Joseph Rea, of Coxsackie, Greene County, N. Y. It is believed to be a seedling of the Orange, though in shape it is obscure pyriform. It ripens later than the Orange, and keeps very well after ripening. The flavor is excellent. It has attained a weight of twenty-two ounces in New Jersey's sandy soil. To attain full size the tree needs high culture with good thinning. But for the tenderness of the trees in some localities, this variety must have reached a much wider dissemination. -- W.W. Meech, Quince Culture, 1888. Rea (Rea's Mammoth) - A strain of Orange disseminated by Joseph Rea of Coxsackie, New York in the 1800s. Fruit: larger than Orange, and ripens slightly later. Tree: not as vigorous or cold hardy as other cultivars.
'Rea's Mammoth' is a strain of the Orange characterized by very large quinces and a strong-growing, productive tree, with foliage a little darker than that of the true Orange. The fruit ripens a little later and keeps well after maturity. The history of the variety goes back to Coxsackie, New York, whence it seems to have been disseminated by Joseph Rea. The trees are tender to cold in the North and, therefore, in disfavor in the quince-growing regions of New York and New England; they are also lacking in vigor, need high culture, and the crop should be thinned. -- U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits, 1922.