Crawford
PearCrawford
Origin / History
Downing calls it "A Scotch fruit." Bunyard gives its origin as "probably Scotch," and Hedrick repeats this. Elliott lists it simply as foreign. Downing described it in The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America in 1845 and again in 1869. In 1908 Bunyard and Thomas described it in The Fruit Garden under the name Chalk, and Bunyard described it again in 1920 in A Handbook of Hardy Fruits. Hedrick treated it in The Pears of New York (1921). In Kent it is much grown for the London markets (Bunyard).
Tree
Growth stout, weeping; fertility remarkable (Bunyard). Hedrick adds that in the orchards of Kent, England, the tree grows to a large size. It is often planted on the windy sides of plantations as a protection to other trees. Leaf broad, dark green, very downy below (Bunyard). Hardy in a cold climate; Downing calls this hardiness "the chief merit" of the variety.
Fruit
Size: Small to middle-sized. Downing calls it middle-sized. Bunyard calls it small and gives its dimensions as 2 by 1⅞.
Form: Obovate (Downing). Bunyard describes it as round conical and even.
Stem: Stout, fleshy, medium short; ¾ inch (Bunyard).
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Eye open.
Basin: Shallow.
Skin: Nearly smooth, with a little fine russet (Bunyard). The coloring is given two ways. Downing describes it as light yellow, tinged with brown in the sun; Elliott gives yellow, tinged with brown. Bunyard gives very pale green with the faintest red flush.
Dots: Not described in source.
Flesh and flavor: White to nearly white, sweet. Downing calls the flesh buttery, "of a tolerably pleasant flavor," and the fruit "of second quality." Bunyard calls it mealy and juicy, with "flavour nil."
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
August; early August (Bunyard).
Uses
Dessert (Bunyard). Much grown in Kent for London markets, and "greatly appreciated at Hampstead Heath on August Bank Holiday" (Bunyard).
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Similar to Citron des Carmes but not identical (Bunyard).
Book Sources
Described in 5 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 1 catalog (1845) from Massachusetts
- Winship's Nursery (Brighton Nurseries , operated by the Winship family), Brighton (Boston) , Massachusetts — 1845
View original book sources (5)
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Crawford. Foreign. Medium, obovate, yellow, tinged with brown. August.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Crawford.
Bancrief. Lammas of the Scotch.
A Scotch fruit, of second quality ; the chief merit of which is its hardiness in a cold climate.
Fruit middle-sized, obovate. Skin light yellow, tinged with brown in the sun. Flesh white, buttery, sweet, and of a tolerably pleasant flavor. August.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Crawford. Medium, obovate, light yellow; flesh buttery, sweet, moderately pleasant. August. Scotch.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)CHALK. (Crawford, Bancrief.) Dessert, early August, small, 2 by 1⅞, round conical, even. Skin, nearly smooth, a little fine russet. Colour, very pale green with the faintest red flush. Flesh, nearly white, mealy, sweet and juicy, flavour nil. Eye open in a shallow basin. Stem, ¾ inch, stout, fleshy. Growth, stout, weeping; fertility remarkable. Leaf, broad, dark green, very downy below. Origin, probably Scotch. It is similar to Citron des Carmes but not identical. A fruit much grown in Kent for London markets, and greatly appreciated at Hampstead Heath on August Bank Holiday.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)Crawford.
- Downing Fr. Trees Am. 335. 1845.
- Ibid. 729. 1869.
- Bunyard Thomas Fr. Card. 139. 1908. Chalk.
- Bunyard Handb. Hardy Fr. 163. 1920.
This tree, probably of Scotch origin, grows to a large size in the orchards of Kent, Eng., and is often planted on the windy sides of plantations as a protection to other trees. Tree stout, remarkably productive. Fruit below medium, obovate, pale green, with faintest red blush; stem stout, medium short, fleshy; calyx open, in a shallow basin; flesh nearly white, mealy, sweet, juicy; flavor nil; Aug.