GUYOT
1. Ragan Nom. Pear, B. P. I. Bul. 126:139. 1908.
Dr. Jules Guyot. 2. Lauche Deut. Pom. II: No. 71, Pl. 71. 1883. 3. Hogg Fruit Man. 562. 1884. 4. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 54. 1892. 5. Garden 52:248. 1897. 6. Deut. Obstsorten 5: Pt. 5, Pl. 1906. 7. Garden 73:564, fig. 1909.
Docteur Jules Guyot. 8. Lucas Tafelbirnen 73, fig. 1894. 9. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 234. 1906.
The fruits of Guyot bear strong resemblance to those of Bartlett, but differ in being larger and rather more handsomely colored, ripen a little earlier, have coarser flesh, and are very differently flavored. The product can seldom compete with that of Bartlett, or even with that of Clapp Favorite with which it ripens, because its season is exceedingly transitory. Unless picked quite green and ripened indoors, the pears rot at the center, and even when ripened under the best conditions quickly become mealy and insipid. Taken at the proper moment, the pears are better flavored than those of Bartlett, as they are richer and have a more delicate taste and perfume than the musky fruits of Bartlett. The trees are quite as satisfactory as those of Bartlett, unless, possibly, they fall short somewhat in productiveness. The variety is well worth planting in collections for its early, handsome, well-flavored fruits.
Guyot was raised in the nurseries of the Baltet Brothers, Troyes, France, about 1870. Within the next decade it was quite widely distributed in France and England where it has since been esteemed as a pear of the Bartlett type. It was first brought to America about 1885.
Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright, hardy, productive, a regular bearer; branches brownish, overlaid with thick scarf-skin, marked by small, round, indistinct lenticels; branchlets slender, very long, curved, with long internodes, reddish-brown mingled with green, smooth, glabrous, sprinkled with raised, conspicuous lenticels.
Leaf-buds small, very short, pointed, appressed. Leaves 2⅞ in. long, 1¾ in. wide; apex taper-pointed; margin glandular, variable in serration; petiole 2 in. long, thick, reddish-green. Flower-buds small, short, conical, plump, free, singly on very short spurs; flowers open late, showy, 1¼ in. across, in dense clusters, from 5 to 8 buds in a cluster; pedicels ⅞ in. long, pubescent.
Fruit ripens in early September; large, 3¼ in. long, 2⅝ in. wide, oblong-obtuse-pyriform, irregular, with unequal sides; stem 1¼ in. long, thick, curved; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, slightly russeted, drawn up on one side of the stem in a prominent lip; calyx large, open; lobes separated at the base, short, broad, acute; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, furrowed; skin very thin, tender, roughish; color yellow, more or less mottled and with traces of russet, with a red blush on the exposed cheek; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh yellowish-white, granular, tender, moderately juicy, sweet mingled with sprightliness, aromatic; quality good. Core closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds large, long, plump, acute.