THE 



Canadian Horticulturist. 



Vol. XIV. 



1891 



No. 8. 



THE DOYENNE BOUSSOCK PEAR. 



! 



N placing before our readers the colored plate of the 

 Doyenne Boussock pear, we do not make any pretention 

 of introducing a variety that is at all new, but an old 

 acquaintance, which, after enduring many years of faithful 

 trial, has gradually come to the front as one that is profit- 

 able to grow in the commercial orchard. It is not a native 

 of America, but a foreigner, having been introduced at an early date from Bel- 

 gium. The tree is a vigorous, upright grower, with a spreading head. Mr. P. 

 C. Dempsey, in speaking of this pear at the summer meeting of the Ontario 

 Fruit Growers' Association at Picton, in 1888, stated that he had grown it for 

 twenty years, and esteemed it very highly indeed. His trees had reached a 

 height of some twenty feet, and were abundant bearers, often yielding as much 

 as five or six bushels to the tree. So far his trees have also been quite free from 

 blight, which is the terror of pear growers generally. Flemish Beauty's standing 

 near had long ago succumbed to this disease, while his Boussocks are healthy and 

 vigorous. 



This pear can hardly be classed among the best dessert varieties, being esti- 

 mated by most people as inferior to the Bartlett in this respect. It is, however, 

 free from the musky flavor of the Bartlett, and possesses just enough acidity to 

 make it one of the very best of pears for canning purposes. Mr. Dempsey thinks 

 that it would be impossible to plant too many Boussocks in the vicinity of a 

 canning factory, for no pear is more desirable for sealing down. As a general 



