Easter Bergamot
Pear
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Easter Bergamot
Origin/History
An old French pear, noted as early as 1675 by Merlet, who called it Bergamote de Pasques or La Grilliere. It was early known in England; Stephen Switzer recorded seeing trees of it at Hampton Court growing against a wall said to have been erected by Queen Elizabeth, the trees appearing to have stood there since that time. The variety also appears in Coxe's 1817 American pomological survey under the name Easter Bergamot, or Paddington, though the text of that entry is not recoverable (see Other).
Tree
Not described in source.
Fruit
Size: Medium.
Form: Globular-turbinate, narrowing toward the stalk.
Stem: Not described in source.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Not described in source.
Basin: Not described in source.
Skin: Grayish-green, dull, changing to pale yellow at maturity; thickly dotted with brown.
Flesh/Flavor: Flesh white, semi-fine, gritty, breaking. Juice sweet, acid, with not much perfume or flavor. Rated second only on account of its extreme lateness.
Core/Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
March to May.
Uses
Not described in source.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
The Coxe (1817) entry — No. 43, Easter Bergamot, or Paddington — lists the variety on plate page 315, but the facing text page is entirely illegible: the plate illustration's ink bleeds through the paper, obscuring the printed description. No text from that source could be recovered.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 1 catalog (1864) from Oregon
- St. Helena Nursery , Howell's Prairie, Marion County , Oregon — 1864
View original book sources (2)
— William Coxe, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817)No. 43. Easter Bergamot, or Paddington.
[Text page (p. 315) is illegible — it is the reverse of the plate page and the illustration ink bleeds through, obscuring the printed description entirely. The entry text could not be transcribed from the available images.]
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)Easter Bergamot.
i. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 751. 1869. 2. Hogg Fruit Man. 572. 1884. Bergamote de Paques. 3. Leroy Dict. Pom. 1:250, fig. 1867.
An old French pear of which Merlet wrote in 1675, calling it Bergamote de Pasques or the La Grilliere. This variety was early known in England according to Switzer who saw trees of it at Hampton Court growing against a wall said to have been erected by Queen Elizabeth and which had every appearance of having stood there since that time. Fruit medium, globular-turbinate, narrowing toward the stalk, grayish-green, dull, changing to pale yellow, thickly dotted with brown; flesh white, semi-fine, gritty, breaking; juice sweet, acid, with not much perfume or flavor; second only, on account of its extreme lateness; Mar. to May.