THE 



Canadian Horticulturist. 



Vol. XXI. 



Toronto, 



1 898 



September. 



No. 9 



THE SUMMER DOYENNE. 



|. UR frontispiece represents the 

 earliest of our summer pears^ 

 and one which should be 

 in the garden of every fruit 

 lover in our country. Too 

 small in size to be very 

 profitable for the commercial 

 orchard, this fault is no objection for 

 table use, for which its excellent quality 

 makes it a decided acquisition. If we 

 had our markets to ourselves as we had 

 in days gone by, no doubt we could sell 

 a small pear with profit, but now we 

 get California Bartletts in the early part 

 of our pear season, and nobody will buy 

 small pears when they can buy large 

 ones. 



The fact is that conditions have 

 completely charged, until seasons 

 and distances have been almost com- 

 pletely overcome ; and these matters 

 must be considered in planting a 

 commercial orchard. For home use, 

 however, the question has a different 

 aspect. VVe can never buy fruit 

 from California or any other other 



country to equal our choice high- 

 flavored varieties grown in our own 

 gardens. 



The Summer Doyenne is not a new 

 variety. It was originated in Belgium 

 in 1823, by Dr. \'an Mons, a nursery 

 man, who devoted much time to the 

 origination of new varieties, and who 

 had at that time no less than 2,000 

 valuable seedlings of pears. It is known 

 in different countries under slightly dif- 

 ferent names. In England it is called 

 Summer Doyenne : in France, Doyenne 

 de Juillet ; in the United States, 

 Doyenne d'Ete ; and we choose the first 

 because it seems to us advisable to 

 avoid foreign names where possible, 

 seeing they are so commonly mis- 

 pronounced. 



The tree is a vigorous, healthy 

 grower, with somewhat slender branches, 

 which are light, yellowish brown in 

 color. It begins bearing at an early 

 age, dwarf trees at Maplehurst two 

 years planted having some fine clusters 

 of fruit. The fruit measures about i^ 



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