104 



VERMONT BEAUTY 



WHITE DOYENNE 



tardiness in coming in bearing, to remedy 

 which grafting on the quince is recommended. 

 They are also somewhat susceptible to blight, 

 and are not as hardy as might be wished. Of 

 all pears, the tree of this is one of the hand- 

 somest clean and tidy, slender and graceful, 

 yet robust and productive. Fruit and tree 

 make this a valuable variety for home plant- 

 ings. Urbaniste originated as a wilding in the 

 gardens of the religious order of Urbanistes 

 at Mechlin, Belgium, toward the close of the 

 eighteenth century. 



Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright-spreading, slow- 

 growing, productive with age ; trunk slender, shaggy ; 

 branches stocky, shaggy, zigzag, reddish-brown, sprinkled 

 with numerous lenticels. Leaves 2% inches long, % 

 inch wide, thin, leathery ; apex taper-pointed ; margin 

 finely serrate ; petiole 1 % inches long, slender. Fruit 

 ripe in late October and early November ; medium in 

 size, 2% inches long, 1% inches wide, obovate-obtuse- 

 pyriform, with unequal sides ; stem % inch long, short, 

 thick ; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, faintly russeted, 

 furrowed, slightly lipped ; calyx open ; lobes separated 

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

 obtuse, slightly furrowed ; skin thick, tough, roughened 

 by the russet nettings, dull ; color pale yellow, often 

 with a faint russet-red blush on the exposed cheek and 

 marked with nettings and patches of russet ; dots nu- 

 merous, small, russet, conspicuous ; flesh tinged with 

 yellow, granular especially around the core, tender and 

 melting, buttery, juicy, sweet, pleasantly aromatic ; 

 quality very good ; core closed, with clasping core-lines ; 

 calyx-tube short, wide, conical ; seeds medium in size 

 and width, long, plump, acute. 



VERMONT BEAUTY. The fruits of Ver- 

 mont Beauty elicit praise from all who see or 

 taste them. The bright-cheeked pears are as 

 alluring to the eye as those of any other va- 

 riety, and they are almost as delectable as the 

 fruits of Seckel which they resemble in shape, 

 but are larger and handsomer. The crop ripens 

 a little later and keeps longer than that of 

 Seckel, and for these reasons, and because of 

 the alluring appearance, should sell better. 

 The pears are used to grace the table for des- 

 sert, but the sprightly flavor makes them well 

 suited for all culinary purposes. The trees are 

 preeminent among their kind by virtue of large 

 size, rapidity of growth, productivity, and 

 hardiness, the region from which the variety 

 came as a seedling bespeaking greater hardi- 

 hood to cold than that possessed by the aver- 

 age variety. They rejoice in vigor and health 

 as do those of almost no other variety, and 

 while hardly as productive as those of Seckel, 

 yet because of larger fruits fill the basket nearly 

 as quickly. Vermont Beauty is one of the 

 best of the pears of its season, and deserves a 

 place in the orchards of the country for home 

 and market. The variety is supposed to have 

 originated in the nursery of Benjamin Mac- 

 omber, Grand Isle, Vermont, more than forty 

 years ago. 



Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, hardy, 

 productive ; trunk stocky, shaggy ; branches medium in 

 thickness and smoothness, zigzag, reddish-brown, with 

 numerous large, very conspicuous lenticels. Leaves 2% 

 inches long, 1 % inches wide, leathery ; apex abruptly 

 or taper-pointed ; margin glandless, finely serrate ; 

 petiole 2 inches long, glabrous, slender, pinkish-green. 

 Flowers characteristically small, average 1 inch across, 

 in dense clusters, about 6 buds in a cluster, the petals 

 unusually small. Fruit ripe in late October-November ; 

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



acute-pyriform, symmetrical ; stem % inch long, curved ; 

 cavity small or lacking, the flesh folded around the base 

 of the stem, occasionally lipped ; calyx small, open ; 

 lobes separated at the base, short, narrow, acute ; basin 

 shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical ; skin thick, 

 tough, smooth, or with slight russet markings ; color 

 clear pale lemon-yellow, with a broad and brilliantly 

 blushed cheek of pinkish-red, fading at the sides into 

 pinkish-red dots ; dots numerous, very small, light russet, 

 conspicuous ; flesh tinged with yellow, granular at the 

 center but fine-grained near the skin, tender and melting, 

 very juicy, with a rich vinous flavor ; quality very 

 good, core closed, axile, with meeting core-lines ; calyx- 

 tube short, wide, conical ; seeds large, wide, plump, 

 acute. 



VICAR OF WINKFIELD. Vicar. The 

 pears of this variety are so variable in quality, 

 often being wretchedly poor, that this sort is 

 now seldom planted in America. The variety 

 is not liked, also, because the trees blight 

 badly. The fruits are large and handsome, 

 keep well, and are excellent for all culinary 

 purposes. They have a strong musky smell, 

 and are more or less astringent, the quality 

 depending largely on the soil, being best when 

 the trees stand in a deep, warm loam. The 

 pears are long-pyriform, usually one-sided, and 

 are further characterized by the peculiarity 

 that the calyx is not in line with the axis as 

 in other pears, but is on one side, generally 

 opposite to that in which the stalk is inserted. 

 The trees, barring susceptibility to blight, are 

 about all that could be desired large, vigor- 

 ous, handsome, and thriving both as standards 

 and dwarfs. In 1760 this pear was found as 

 a wilding by a French curate at Villiers-en- 

 Brenne. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense- 

 topped, hardy, very productive, long-lived ; trunk and 

 branches stocky ; branches zigzag, greenish-brown, with 

 lenticels variable in number and size. Leaves 3 inches 

 long, 2 ^4 inches wide, thick, leathery ; apex abruptly 

 pointed ; margin tipped with minute scattering glands, 

 finely serrate ; petiole variable in length, pinkish-green. 

 Fruit ripe December- January ; large, 3% inches long, 

 2% inches wide, oblong-pyriform, with a long, taper- 

 ing neck, with unequal sides; stem 1% inches long, 

 slender, curved ; cavity lacking with stem obliquely set 

 and often with a fleshy fold around the base in the 

 form of a lip ; calyx large, open ; lobes long, obtusely 

 pointed ; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth, sym- 

 metrical ; skin thick, tough, smooth, dull ; color pale 

 yellow, often with a faint brownish-red blush over the 

 exposed cheek, marked with light russet around the 

 calyx, and occasionally with russet flecks scattered over 

 the surface ; dots numerous, small, conspicuous, brown-' 

 ish-russet ; flesh white, granular only near the center, 

 tender and melting, juicy, astringent or with a spright- 

 ly muskiness ; good only for cooking ; core small, closed, 

 axile, with clasping core-lines ; calyx-tube long, nar- 

 row, funnel-shaped ; carpels long-oval ; seeds large, long, 

 often abortive. 



WHITE DOYENNE. Fig. 98. Virgalieu. 

 This ancient and world-renowned pear, its 

 fruits as delectable as any that come from the 

 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 European pears, when fruits were 

 judged by the palate rather than the eye as 

 now, White Doyenne was one of the most 

 commonly planted varieties. A more serious 

 fault than small and unattractive pears is that 

 the fruits and foliage are inviting prey to the 



