FLEMISH BEAUTY 



FOX 



FLEMISH BEAUTY. Fig. 83. At one 

 time Flemish Beauty was a leading commercial 

 variety in the pear regions of eastern America, 

 but it has been supplanted by other varieties 

 because the toll of blighted trees is too great, and 

 the fruits are too often disfigured by the scab- 

 fungus. Perhaps the latter is the greater fault, 

 as in some seasons no applications of spray 



83. Flemish Beauty. (XV 2 ) 



give the pears a clean cheek, and they are 

 blackened, scabbed, cracked and malformed 

 with fungus. Not infrequently the scab- 

 infected foliage drops before the crop matures. 

 To offset these defects, the trees are unusually 

 fruitful, and as hardy as those of any other 

 variety. The fruits are nearly perfect if scab- 

 free, and properly matured. The pears must 

 be picked as soon as they attain full size and 

 be permitted to ripen under cover. So treated, 

 a bright-cheeked Flemish Beauty is as hand- 

 some as any pear, and is almost unapproach- 

 able in quality, the flavor being nicely bal- 

 anced between sweetness and sourness, very 

 rich, and has a distinct muskiness that all like. 

 Blight and scab condemn tree and fruit for 

 commercial orchards, but a lover of pears 

 should combat these troubles for the sake of 

 the choice fruits. The parent tree of this 

 variety was a wilding found in a wood near 

 Alost, Belgium, about the beginning of the 

 nineteenth century. 



Tree medium in size, vigorous, spreading, often with 

 drooping branches, rapid-growing, hardy, productive ; 

 trunk smooth ; branches thick, shaggy, bright reddish- 

 brown, with large lentieels. Leaves 3% inches long, 1% 

 inches wide, oval, thick, leathery ; apex taper-pointed ; 

 margin finely serrate ; petiole 2 inches long, usually 

 slender. Flowers 1% inches across, in dense clusters, 

 usually 7 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe late September 

 and early October ; large, nearly 2 % inches long, 2 ^ 

 inches wide, uniform in size and shape, obovate-obtuse- 

 pyriform, symmetrical, with nearly equal sides ; stem 

 1 % inches long, thick ; cavity acute, shallow yet much 

 deeper than in the average pear, narrow, slightly russeted, 

 a little furrowed ; calyx open ; lobes partly separated 

 at the base, short, obtuse ; basin shallow, narrow, abrupt, 

 symmetrical ; skin thick, tough, roughish, dull ; color 

 clear yellow, overspread on the exposed cheek with a 

 dotted and marbled, reddish blush ; dots numerous, russet, 



small, conspicuous ; flesh yellowish-white, firm, becoming 

 melting and tender, granular, juicy, sweet, aromatic, 

 with a slight musky flavor ; quality very good ; core 

 closed, with clasping core-lines ; calyx-tube short, wide, 

 conical ; seeds rather long, plump, acute. 



FONDANTE DE NOEL. Belle de Noel. 

 The fruit of this rare European pear is dis- 

 tinguished by its trim top shape and russeted 

 coat, which is usually enlivened with a dull, 

 ruddy color on the sunny side. The flesh, 

 while gritty near the core, is tender, juicy, 

 buttery, very rich, sweet and aromatic. It is 

 just the pear for those who prefer sweetness 

 to vinousness, and who object to even a trace 

 of astringency. The trees, while only medium 

 in size, are vigorous, hardy, healthy and pro- 

 ductive. The fruits are in season and at their 

 best for Christmas. This pear was raised from 

 seed by Major Esperen, Mechlin, Belgium. 

 The tree fruited first in 1842. 



Tree medium in size and vigor, upright, hardy, pro- 

 ductive ; trunk thick, smooth ; branches brownish-green. 

 Leaves 3 % inches long, 1 % inches wide ; apex taper- 

 pointed ; margin glandless, finely serrate; petiole 2% 

 inches long. Flowers showy, 1% inches across, white 

 often tinged pink on the edges of petals, average 9 buds 

 in a cluster. Fruit matures December-January ; above 

 medium in size, 2% inches long, 2% inches wide, 

 roundish-turbinate, irregular ; stem % inch long, thick, 

 woody, obliquely set ; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, 

 furrowed, often lipped ; calyx small, nearly closed ; 

 basin narrow, obtuse, furrowed ; skin roughened by 

 russet dots and patches ; color dull greenish-yellow, with 

 many dots, flecks and patches of russet, often with a faint 

 trace of brownish-red on the sunny side ; dots numerous, 

 small, russet, rather conspicuous ; flesh white, gritty only 

 near the core, tender, buttery, juicy, sweet, highly 

 aromatic ; quality good to very good ; core large, with 

 meeting core-lines ; calyx-tube short, wide ; seeds large, 

 long, plump, acute. 



FORELLE. Trout Pear. The fruits of 

 Forelle satisfy the eye for bright colors, and 

 are distinguished by trout-like specklings from 

 which comes "Forelle," the German name for 

 trout. Looks belie taste, however, for while 

 the flesh is delicate and buttery, it is not 

 highly flavored and disappoints those who re- 

 gard high quality a prime requisite in a pear. 

 The trees are very satisfactory in warm soils 

 and exposure, but fail in heavy clays and cold 

 climates. The variety is worth growing for its 

 beautiful and distinctive fruits. The variety 

 originated in northern Saxony at the beginning 

 of the eighteenth century. 



Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright, very hardy 

 and very productive ; branches few, dark brownish-red, 

 sprinkled with numerous lenticels. Leaves small, flat, 

 round-ovate. Flowers open early. Fruit ripens Novem- 

 ber-December ; medium in size, 3 inches long, 2 inches 

 wide, oblong-obovate-pyriform, with a neck variable in 

 length ; stem 1 inch long, slender ; cavity shallow, 

 oblique, narrow, often lipped ; calyx small, open ; lobes 

 broad ; basin shallow, narrow, abrupt ; skin smooth ; 

 color yellow, more or less overlaid with pinkish-red, 

 deepening to rich crimson next to the sun, profusely 

 covered with grayish-russet dots which are margined or 

 raysd with crimson ; dots numerous, large and small, 

 russet or grayish ; flesh white, fine-grained, granular at 

 the center, melting, buttery, juicy, aromatic, with a rich, 

 vinous flavor ; quality good ; core medium in size ; seeds 

 nearly black, of medium size. 



FOX. Fox seems to have failed in the 

 pear-growing regions of America, in spite of 

 its having some excellent characters in both 



