| |
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
|
 |
 |
|
|||
 |
||||||
|
|
JOSEPHINE DE MALINES Raised by Major Esperen around 1830, after his return to Ghent, having served in Napoleon’s Army. Josephine was his wife. Hugo Goris in Belgium has informed us that there is no accent on Josephine, because the correct name should be Josephine von Mechelen, Mechelen being the town in Flanders, now part of Belgium. The French overlordship of Belgium gave Flemish towns French names, though they have now reverted. Malines was Mechelen. One of the best late dessert pears, keeping until February or March. The flavour is excellent, the sweet pale pink flesh perfumed of roses. The fruit tends to be small, especially if not thinned, and the trees are not particularly vigorous, but are reliable croppers. Best in a warm spot. Poll C |
|||
KENNELL PEAR Brought to us by Rita Poulson of Sheepy Magna, Atherstone, Warwickshire. The ancient tree was owned by her recently deceased father, Arthur Callwood of Monwode Lea, near Whitacre, Warwickshire. Twice struck by lightning, the tree stands in a field, the last relic of an old garden/orchard. It has, for company, cattle and a large 16th century stone and ornamental brick chimney stack, the only standing remnant of a grand house. The old tree is supported by a prop and, though twisted and split, it is not hollow. The old house was built in the late 1500s and the historical details, kindly provided by Rita Poulson, show that it was owned by the Kennell (later to become Kennon) family, Mercers of Coventry. Their family history continues up to the late 17th century. There was known to be an orchard at the house in 1759, from an old map drawn by Matthias Baker. Rita Poulson recalls that she ate the pears as a child and that her mother, who lived there from 1919, referred to the tree as ‘the old pear tree’. A few years ago her late father in law, then in his 90s, grafted a piece of the old pear onto a newer tree to ensure the survival of the variety It is a small to medium sized pear, somewhat flattened and rounded in shape, green with a warm flush, ripe in August and sweet and juicy. We are very grateful to Rita Poulson and her family for keeping it so well, for so long. Poll B |
||||
LAXTON’S
FOREMOST Bred by the Laxton Brothers nursery at Bedford, in 1901
and introduced in 1939. The impressive golden brown fruit is juicy and
sweet, and with slightly more acid than some pears, to balance the rich
flavour. It fruits slightly later, in mid-September. Poll D |
||||
LOUISE
BONNE OF JERSEY An old dessert pear, raised around 1780, with
a very good flavour and good yields. The long, small to medium fruit is
greenish yellow, red flushed. The white flesh is sweet and melting, very
juicy, with an intense, flowery taste. Attractive blossom. It has been
said not to pollinate Fondante d'Automne, Seckle or Williams although
the 1885 National Pear Conference, held at RHS Chiswick had declared that
no varieties of pears were found to be intersterile – i.e. they
would all pollinate others, if flowering at the same time. Pick September,
eat October-November. Poll B |
||||
MARÉCHAL
DE LA COUR Raised 1841. A dessert pear, very popular in the 19th
century, renowned for its full flavour and large fruit. Pale yellow fruit
almost covered with cinnamon russet, and sweet, juicy and melting, yellow
flesh, finely perfumed. A late season pear, ready for eating in late October,
and keeping for a month. Hogg deemed it one of the finest pears in cultivation.
Abundant bearer. Triploid. Poll A |
||||
MARGUÉRITE
MARILLAT Raised by Msr Marillat near Lyons in 1872, this is one
of the largest dessert pears. The golden skin is flushed with rusty red,
and the soft sweet flesh has a musky flavour. The fruit is ready fairly
early, from mid to late August, and will store for a few weeks. It is
pleasant if eaten crisp, too, and does not discolour when cut. Trees are
neat, upright and hardy, with good autumn colour. Said by some to be self
fertile but it is also said to be sterile as a pollinator. Poll A |
||||
MAXSTOKE
NIBBLER A wonderful old pear tree, certainly ancient, brought
to our attention by Mark Lewis of Bentleys Farm, Maxstoke, Warwickshire.
The tree has been struck by lightning several times and is now split to
the ground and corkscrews around itself in an intimate dance. The pears
are very unusual, both for their size and their season. The ripe pears
always drop, almost as one, to the ground at the very start of August.
They are a mere 1½ inches long and 1 inch wide, with skin of pale
yellow and an occasional red flush, with variable thin russet patches.
The eye is so ‘open’ it appears to have exploded. The stalk
is long and prominent in relation to such a small rounded fruit. The flesh
is soft, sweet and very juicy. Mr Lewis’ rural farm goes back to
Domesday and the site of this and other trees suggests that this tree
might be very old indeed. A very unusual pear. Our thanks to Mr Lewis.
Poll B |
||||
MEADFOOT
PEAR An old variety, the original name of which is obscure and
unlikely to be discovered. We were shown it by Mr and Mrs Peter Clarke
of Benson, Oxfordshire, when they invited us to see their garden, which
also contained the Golden Russet and Meadfoot Wonder apples, supra. Their
house was built within a mature orchard in 1928. This is a very interesting
small to medium sized pear, with a covering of thin, warmly coloured russet,
rounded but often asymmetric in shape and with a markedly oblique stalk.
The flesh is white, crisp, very sweet, juicy and good to eat in mid October,
when crisp, but by the end of October it melts down to a fine buttery
texture, having developed a rich flavour. Mr Clarke imparts that the pears
are also excellent when stewed, when still crisp. Poll C |
||||
MESSIRE
JEAN A very old pear with a mysterious history. The famous French
Pomologist, Leroy, said it appeared around 1540 and Scott was in agreement.
It was known to John Evelyn in Britain before 1669. Early in its history,
there were observations that several different versions existed, though
La Quintinye said they were all same in 1690. Thomas Hitt in 1755 thought
the differences were due to growing conditions, as did Leroy (1873) and
Philip Miller, from 1727 to 1759, who thought it one of the very best.
Other writers have kept them separate, and there were four sorts delineated,
the- Brown, Gilded, Grey and White. Also, many early writers called the
pear Monsieur Jean or John. Leroy, in his Dictionnaire de Pomologie. of
1873, drew attention to a false Messire Jean, which was a cooking pear.
The pear we have is medium sized, ripe in mid to late October and keeping
well to the end of November. The shape is a little obtuse and variable,
the skin thick, rough and russeted in the shade, reddish brown in the
sun and sometimes with golden patches, and with greyish/fawn dots. The
flesh is white, fine, but sometimes granular, very juicy, sweet and with
agreeable acid. The flavour is perfumed and later it becomes very richly
malty and caramel flavoured. Scott considered it a top quality fruit for
drying. Poll C |
||||
MICHAELMAS
NELIS So called because it was raised from Winter Nelis, but
is ripe in September. Raised in a cottage garden, near Gravesend, it was
introduced by Bunyard’s Nurseries of Maidstone, Kent, in 1900. Roundish
fruit, with pale greenish yellow skin covered in a variable amount of
russet. The flesh is sweet, juicy, melting and richly aromatic. Edward
Bunyard said it was in its most excellent condition before it turned yellow.
Poll D |
||||
|
||||
