Bezi de la Motte
PearBezi de la Motte
Origin / History
Bezi de la Motte is of European origin; Elliott calls it "Foreign." Hedrick says it was first reported by La Quintinye, the creator of the fruit gardens of Louis XIV of France, who found it at the end of October 1685. Hedrick cites Duhamel, Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:206, Pl. XLIV, fig. 5 (1768), and Hogg, Fruit Man. 507 (1884), for the variety.
Tree
Hardy and vigorous; Downing calls it exceedingly vigorous. Productive to a prolific bearer. Downing describes the shoots as grayish olive, with the same peculiarly speckled appearance as the fruit. Budd and Hansen report that it "has proven much hardier than Flemish Beauty on prairie soils of the West."
Fruit
Size: Medium to large. Hedrick alone places it above medium to large.
Form: Roundish to globular, obovate rounded (Elliott) or roundish turbinate (Budd and Hansen). Downing calls it bergamot-shaped and flattened at the eye. Hedrick says it is generally more swelled on one side than on the other.
Stem: About an inch long, green, slightly curved. Elliott calls it short and rather stout.
Cavity: Small, round, shallow; a slight flattened hollow.
Calyx: Small, open. Elliott describes the segments as reflexed.
Basin: Shallow. Downing calls it rather abruptly sunken.
Skin: Pale yellowish green to greenish yellow; Hedrick also gives bright green. The fruit has a peculiarly speckled appearance (Downing).
Dots: Many and conspicuous, thickly sprinkled over the surface. They are russet; Downing calls them russet green and Budd and Hansen brown. Elliott calls the dots small and Hedrick calls them large.
Flesh and flavor: White to whitish, or yellowish white (Elliott). Melting and buttery. Most authors call the grain fine or very fine, and Hedrick adds "slightly gritty"; Elliott calls the flesh "rather coarse." Juicy and sugary, the juice "very abundant and full of sugar, savory and delicate" (Hedrick). Downing describes "a sweet, delicate perfumed flavor." Quality is "very good" for Elliott and for Budd and Hansen, and "first" for Hedrick; Downing rates it "Good."
Core and seeds: Core medium; seeds plump, ovate (Elliott).
Season
October. Hedrick gives September and October, and sometimes later. Downing says the fruit ripens gradually and may be kept a good while.
Uses
Elliott calls it "well suited to orcharding."
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 4 period pomological works
- Budd & Hansen, Systematic Pomology (1914) — listed as Besi de la Motte
- Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)
- Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)
- Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921) — listed as Besi de la Motte
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 9 catalogs (1845–1913) from Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri
- Winship's Nursery (Brighton Nurseries , operated by the Winship family), Brighton (Boston) , Massachusetts — 1845
- Hovey & Co. , Cambridge , Massachusetts — 1849
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1906
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1910
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1911
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1912
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
View original book sources (4)
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Bezi de la Motte. Bein Armudl. | Beurre Blanc de Jersey. Foreign. A vigorous, hardy sort, well suited to orcharding. Fruit, medium, obovate rounded, yellowish green, with many small russet dots; stem, short, rather stout, slightly curved; calyx, small, open, reflexed segments; core, medium; seeds, plump, ovate; flesh, yellowish white, rather coarse, sugary, juicy, melting; "very good." October.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Bezi de la Motte.
Bein Armudi. Beurre blanc de Jersey.
The tree is exceedingly vigorous and productive, and the grayish olive shoots, like the fruit, have a peculiarly speckled appearance. It ripens gradually, and may be kept a good while.
Fruit of medium size, bergamot-shaped, roundish, flattened at the eye. Skin pale yellowish green, thickly sprinkled with conspicuous russet green dots. Stalk about an inch long, green, slightly curved, and inserted in a slight flattened hollow. Calyx small, open, set in a shallow, rather abruptly sunken basin. Flesh white, very fine-grained, buttery, juicy, with a sweet, delicate perfumed flavor. Good. October.
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Besi de la Motte. — Medium, roundish turbinate; color yellowish green, thickly covered with brown russety dots; stalk one inch long, inserted in a small, round, shallow cavity; basin shallow, with eye small and open. Flesh white, fine-grained, melting, buttery, very good. This variety has proven much hardier than Flemish Beauty on prairie soils of the West. Europe.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)Besi de la Motte.
- Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:206, Pl. XLIV, fig. 5. 1768.
- Hogg Fruit Man. 507. 1884.
First reported by La Quintinye, the creator of the fruit gardens of Louis XIV of France, as having been found by him at the end of October, 1685. Tree hardy, vigorous, a prolific bearer. Fruit above medium to large, globular, more swelled generally on one side than on the other, greenish-yellow or bright green, sprinkled with large russet dots; flesh whitish, fine, melting, buttery, slightly gritty; juice very abundant and full of sugar, savory and delicate; first; Sept. and Oct. and sometimes later.