The pears of New York

by U. P. Hedrick

MARIE LOUISE

1. Pom. Mag. 3:122, Pl. 1830. 2. Prince Pom. Mag. 1:131. 1831. 3. Kenrick Am. Orch. 179. 1832. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 399. 1845. 5. Hovey Fr. Am. 2:37, Pl. 1851. 6. Dochnahl Führ. Obstkunde 2:59. 1856. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 70. 1862. 8. Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:399, fig. 1869. 9. Guide Prat. 59, 287. 1876. 10. Lauche Deut. Pom. II: No. 38, Pl. 38. 1882. 11. Hogg. Fruit Man. 613. 1884. 12. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 251. 1889.

Marie-Louise Delcourt. 13. Pom. France 1: No. 19, Pl. 19. 1863. 14. Mas Le Verger 3: Pt. 1, 163, fig. 80. 1866-73.

The fruits of Marie Louise are among the perfections of Nature, and were the tree more certain in bearing and less fastidious as to environment and care, the variety would rank as one of the best of all pears. Pomologists generally agree that its fruits are the finest flavored of their season. The flesh is tender and melting, very juicy, and the flavor is a most delectable commingling of refreshing piquancy and scented sweetness. In shape, the pears resemble those of Beurré Bosc, having the same trim contour, but the color is very different—rich yellow, netted and sprinkled with russet, and sun-flecked with red on the sunny side. The fruit is somewhat susceptible to the scab fungus, and even the most careful spraying fails to give it a fair cheek in some seasons. The trees are hardy but only moderately vigorous, somewhat susceptible to blight, rather uncertain in bearing, and vary much from season to season in abundance and quality of product. Not at all suited for a commercial plantation, Marie Louise is one of the choicest sorts for a home collection or in the hands of a pear fancier.

The Abbé Duquesne, Mons, Belgium, raised this pear from seed in 1809 and dedicated it to Marie Louise, the second consort of Napoleon the First. The Abbé passed the pear on to Van Mons, who in 1816 sent it without a name to a Mr. Braddick of Thames Ditton, England, where in time it became one of the best-known pears. Thomas Andrew Knight sent cions of the variety from England to John Lowell, Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1823, whence it became widely disseminated in America. The American Pomological Society placed Marie Louise in its list of fruits in 1862.

Tree medium in size, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, hardy, productive; trunk slender; branches dark reddish-brown mingled with thin gray scarf-skin, marked with many large lenticels; branchlets very slender and very short, with short internodes, light brown, tinged with brownish-red, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with very small, slightly raised lenticels.

Leaf-buds small, short, sharply pointed, plump, free. Leaves 2½ in. long, 1¼ in. wide, narrow, short, oval or somewhat elongated, leathery; apex obtusely or slightly taper-pointed; margin glandless, entire; petiole 2 in. long, greenish, glabrous, slender. Flower-buds small, conical, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or on short spurs; flowers very showy, 1¾ in. across, in dense clusters, 7 to 9 buds in a cluster; pedicels often 1⅛ in. long, slender, slightly pubescent, greenish.

Fruit ripe in late September and early October; above medium in size, 3⅛ in. long, 25⁄16 in. wide, variable in size, oblong-pyriform, irregular, usually with sides unequal; stem 1⅛ in. long, thick, curved; cavity very small and one-sided, russeted, often lipped; calyx large, open; lobes separated at the base, narrow, acuminate; basin obtuse, considerably furrowed; skin thin, tender, smooth, dull; color yellow, netted and sprinkled with russet especially on the exposed cheek; dots numerous, small, russet, somewhat obscure; flesh yellowish-white, granular, tender, buttery, very juicy, aromatic, with a rich, vinous flavor; quality very good. Core closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, narrow, conical; seeds wide, acute.

MOUNT VERNON

1. Am. Jour. Hort. 3:144, figs. 1868. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 818. 1869. 3. Horticulturist 24:367, fig. 1869. 4. Ibid. 26:361. 1871. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 20. 1871. 6. Horticulturist 27:204. 1872. 7. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 2:256. 1903.

As a distinct type, and because the pears ripen at a season when there are few other varieties of this fruit, Mount Vernon has a prominent place in the list of worthy American pears. The top-shaped form and reddish-russet color give the pear a unique appearance, and with the greenish-yellow, granular, spicy, piquant flesh constitute very distinct characters in its quality. Unfortunately, the russet color is not well brought out in the accompanying color-plate. Lack of uniformity in shape and size are the chief defects in the appearance of the pears. The variety is valuable because it ripens its crop in early winter from which time, under good conditions, it may be kept until mid-winter, a season in which there are few good pears. The trees are unusually satisfactory in most of the characters of importance in a good pear-tree. The tree is vigorous but the head is small, with numerous, short, stocky branches, many of which droop. The aspect given the top by these peculiarities is quite distinct. The variety is worthy when a winter pear is wanted whether for home or market.

This pear, which is very distinct from any other variety, originated from a chance seedling in the garden of Samuel Walker, Roxbury, Massachusetts, at the end of the first half of the nineteenth century.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, with many drooping branches, dense-topped, hardy, productive, long-lived; trunk stocky; branches thick, shaggy, reddish-brown, overcast with gray scarf-skin, marked by few large lenticels; branchlets thick, with short internodes, grayish-brown, smooth, glabrous, with a few large, raised lenticels.

Leaf-buds variable in shape, usually free. Leaves 2½ in. long, 1½ in. wide, oval, medium to thick, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin crenate, tipped with rudimentary glands; petiole 1¼ in. long. Flower-buds large, long, conical or pointed, free; flowers 1⅜ in. across, in dense clusters, 7 to 9 buds in a cluster; pedicels ¾ in. long, slender, lightly pubescent, pale green, with a faint tinge of red.

Fruit ripe in late October and November; medium in size, 2½ in. long, 2⅛ in. wide, uniform in size, roundish-obtuse-pyriform, irregular, with unequal sides, variable in shape; stem 1 in. long, thick, usually curved; cavity obtuse, very shallow and narrow, russeted, furrowed, often very heavily lipped, so that the stem appears to be inserted under a fleshy enlargement; calyx open; lobes short, narrow, acute to acuminate; basin narrow, obtuse, smooth, usually symmetrical; skin granular, roughened by russet, dull; color light russet overspreading a greenish-yellow ground, with a brownish-red blush on the exposed cheek, dotted and netted with russet; dots numerous, small, russet, obscure; flesh white, with a faint tinge of yellow, often with a green tinge under the skin, granular, tender and melting, juicy, sweet, aromatic, with a vinous tendency; quality good to very good. Core large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds variable in size, wide, long, plump, acute, many abortive.