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Joséphine De Malines

Pear
Illustration from Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)

Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)

Joséphine De Malines

[NOTE: Source text may be incorrect — the Thomas Rivers & Son catalogue entry (1914) is garbled ("most popular on the pome excellent, in a fruit or vigorous in"); only "medium," "a very late pear," "of good flavour," "a most precious flavour," and "most popular" are salvaged below.]

Origin / History

Belgian; listed by Elliott simply as "Foreign." Raised from seed about 1830 in the seed beds of Major Esperen, the well-known pomologist of Mechlin (Malines), Belgium, and named by him in honor of his wife. Bunyard gives the date as 1830. Introduced into America before 1850. Added in 1862 to the fruit-list of the American Pomological Society, a place it has since retained; that Society's Catalogue of 1897 carries it as "Malines" (Hedrick). Planted for trial at the Agassiz, B.C., station in spring 1892.

Downing says it "proves one among the best of winter varieties," and Thomas calls it "one of the best early winter pears." Bunyard calls it "quite the most reliable fruit of its season" and writes: "If one winter pear only can be grown this should be selected."

Hedrick counts it "another of the few good winter pears." Its fruit-characters are so distinctive and meritorious, he says, that it should be grown in every home orchard, and it possesses much merit for commercial plantations. In the orchard the trees are satisfactory, but nurserymen find them rather difficult to grow. Hedrick takes this to be the chief reason for the apparent neglect of "this splendid pear." He concludes that "the variety deserves wider recognition than it now receives." The garbled Rivers catalogue entry reads "most popular."

Tree

Vigor runs from not a good grower (Elliott) to large, vigorous, and rapid-growing (Hedrick). The other accounts give moderate or moderately vigorous growth, or a medium grower. Hedrick describes the tree as large, vigorous, spreading, tall, dense-topped, rapid-growing, hardy, and very productive. Habit rather weeping (Bunyard).

Trunk stocky. Branches thick, shaggy, reddish-brown overlaid with gray scarf-skin, marked with few lenticels. Branchlets thick, dull reddish-brown, smooth, glabrous, with small, raised, inconspicuous lenticels (Hedrick). Young wood olive yellow brown, very short-jointed (Downing).

Leaf-buds short, obtuse, plump, appressed (Hedrick); Downing calls the buds round and projecting.

Leaves small, narrow oval, sharply or taper-pointed, leathery. Margin very finely crenate (Bunyard) or finely serrate (Hedrick). Petiole very long. Leaves held flat, down-hanging, turning pale yellow (Bunyard). Hedrick's Pears of New York gives the leaves as 2½ in. long and 1½ in. wide, with a petiole of 1⅝ in.; his Cyclopedia gives 2¼ in. by 1¼ in., with a petiole of 1¾ in.

Flower-buds short, plump, free, averaging 7 buds in a cluster. Flowers early, white, occasionally tinged with pink, well distributed. Pedicels ⅝ in. long, slender, thinly pubescent. The flowers are 1½ in. across in the Pears of New York and 1¾ in. in the Cyclopedia.

Productive to very productive; everywhere prodigiously fruitful (Hedrick); fertility good (Bunyard). Elliott calls it not an early bearer.

Hardy and resistant to blight, thriving in almost any soil or situation suitable to pears. It thrives amazingly well on the white-thorn as well as on pear and quince stocks (Hedrick). Elliott calls it best on pear. On quince it forms a handsome pyramid (Thomas).

Fruit

Size: Medium; Bunyard alone calls it rather small. Hedrick measures it 2⅝ in. long and 2⅛ in. wide.

Form: Roundish oblate or conic-oblate, slightly pyriform in Downing's account (Downing, Thomas, Agassiz); short conical (Bunyard) to turbinate, inclined to truncate (Hedrick); roundish obovate (Elliott).

Stem: Long to very long and very thick, enlarged at both ends, curved (Thomas, Downing, Hedrick). Bunyard alone calls it rather short and woody.

Cavity: Slight, obtuse, shallow, narrow, slightly furrowed. Downing says the stalk is sometimes set in a small cavity.

Calyx: Open. Downing calls it small and Hedrick large. Segments short, stiff, upright or nearly erect. Hedrick describes the lobes as short, broad, obtuse, and the calyx-tube as short and wide.

Basin: Slight, narrow, obtuse, smooth. Thomas alone calls it large.

Skin: Thick, tough, dull (Hedrick); smooth (Bunyard). Ground pale green fading to pale yellow: pale greenish yellow, greenish yellow, yellowish, yellow. Netted and patched more or less with russet, especially around the stalk; in lighter accounts only traces and specks of russet, or "a little." Hedrick calls it "the shaded yellow-russet skin" and finds the fruits "not very pleasing in appearance." Elliott alone records "yellow blush in sun."

Dots: Many to numerous, small, brown or russet. Downing calls them minute and places them particularly around the calyx; Hedrick calls them conspicuous.

Flesh and flavor: The flesh color is the variety's marked peculiarity. Cut through the skin, the flesh shows a faint rosy tint: pinkish white, slightly pinkish, or light salmon, light salmon toward the center in Thomas's account. Several red or rosy-fleshed pears are grown in Europe, but this is the only one described by American pomologists (Hedrick). The Agassiz station calls the flesh white and Elliott yellowish white.

Melting to very melting, buttery, fine, granular, juicy to very juicy; Hedrick's Cyclopedia adds firm.

Sweet, with a delicate aroma, "deliciously perfumed" (Bunyard) or "slightly aromatic" (Hedrick). The other descriptors are vinous (Elliott); "of a sweet and peculiar flavor" (Thomas); "richly flavoured" (Veitch); and "of good flavour… a most precious flavour" (Rivers). Hedrick writes that the flesh is "buttery, juicy, sweet, and perfumed — pleasing in every character that gratifies the palate," and that the quality of the fruits commends the variety most highly.

Quality "very good" (Elliott, Downing, Agassiz); "good" in Hedrick's technical description.

Core and seeds: Core large (Elliott, Hedrick), closed, axile, with clasping core-lines. Carpels pyriform. Seeds large, wide, long, plump, acuminate (Hedrick).

Season

The recorded season runs from November to May. Most authors place it in early to mid winter, December or January through January or February; Hedrick's own technical description gives December to February. Hedrick calls the season exceedingly variable, given by pomologists from December to March and January to May. Veitch gives November and December yet calls it a pear "for late use." Thomas says it often keeps till midwinter and later, and the Rivers catalogue calls it "a very late pear." In the fruit room it ripens successively (Bunyard).

Uses

Dessert. Veitch calls it an "excellent pear for late use." Hedrick commends it for every home orchard and credits it with much merit for commercial plantations.

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Illustrated in Thomas (Fig. 729) and Hedrick's Cyclopedia (Fig. 85). Hedrick remarks that the illustration in his Pears of New York "scarcely does them justice in either size or color." Bunyard cites "Her. Pom., II., 70." Hedrick's references run from McIntosh Bk. Gard. (1855) through Bunyard (1920), and include Pom. France, Leroy, and Hogg.

Book Sources

Described in 6 period pomological works

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 25 catalogs (1849–1918) from California, England, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington

View original book sources (9)

Josephine de Malines.

Foreign; not an early bearer or a good grower; best on Pear. Fruit, medium, roundish obovate, yellow blush in sun, traces and specks of russet; calyx, open; core, large: flesh, yellowish white, melting, fine, juicy, vinous; "very good." December, January.

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

Josephine de Malines.

Raised by Major Esperen, of Malines, and proves one among the best of winter varieties. Tree moderately vigorous and productive. Young wood olive yellow brown, very short-jointed. Buds round, projecting.

Fruit medium, roundish oblate, slightly pyriform, pale greenish yellow, netted and patched with russet, especially around the stalk, and with many minute brown dots, particularly around the calyx. Stalk enlarged at both ends, curved, sometimes set in a small cavity. Calyx small, open. Segments short, stiff, nearly erect. Flesh pinkish white, juicy, melting, sweet, with a delicate aroma. Very good. January, February.

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

Josephine de Malines.* Size medium, conic-oblate; yellowish with small dots; stalk very long, cavity slight, basin large; flesh of a light salmon color toward the centre, buttery, of a sweet and peculiar flavor. The tree forms a handsome pyramid on quince. This is one of the best early winter pears, often keeping till midwinter and later. Belgian. Fig. 729.

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

JOSEPHINE DE MALINES. Her. Pom., II., 70. Dessert, December to January, rather small, short conical. Skin, smooth. Colour, pale green, fading to pale yellow, with a russet patch round stem. Flesh, slightly pinkish, very melting, sweet and deliciously perfumed. Eye, open in a slight basin, upright segments. Stem, rather short and woody. Growth, moderate, rather weeping; fertility good. Leaf, small, very long petiole, very finely crenate, narrow oval, sharply pointed, held flat, down hanging, turns pale yellow. Origin, raised by Major Esperen in 1830, and named after his wife. Quite the most reliable fruit of its season, ripening successively in the fruit room. If one winter pear only can be grown this should be selected.

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

JOSÉPHINE DE MALINES

  1. McIntosh Bk. Gard. 2:461. 1855. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 68. 1862. 3. Pom. France 2: No. 50, Pl. 50. 1864. 4. Jour. Hort. N. S. 14:67. 1868. 5. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 793, fig. 1869. 6. Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:310, fig. 1869. 7. Guide Prat. 61, 282. 1876. 8. Jour. Hort. 3rd Ser. 5:565, fig. 96. 1882. 9. Hogg Fruit Man. 599. 1884. 10. Bunyard Handb. Hardy Fr. 182. 1920.

Joséphine von Mecheln. 11. Dochnahl Führ. Obstkunde 2:93. 1856. 12. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 239. 1889. 13. Gaucher Pom. Prak. Obst. No. 50, Pl. 31. 1894.

Malines. 14. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 24. 1897.

This is another of the few good winter pears. The fruit-characters are so distinctive and meritorious that the variety should be grown in every home orchard, and it possesses much merit for commercial plantations. The fruits have a marked peculiarity. Cut through the shaded yellow-russet skin, flesh with a faint, rosy tint is displayed. Several red or rosy-fleshed pears are grown in Europe, but this is the only one described by American pomologists. The tree also, has a marked peculiarity; it thrives amazingly well on the white-thorn as well as on pear and quince stocks. But it is the quality of the fruits that commends the variety most highly. The flesh is buttery, juicy, sweet, and perfumed — pleasing in every character that gratifies the palate. The season is exceedingly variable, and is given by different pomologists from December to March and January to May. The fruits are not very pleasing in appearance, but the accompanying illustration scarcely does them justice in either size or color. In the orchard, the trees are satisfactory, but the nurserymen find them rather difficult to grow, this, no doubt, being the chief reason for the apparent neglect of this splendid pear. The trees thrive in almost any soil or situation suitable to pears, and are everywhere prodigiously fruitful, hardy, and resistant to blight. The variety deserves wider recognition than it now receives.

This pear originated about 1830 in the seed beds of Major Espéren, the well-known pomologist of Mechlin (Malines), Belgium, who named it Joséphine de Malines in honor of his wife. It was introduced in America prior to 1850, and in 1862 was added to the fruit-list of the American Pomological Society, a place it has since retained.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, tall, dense-topped, rapid-growing, hardy, very productive; trunk stocky; branches thick, shaggy, reddish-brown overlaid with gray scarf-skin, marked with few lenticels; branchlets thick, dull reddish-brown, smooth, glabrous, with small, raised, inconspicuous lenticels.

Leaf-buds short, obtuse, plump, appressed. Leaves 2½ in. long, 1½ in. wide, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin finely serrate; petiole 1⅝ in. long. Flower-buds short, plump, free; flowers early, 1½ in. across, white, occasionally tinged with pink, well distributed, average 7 buds in a cluster; pedicels ⅝ in. long, slender, thinly pubescent.

Fruit ripe December to February; medium in size, 2⅝ in. long, 2⅛ in. wide, turbinate, inclined to truncate; stem long, very thick; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, slightly furrowed; calyx large, open; lobes short, broad, obtuse; basin narrow, obtuse, smooth; skin thick, tough, dull; color pale greenish-yellow, netted and patched more or less with russet; dots numerous, small, brown or russet, conspicuous; flesh light salmon, granular, melting, buttery, very juicy, sweet, slightly aromatic; quality good. Core large, closed, axile, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide; carpels pyriform; seeds large, wide, long, plump, acuminate.

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

JOSE'PHINE DE MALINES.

Fig. 85. Malines. This is one of the few good winter pears. Its fruit-characters are so distinctive and meritorious that the variety should be grown in every home orchard. The fruits have a marked peculiarity; cut through the shaded yellow-russet skin, flesh with a faint, rosy tint is displayed. But it is the quality of the fruits that commends the variety most. The flesh is buttery, juicy, sweet, and perfumed pleasing in every character that gratifies the palate. The season is exceedingly variable, being given variously by pomologists from December to March and January to May. In the orchard, the trees are satisfactory, but nurserymen find them difficult to grow; this, no doubt, is the chief reason for the neglect of this excellent pear. The trees thrive in almost any soil or situation suitable to pears, and are fruitful, hardy, and resistant to blight. The variety deserves wider recognition than it now receives.

This pear originated about 1830 in the seed-beds of Major Esperen, the well-known pomologist of Mechlin, Belgium.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, tall, dense-topped, rapid-growing, hardy, very productive; trunk stocky; branches thick, shaggy, reddish-brown, marked with few lenticels. Leaves 2¼ inches long, 1¼ inches wide, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin finely serrate; petiole 1¾ inches long. Flowers early, 1¾ inches across, white, occasionally tinged with pink, well distributed, average buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe December-February; medium in size, turbinate, inclined to truncate; stem long, very thick; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, slightly furrowed; calyx large, open; lobes short, broad, obtuse; basin narrow, obtuse, smooth; skin thick, tough, dull; color pale greenish-yellow, netted and patched more or less with russet; dots numerous, small, brown or russet, conspicuous; flesh pinkish-white, firm, granular, melting, buttery, very juicy, sweet, slightly aromatic; quality good; core large, closed, axile, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide; carpels pyriform; seeds large, wide, long, plump, acuminate.

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

Planted Spring 1892. Tree a medium grower. Fruit of medium size, roundish, oblate. Skin greenish yellow, with a little russet and many brown dots. Flesh white, juicy, melting, sweet, quality very good. Season January.

— Central Experimental Farm, Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz BC — Catalogue of Fruit Trees under Test (Bulletin No. 3, 1900) (1900)

medium, melting, juicy and richly flavoured. Excellent pear for late use Nov. & Dec.

— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)

medium, a very late pear; of good flavour, and is a most precious flavour; most popular on the pome excellent, in a fruit or vigorous in

— Thomas Rivers & Son, Thomas Rivers Catalogue of Fruits (1914) (1914)
Josephine Joséphine von Mecheln Malines