The pears of New York

by U. P. Hedrick

Saint-Michael. 26. Coxe Cult. Fr. Trees 191, fig. 38. 1817.

Doyenné Blanc. 27. Trans. Lond. Hort. Soc. 5:135. 1824. 28. Kenrick Am. Orch. 121. 1841. 29. Pom. France 1: No. 74, Pl. 74. 1863. 30. Mas Le Verger 3: Pt. 2, 19, fig. 106. 1866-73. 31. Guide Prat. 63, 264. 1876. 32. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 236, fig. 1906.

Thorp. 33. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 553. 1857. 34. Mag. Hort. 24:516. 1858.

Bonne-Ente. 35. Noisette Man. Comp. Jard. 2:532. 1860.

This ancient and world-renowned pear, its fruits the most delectable of any that come from a pear orchard, is now rarely planted in America. It is being discarded because the small and comparatively unattractive fruits fail to satisfy commercial demands. In the middle of the last century, when there was almost a mania for the best of the European pears, when fruits were judged by the palate rather than the eye as now, White Doyenné was one of the most commonly planted varieties. Proof of its popularity at home and abroad is found in the great number of names under which it has been grown. A more serious fault than small and unattractive pears is that the fruits and foliage are inviting prey to the scab-fungus, which often cracks and scabs the pears and defoliates the trees. Except in susceptibility to scab, the trees are nearly perfect when grown in the soil which they prefer—a rich clay, heavy rather than light. On such a soil, tree and fruit attain perfection. The accompanying illustration shows this pear at its best in color and size—a handsome fruit rather than the unattractive product so often seen. Grown in a light soil, and when scab is unchecked, the fruits are small, green, cracked, and cankered—intolerable to sight and taste. Unfortunately, also, the trees are ravaged by blight when that disease is epidemic. The faults named have made the variety an outcast, but it should still receive attention for the superb quality of its fruits where scab and blight can be controlled.

This pear is one of the oldest of all varieties. It is impossible to state whether it originated in France or was brought to that country from Italy. A German, Henri Manger, who studied the origin of fruits, states in his Systematische Pomologie, 1780, that the White Doyenné originated with the Romans; he considered it to be their Sementinum. Agostino Gallo, 1559, called the variety Pera Ghiacciuola. In 1660, Claude Saint-Etienne described a Poire de Neige. Both of these descriptions represent White Doyenné. In the sixteenth century and for part of the seventeenth, the name Ghiacciuola was accepted for the variety in France with the synonym Saint-Michel. Leroy states that Le Lectier, in his catalog of the fruit trees which he grew at Orléans in 1628, changed the name to Giaccole de Rome, and Nicholas de Bonnefonds modified it in the first edition of his Jardinier Francais, 1652, to Giacciola di Roma. English pomologists have mentioned this pear under a variety of names since early in the seventeenth century. The names Poire Doyenné and White Doyenné have been most generally applied to it. The date of its introduction to America is not known, but it was probably brought to this country by the earliest French settlers. The first American catalogs mentioned the variety, and it was extensively grown in the vicinity of New York and Long Island where it was commonly called the Virgalieu pear. In the neighborhood of Boston, the name Saint-Michael was applied to it; while around Philadelphia it was called the Butter Pear. For nearly a century, however, the variety has been most generally known in this country as White Doyenné. At the Convention of Fruit-Growers held in New York, in 1848, White Doyenné was included in a short list of pears recommended for general cultivation. Since that date, the American Pomological Society has given the variety a place in its fruit-catalog.

Tree large, vigorous, upright, vasiform, hardy, very productive; trunk stocky, somewhat smooth; branches thick, dark gray, with many large lenticels; branchlets thick, reddish-brown, smooth, glabrous, with small, very slightly raised lenticels.

Leaf-buds obtuse, pointed, appressed. Leaves 2½ in. long, 1¾ in. wide, flattened, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin finely serrate; petiole 1½ in. long, slender. Flower-buds large, long, conical or pointed, free; flowers early, 1⅛ in. across, in dense clusters, 7 or 8 buds in a cluster; pedicels ⅞ in. long, slender, pubescent, light green.

Fruit matures in early October; medium in size, 2¼ in. long, 2⅛ in. wide, uniform, obovate-obtuse-pyriform, symmetrical; stem ¾ in. long, thick, slightly curved; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, russeted, usually symmetrical; calyx small, open or closed; lobes short, narrow, obtuse; basin shallow, obtuse, nearly smooth, symmetrical; skin thick, tough, smooth, dull; color clear pale yellow, with a small, bright red blush on the exposed cheek; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh yellowish-white, granular, firm at first but becoming melting when fully ripe, juicy, sweet, with a rich, aromatic flavor; quality very good. Core closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds wide, plump, obtuse.