Duchesse D'Orléans
Pear
Duchesse D'Orléans
Origin/History
A French pear, a chance seedling found by M. Maurier near Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France, nearly a century before Hedrick's 1921 account. It was propagated by M. Flon, a nurseryman of Angers, and fruited first in 1839 (Bunyard gives the year of the chance seedling's discovery as 1839). Downing (1900) noted the precise location of origin as unknown, but the later Angers/Maurier attribution is given by Bunyard and Hedrick. In the middle of the nineteenth century the variety was heralded as one of the best of the French pears then coming to America in great numbers, but by Hedrick's day it was almost lost to cultivation. The variety was added to the fruit-catalog list of the American Pomological Society in 1862, but was dropped from the list in 1871. In England and America the variety has been chiefly known as Duchesse d'Orléans, though many French horticulturists have used the name Saint-Nicolas; Bunyard observed that the French name is the correct one.
Tree
Sources differ on vigor and habit. Elliott (1865) calls the tree moderately vigorous and upright, with olive-colored wood and dark blue-green, narrow leaves; thus far productive and healthy on Quince — one little tree, two years planted, yielded forty-three beautiful specimens in a single season. Downing (1900) describes the tree as a good grower, upright, with long-jointed wood; young shoots dull olive brown, slightly grayish. Thomas (1903) describes growth as rather spreading, with shoots yellowish green. Bunyard (1920) calls growth moderate and fertility moderate. Hedrick (1921) reports the trees as late in coming into bearing, not very vigorous, somewhat tender to cold, and not resistant to blight well — failings in tree characters that limit its commercial value, though he still recommends it for the home orchard. Hedrick (1922) gives the fullest tree description: medium in size and vigor, spreading, rapid-growing, moderately productive; branches medium in thickness and smoothness, reddish-brown, with few indistinct lenticels. Leaves 3 inches long, 1¾ inches wide; apex taper-pointed; margin tipped with small brownish glands, coarsely serrate; petiole glabrous, reddish-green. Flowers showy, 1¾ inches across, in dense clusters, with average buds in a cluster, the petals widely separated at the base.
Fruit
Size
Sources vary. Elliott (1865) calls the fruit large. Downing (1900) gives it as rather above medium. Thomas (1903) describes it as large, often only medium. Bunyard (1920) gives medium to large, 3½ by 2½ inches. Hedrick (1921) emphasizes that the fruits are more uniform in size than those of most varieties. Hedrick (1922) gives medium in size, 2¾ inches long, 2¼ inches wide.
Form
Elliott (1865): oblong ovate pyriform. Downing (1900): elongated pyriform, narrowing toward the basin. Thomas (1903): sometimes long pyriform, but usually obovate-pyriform, somewhat pyramidal. Bunyard (1920): long pyriform, tapering to the eye, uneven. Hedrick (1921) notes the fruits are exceptionally symmetrical in shape, and few pears are smoother of skin. Hedrick (1922): obovate-acute-pyriform, symmetrical.
Stem
Elliott (1865): variable, fleshy at base. Downing (1900): long, pretty large, curved. Thomas (1903): thick, about an inch and a half long, scarcely sunk. Bunyard (1920): long and thin, rather fleshy and often lipped at base. Hedrick (1922): stem (length not fully given in the source — "stem inch long"), thick.
Cavity
Thomas (1903) reports the stalk is scarcely sunk. Hedrick (1922) describes the cavity as lacking, the flesh drawn up in a symmetrical fold about the stem. Other sources do not address the cavity specifically.
Calyx
Elliott (1865): small, open, with short segments. Downing (1900): nearly closed. Bunyard (1920): closed, on the surface (eye, closed, on surface). Hedrick (1922): small, open; lobes separated at the base, narrow, acute. Calyx-tube (Hedrick 1922): short, conical.
Basin
Downing (1900): shallow, uneven. Thomas (1903): small, even. Hedrick (1922): very shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth or slightly wrinkled.
Skin
Sources broadly agree on yellow ground with russet and a red cheek, with variation in detail. Elliott (1865): greenish, becoming greenish yellow, with stripes and patches of dull thin russet, sometimes a red cheek in the sun. Downing (1900): yellowish green, sometimes a sunny cheek, with brown dots. Thomas (1903): golden yellow, slightly russeted, sometimes nearly overspread with russet, with a red cheek. Bunyard (1920): skin fairly smooth; colour pale yellow green with a dull red flush and a little russet streaking. Hedrick (1921): bright yellow with a brilliant cheek, the whole fruit being more or less mottled with golden russet; few pears are smoother of skin. Hedrick (1922): skin thin, tender, smooth; color yellow overlaid with a pinkish-red blush, faintly mottled with golden russet; dots numerous, whitish or russet, conspicuous.
Flesh and Flavor
Elliott (1865): melting, juicy; "very good." Downing (1900): juicy, melting, slightly aromatic, with a very good flavor; rated very good. Thomas (1903): buttery and melting, rich; when well ripened, delicious. Bunyard (1920): white, melting, very sweet and juicy. Hedrick (1921): a little dry and not as rich in flavor as most other varieties of its season, but so crisp and refreshingly piquant in contrast to the sweeter, buttery pears with which it ripens that the variety finds favor with all who like pears — its quality, as well as appearance, is pleasing. Hedrick (1922): flesh tinged with yellow, firm, granular, crisp, juicy, subacid; quality good. Sources thus disagree somewhat — earlier writers (Elliott, Downing, Thomas, Bunyard) emphasize melting, juicy, rich/sweet flesh, while Hedrick characterizes it as firmer, granular, subacid, drier, and refreshingly piquant rather than buttery.
Core and Seeds
Hedrick (1922): core small, closed, axile, with meeting core-lines; seeds long, plump, acute. Other sources do not describe the core or seeds.
Season
Elliott (1865): October. Downing (1900): September, October. Thomas (1903): ripens mid-autumn. Bunyard (1920): dessert, early to mid September. Hedrick (1921): just after Bartlett. Hedrick (1922): matures in late September and October.
Uses
Dessert pear (Bunyard 1920). Hedrick (1921) judges the variety of little value for commercial places but well worth planting in the home orchard if trees can be obtained, valued for its crisp, refreshingly piquant character in contrast to the sweeter, buttery pears with which it ripens.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Elliott (1865) records the variety as thus far productive and healthy on Quince rootstock, citing one little tree, two years planted, that yielded forty-three beautiful specimens in a single season. Hedrick (1921) notes that the color-plate shows the fruits to be prepossessing in appearance, and that the quality, as well as the appearance, is pleasing.
Book Sources
Described in 6 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 1 catalog (1900)
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
View original book sources (6)
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Beurre St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas, | Duchess of Orleans. Foreign. Tree, moderately vigorous, upright, olive-colored wood, leaves dark blue green, narrow. Thus far productive and healthy on Quince: one little tree, two years planted, this season yielded forty-three beautiful specimens. Fruit, large, oblong ovate pyriform, greenish, becoming greenish yellow, with stripes and patches of dull thin russet, sometimes red cheek in sun; stem, variable, fleshy at base; calyx, small, open, short segments: flesh, melting, juicy; "very good." October.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Duchesse d'Orleans.
Beurré St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas. Duc d'Orleans.
A French Pear, of which the precise location of origin is unknown. Tree a good grower, upright, with long jointed wood. Young shoots dull olive brown, slightly grayish.
Fruit rather above medium, elongated pyriform, narrowing towards the basin. Skin yellowish green, sometimes a sunny cheek, with brown dots. Stalk long, pretty large, curved. Calyx nearly closed, set in a shallow uneven basin. Flesh juicy, melting, slightly aromatic, with a very good flavor. Very good. September, October.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Duchesse d'Orleans. Large, often only medium, sometimes long pyriform, but usually obovate-pyriform, somewhat pyramidal; skin golden yellow, slightly russeted, sometimes nearly overspread with russet, with a red cheek; stalk thick, about an inch and a half long, scarcely sunk; basin small, even; flesh buttery and melting, rich; when well ripened, delicious. Ripens mid-autumn. A handsome, fine, French variety. Growth rather spreading, shoots yellowish green.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)DUCHESSE D'ORLEANS. Her. Pom. II., 32. F. Beurré St. Nicholas. G. Butterbirn von St. Nicholas. Dessert, early to mid September, medium to large, 3½ by 2½, long pyriform, tapering to eye, uneven. Skin, fairly smooth. Colour, pale yellow green with dull red flush and a little russet streaking. Flesh, white, melting, very sweet and juicy. Eye, closed, on surface. Stem, long and thin, rather fleshy and often lipped at base. Growth, moderate; fertility moderate. Origin, a chance seedling found near Angers, France, in 1839. Described and generally known in England as Duchesse d'Orleans, but the French name is the correct one.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)DUCHESSE D'ORLÉANS
- Kenrick Am. Orch. 143. 1841. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 68. 1862. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 749. 1869. 4. Hogg Fruit Man. 570. 1884. Duchess of Orleans. 5. Hovey Fr. Am. 1:91, Pl. 1851. Saint-Nicolas. 6. Pom. France 1: No. 33, Pl. 33. 1863. 7. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 343, fig. 1906. Beurré de Saint-Nicolas. 8. Mas Le Verger 3: Pt. 1, 137, fig. 67. 1866-73. 9. Leroy Dict. Pom. 1:426, fig. 1867. Butterbirne von Saint-Nicolas. 10. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 191. 1889.
In the middle of the last century this pear was heralded as one of the best of the French varieties which were then coming to this country in great numbers, but it is now almost lost to cultivation. While in no way remarkable, the variety is too valuable to be discarded. As the color-plate shows, the fruits are prepossessing in appearance. The pears are bright yellow, with a brilliant cheek, the whole fruit being more or less mottled with golden russet. Few pears are smoother of skin or more symmetrical in shape, and the fruits are more uniform in size than those of most varieties. The quality, as well as the appearance, is pleasing. While the flesh is a little dry and not as rich in flavor as that of most other varieties of its season, it is so crisp and refreshingly piquant in contrast to the sweeter, buttery pears with which it ripens, its season being just after that of Bartlett, that the variety finds favor with all who like pears. The variety fails in its tree-characters. Thus, the trees are late in coming in bearing; are not very vigorous; are somewhat tender to cold; and do not resist blight well. The variety has little value for commercial places, but if the trees can be obtained, is well worth planting in the home orchard.
This pear is a chance seedling found by M. Maurier near Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France, nearly a century ago. It was propagated by M. Flon, a nurseryman of Angers and fruited first in 1839. In England and America the variety has been chiefly known as Duchesse d'Orléans, but many French horticulturists have used the name Saint-Nicolas. The variety was added to the fruit-catalog list of the American Pomological Society in 1862, but was dropped from the list in 1871.
— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)DUCHESSE D'ORLEANS. Saint-Nicolas. While in no way remarkable, this variety is too valuable to be discarded. The pears are bright yellow with a brilliant cheek, the whole fruit being more or less mottled with golden russet; smooth of skin; symmetrical in shape; and the fruits are more uniform in size than those of most varieties. While the flesh is a little dry and not as rich in flavor as that of most other varieties of its season, it is so crisp and refreshingly piquant in contrast to the sweeter, buttery pears with which it ripens, that the variety finds favor with all who like pears. The variety fails in its tree-characters. The trees are late in coming in bearing; not very vigorous; somewhat tender to cold; and do not resist blight well. The variety is well worth planting in the home orchard. This pear is a chance seedling found by M. Maurier near Angers, France.
Tree medium in size and vigor, spreading, rapid-growing, moderately productive; branches medium in thickness and smoothness, reddish-brown, with few indistinct lenticels. Leaves 3 inches long, 1¾ inches wide; apex taper-pointed; margin tipped with small brownish glands, coarsely serrate; petiole inches long, glabrous, reddish-green. Flowers showy, 1¾ inches across, in dense clusters, average buds in a cluster, the petals widely separated at the base. Fruit matures in late September and October; medium in size, 2¾ inches long, 2¼ inches wide, obovate-acute-pyriform, symmetrical; stem inch long, thick; cavity lacking, the flesh drawn up in a symmetrical fold about the stem; calyx small, open; lobes separated at the base, narrow, acute; basin very shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth or slightly wrinkled; skin thin, tender, smooth; color yellow overlaid with a pinkish-red blush, faintly mottled with golden russet; dots numerous, whitish or russet, conspicuous; flesh tinged with yellow, firm, granular, crisp, juicy, subacid; quality good; core small, closed, axile, with meeting core-lines; calyx-tube short, conical; seeds long, plump, acute.