Beacon

Pear

Beacon (Pear)

Origin/History

Raised by Mr. Rivers from Grosse Calebasse (Bunyard). Cited in the Ellwanger & Barry catalogue of 1892 and in Bunyard & Thomas's Fruit Garden of 1904 (Hedrick).

Tree

Growth stout, compact, very upright; fertility fair. Leaf very long and narrow, upfolded, down-hanging, regularly serrate, almost crenate (Bunyard).

Fruit

Size: Medium.

Form: Long-ovate, very regular (Hedrick); long conical (Bunyard).

Stem: Very short, fleshy, and unusually lipped (Bunyard).

Cavity: Not described in source.

Calyx: Not described in source.

Basin: Not described in source.

Skin: Fairly smooth, with occasional patches of russet (both sources agree on smoothness and russet). Color described differently by the two sources: Hedrick gives pale green with some russet, turning yellow, with a brown cheek; Bunyard gives pale golden yellow with a faint brick red flush.

Flesh/Flavor: Hedrick describes the flesh as firm and sweet. Bunyard describes it as pale yellow, crisp, and juicy, with a pleasant aroma.

Core/Seeds: Not described in source.

Season

Sources conflict: late July (Hedrick); mid to end August (Bunyard).

Uses

Dessert (Bunyard). Both sources agree quality is second-rate: Hedrick calls it "not first, but passable for its season"; Bunyard considers it "only of ordinary merit" and notes it is "much surpassed by Dr. Jules Guyot" in its season.

Subtypes/Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 2 period pomological works

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 4 catalogs (1900–1913) from England

George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900
Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
Thomas Rivers & Son , Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire , England — 1913

View original book sources (2)

Beacon.

Ellwanger & Barry Cat. 20. 1892. 2. Bunyard-Thomas Fr. Card. 132, 456. 1904. Fruit medium, long-ovate, very regular, smooth and shining, pale green, some russet, turning yellow, with a brown cheek; flesh firm, sweet; not first, but passable for its season; late July.

— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)

BEACON. Dessert, mid to end August, medium, long conical, Skin, fairly smooth, occasional patches of russet. Colour, pale golden yellow with faint brick red flush. Flesh, pale yellow, crisp, juicy, with a pleasant aroma. Stem, very short, fleshy and unusually lipped. Growth, stout, compact, very upright ; fertility fair. Leaf, very long and narrow, upfolded, down hanging, regularly serrate, almost crenate. Origin, raised by Mr. Rivers from Grosse Calebasse. Is only of ordinary merit and in its season is much surpassed by Dr. Jules Guyot.

— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)