Forelle

2. FORELLE.

[Syn: Forellenbirne; Corail; Corille; Grain de Corail; Petit Corail; Truite; Trout Pear.]

This is a very old variety, and a native of Germany, where it has been cultivated for some 200 years. Dr. Diel supposes it to have originated in northern Saxony.

Description.—Fruit, medium sized, elongated, obovate, but sometimes pyriform in shape. Skin, smooth, shining, of a fine lemon-yellow colour on the shaded side, and bright crimson on the side next the sun, covered with numerous crimson spots, which from their resemblance to the markings on a trout, have suggested the name it bears. Eye, small, set in a rather shallow basin. Stalk, an inch long, slender, inserted in a small shallow cavity. Flesh, white, delicate, buttery, and melting, with a rich sugary and vinous flavour.

This is a delicious flavoured pear when grown on a south wall, which it requires in Herefordshire. The tree grows freely, but is uncertain in bearing. The blossoms in Spring should be protected with sprays of fir, yew tree, or common larch. This pear ripens in November and its great beauty will always recommend it for the dessert table. A coloured drawing of it is given in the Transactions of the Horticultural Society (London,) Vol. V., p. 409.

— Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, The Herefordshire Pomona (1885)

Forelle.

Forellen-birne. Corail. Petit Corail. Grave de Corail. Poire Truite. Trout Pear.

This exquisitely beautiful German Pear — called in that language Forellen-birne, i. e., trout pear, from its finely speckled appearance — is one of the most attractive dessert fruits. Young shoots long, with few and dark-colored branches.

Fruit oblong ovate, inclining to pyriform, smooth, at first green, but when fully ripe lemon yellow, washed with rich deep red on the sunny side, where it is marked with large, margined, crimson specks. Stalk rather slender, slightly curved, shallow, uneven cavity. Calyx rather small. Basin abruptly sunk. Flesh white, fine-grained, buttery, melting, slightly vinous. Good. Beginning of November, and may be kept, with care, till Christmas.

— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)

FORELLE

1. Trans. Lond. Hort. Soc. 5:408, Pl. XVII. 1824. 2. Pom. Mag. 3:112, Pl. 1830. 3. Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 399. 1831. 4. Prince Pom. Man. 1:130. 1831. 5. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 389, fig. 169. 1845. 6. Mag. Hort. 13:339, fig. 27. 1847. 7. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 765. 1869. 8. Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:183, figs. 1869. 9. Mas Pom. Gen. 1:115, fig. 58. 1872. Forellenbirne. 10. Christ Handb. 514. 1817. 11. Dochnahl Führ. Obstkunde 2:12. 1856. 12. Lauche Deut. Pom. II: No. 23, Pl. 23. 1882. Florelle. 13. Prince Treat. Hort. 13. 1828. Trout Pear. 14. Gard. Chron. 804, fig. 1846.

The pear fancier prizes Forelle for its singularly handsome and distinctive fruits, which are also of very good quality. Forelle pleases the eye as well as any pear for bright colors, and is distinguished among fruits of its kind by its trout-like specklings from which comes the name Forelle, the German name for trout. Looks do not belie taste for the flesh is delicate and buttery, is highly flavored, and satisfies those who regard high quality a prime requisite in a pear. The trees are very satisfactory in warm soils and exposures, but fail in heavy clays and cold climates. The variety is worth growing for its beautiful and distinctive fruits.

Nothing is very certainly known of the origin of this pear, but it seems highly probable that it had its birth in northern Saxony at the beginning of the eighteenth century. From Germany it was taken to Flanders, and from there introduced into England. In the latter country, it was first fruited by Thomas Andrew Knight, President of the Horticultural Society of London, who, in 1823, sent cions to the Honorable John Lowell, President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Forelle became quite widely disseminated in the eastern United States during the first half of the eighteenth century, and was considered by many pomologists a pear of merit. At the present time, however, the variety has almost disappeared from cultivation. Its place has been filled by Vermont Beauty, a pear introduced from Vermont more than forty years ago. It is not improbable that these two varieties are identical. Vermont Beauty may be the old German pear renamed.

Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright, very hardy and very productive; branches few, dark brownish-red, sprinkled with numerous lenticels; branchlets long, pubescent on the youngest shoots. Leaves small, flat, roundish-ovate; flowers open early.

Fruit ripens November to December; medium in size, 3 in. long, 2 in. wide, oblong-obovate-pyriform, with a neck variable in length; stem 1 in. long, slender; cavity shallow, oblique, narrow, often lipped; calyx small, open; lobes broad; basin shallow, narrow, abrupt; skin smooth; color yellow, more or less overlaid with red, deepening to rich crimson next to the sun, profusely covered with grayish-russet dots which are margined or rayed with crimson; dots numerous, large and small, russet or grayish; flesh white, fine-grained, although slightly granular at the center, melting, buttery, juicy, aromatic, with a rich, vinous flavor; quality good. Core medium in size; seeds nearly black, of medium size.

— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)

Forelle. Trout Pear, | Poire Truite, | Forellenbirne. Foreign. Deserves more attention than it has yet received. Tree, vigorous, productive on Quince or Pear ; wood, violet red, young shoots, downy. Fruit, medium, oblong obovate, dull yellow in shade, vermilion in sun, grayish dots, margined with crimson ; stem, slender ; calyx, partly open ; core, medium ; flesh, white, fine-grained, buttery, melting, juicy, vinous ; "very good" or "best." October. November.

— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)

Forelle. (Trout Pear.) Medium or rather large, pyriform, approaching oblong-obovate; green, becoming clear yellow, with a deep vermilion cheek, dots margined with crimson; stalk an inch long, slender; cavity moderate; basin rather abrupt and narrow; flesh buttery and melting, but not rich. Late autumn. Shoots dark, purplish; leaves small, nearly flat. German. A pear of great beauty, which has contributed to its reputation.

— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)

FORELLE. Her. Pom., I., 9. F. Truitee. G. Forellenbirne. (Trout Pear, Corail.) Dessert, November to January, medium, shortened pyriform, even. Skin, smooth. Colour, lemon yellow with brilliant scarlet cheeks and many conspicuous large dots. Flesh, white, melting, with a delicate and sweet taste. Eye, open in a shallow basin. Stem, long, slender, in a shallow cavity. Growth, vigorous, outward spreading ; fertility moderate. Leaf, flat, much down curved, margin nearly entire. Origin, known since 1670, and named for its bold spots resembling those of the trout. Best on Pear ; it is too much dwarfed on Quince.

— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)

FORELLE. Trout Pear. The fruits of Forelle satisfy the eye for bright colors, and are distinguished by trout-like specklings from which comes "Forelle," the German name for trout. Looks belie taste, however, for while the flesh is delicate and buttery, it is not highly flavored and disappoints those who regard high quality a prime requisite in a pear. The trees are very satisfactory in warm soils and exposure, but fail in heavy clays and cold climates. The variety is worth growing for its beautiful and distinctive fruits. The variety originated in northern Saxony at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright, very hardy and very productive; branches few, dark brownish-red, sprinkled with numerous lenticels. Leaves small, flat, round-ovate. Flowers open early. Fruit ripens November-December; medium in size, [2¼] inches long, [1¾] inches wide, oblong-obovate-pyriform, with a neck variable in length; stem [¾] inch long, slender; cavity shallow, oblique, narrow, often lipped; calyx small, open; lobes broad; basin shallow, narrow, abrupt; skin smooth; color yellow, more or less overlaid with pinkish-red, deepening to rich crimson next to the sun, profusely covered with grayish-russet dots which are margined or rayed with crimson; dots numerous, large and small, russet or grayish; flesh white, fine-grained, granular at the center, melting, buttery, juicy, aromatic, with a rich, vinous flavor; quality good; core medium in size; seeds nearly black, of medium size.

— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)