Bon-Chrétien d'Espagne
Pear
Bon-Chrétien d'Espagne (Spanish Warden)
Origin and History
The origin of Bon-Chrétien d'Espagne is ancient and uncertain. Merlet described it in 1675, and La Quintinye in 1692. By the late nineteenth century it was so well known that Messrs. Simon-Louis of Metz, Lorraine, listed some forty synonyms for it in their 1895 catalog. Coxe included it among his American pomological observations in 1817.
Fruit
Size and Form: Fruit very large and long (Coxe), pyriform (Hedrick). The lower half is very ventriculous — swollen and more or less bossed — while the upper part narrows to an obtuse end (Hedrick). The fruit is a little curved and truncated about the foot of the stalk (Coxe).
Stem: Large and very long (Coxe).
Cavity: The eye is small and planted in a deep and wide hollow, bordered by ridges that extend toward the middle of the fruit (Coxe).
Skin: Thick (Hedrick). Color greenish-yellow, changing to yellow at maturity (Hedrick), with a pale yellow on the shady side when ripe (Coxe). Spotted with dots of a brown color (Coxe); more specifically, dotted and marked with fawn-russet (Hedrick). Highly colored with a fine, lively red on the side exposed to the sun (Coxe; Hedrick).
Flesh and Flavor: White (both sources). Coxe notes it is blended with grains of green. Coarse and breaking (Hedrick). The texture varies according to season and soil: it may be dry and hard or breaking and tender (Coxe). Juicy, with a pleasant, brisk flavor and musky aroma (Hedrick). The juice is mild and sweet when the fruit is grown on a favourable soil and well exposed (Coxe).
Season
The two sources give differing season ranges: Coxe records it as ripening in November and December; Hedrick gives November through January and even into March, reflecting its keeping quality and extended usefulness as a kitchen fruit.
Uses
Third quality for the table; first quality for the kitchen (Hedrick). The mild, sweet juice and firm flesh make it particularly valued for culinary purposes, with its long season extending its utility well into winter.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
View original book sources (2)
— William Coxe, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817)
- BON CHRETIEN D'ESPAGNE, OR GOOD CHRISTIAN OF SPAIN.
This pear is very large and long, gradually lessening towards the stem, a little curved and truncated about the foot of the stalk, which is large and very long—the eye is small, and planted in a deep and wide hollow, bordered with ridges which extend towards the middle of the fruit; the skin is spotted with dots, of a brown colour, of a fine lively red towards the sun, with a pale yellow on the shady side when ripe; the flesh is white, blended with grains of green, dry and hard, or breaking and tender, according to the season and soil—the juice is mild and sweet when growing on a favourable soil, and well exposed; it ripens in November and December.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)Bon-Chrétien d'Espagne.
- Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:216, Pl. 46. 1768. 2. Mas Le Verger 1:131, fig. 64. 1866-73. Spanish Warden. 3. Hogg Fruit Man. 648. 1884.
The origin of Bon-Chrétien d'Espagne or Spanish Warden is ancient and uncertain. Merlet described it in 1675, and so did La Quintinye, in 1692. It was well known; for Messrs. Simon-Louis of Metz, Lorraine, gave it some forty synonyms in their 1895 catalog. Fruit large, pyriform, very ventriculous in its lower half where it is more or less bossed, the upper part narrows to an obtuse end; skin thick, greenish-yellow changing to yellow, dotted and marked with fawn-russet, and highly colored with vivid red on the side exposed to the sun; flesh white, coarse, breaking, juicy, with a pleasant, brisk flavor and musky aroma; third for the table, first for the kitchen; Nov., Jan. and even Mar.