Le Curé Pear
Pear
Le Curé Pear
Origin / History
The Le Curé Pear was first published in the Bon Jardinier in 1836 under the name Le Curé. It was found in the woods by M. Clion, a French curate, and in all the principal French collections it is known as Le Curé or Mons. Le Curé. Other names followed in the trade and in print. The Vicar of Winkfield appears in the London Horticultural Society's Catalogue of 1842 (3rd edition), where the name was taken from a tree received from France and growing in a vicar's garden in England, which had first produced fruit there. Monsieur le Curé and Dumas appear in the same catalogue. Kenrick's New American Orchardist lists Clion's name for it, and the Book of Fruits of 1838 lists it as No. 67. Belle Heloise and Burgermeester are given as incorrect names in certain French collections and in the Book of Fruits.
Poiteau and other eminent French pomologists identified the Le Curé Pear with the Saint Lezain, an old and well known variety that had been cultivated in France for more than half a century. C.M. Hovey, in The Fruits of America (1852), states that after a careful investigation and the examination of many trees, he believed the venerable Poiteau to have been right. He adopted the name Le Curé because it is everywhere known in France, and noted that time was still required to make the identity positive. Hovey generally adopted the Society's catalogue as the authority in nomenclature, but declined to follow it in this instance, where he judged the error to be gross.
Tree
The tree is very vigorous and generally upright in habit. The annual shoots are often irregular and spreading, and occasionally drooping. The wood is brownish olive, marked with large, prominent, grayish specks, stout, and rather short-jointed. Old wood is dull grayish olive. The buds are of medium size, obtuse, and little flattened. The flower-buds are large and obovate.
The leaves are large, roundish, and shortly pointed, thick, and deep glossy green, with the edges incurved. They are rather deeply and irregularly serrated. The petioles are of medium length, about one and a half inches long, and stout. The foliage is broad and deep green. The flowers are large, with large, roundish, cupped petals.
The tree bears early and is immensely productive. It succeeds admirably upon the quince. In favorable soils and seasons it bears a very excellent pear.
Fruit
Size: Very large, about five inches long and two and three quarters inches in diameter.
Form: Oblong pyramidal, angular at the crown, largest above the middle, tapering little towards the eye, and slightly contracted near the stem. No pear is more variable in its form than this, and this variability has given rise to its numerous synonyms.
Stem: Medium length, about one inch long, moderately stout, curved and twisted, and wrinkled. It is swollen and fleshy at the base and set upon an obtuse point on one side of a slight projection.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: The eye is large and open. The segments of the calyx are rather short, rounded, and quite reflexed.
Basin: The eye is slightly depressed in a very shallow basin.
Skin: Fair and nearly smooth, dull green when immature, becoming pale lemon yellow when mature, considerably suffused with red on the sunny side, and somewhat traced with russet.
Dots: Regularly covered with rather large russet specks.
Flesh and flavor: Flesh yellowish white, melting and juicy. Flavor sprightly, rich, and saccharine, with a little perfume. In favorable soils and seasons it is a very excellent pear.
Core and seeds: Core small. Seeds of medium size, long and pointed.
Season
The fruit ripens in December and often keeps until February. Its long keeping is counted among its great merits.
Uses
The Le Curé Pear is excellent as a baking pear. Its large size and its quality at all times recommend it for this purpose.
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 4 catalogs (1845–1900) from Massachusetts
- Winship's Nursery (Brighton Nurseries , operated by the Winship family), Brighton (Boston) , Massachusetts — 1845 — listed as Burgermeester
- Hovey & Co. , Cambridge , Massachusetts — 1849 — listed as Belle Heloise
- Hovey & Co. , Cambridge , Massachusetts — 1849 — listed as Burgermeester
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
View original book sources (1)
— C.M. Hovey, The Fruits of America (1852)LE CURÉ PEAR.
Le Curé. Bon Jardinier, 1836. Vicar of Winkfield, } Monsieur le Curé, } Hort. Soc. Catalogue, 3d Ed. 1842. Dumas, } Clion, Kenrick's New Am. Orchardist. Monsieur, } Belle Heloise, (incorrectly,) } of some French Collections. Belle de Berry } Pater Notte, } Burgermeester, (incorrectly.) Book of Fruits, 1838, No. 67.
Much confusion exists in regard to the correct name of this pear. Poiteau, and other eminent French pomologists, have pronounced it identical with the Saint Lezain, an old and well known variety in France, where it has been cultivated for more than half a century; but, in all the principal collections, it is now known as Le Curé, or Mons. Le Curé, from its having been found in the woods by M. Clion, a French curate. Recently, the London Horticultural Society, in their Catalogue for 1842, have called it the Vicar of Winkfield, from the circumstance of a tree growing in his garden, received from France, having first produced fruit in England. We have been induced to adopt the Society's catalogue as authority in nomenclature; but, in this and some other instances where there are gross errors, we cannot consent to perpetuate them. After a careful investigation of the subject, and the examination of many trees, we believe that the venerable Poiteau was right in considering it identical with the Saint Lezain; but, as time is required to render this positive, we adopt the name, every where known in France, of Le Curé.
No pear is more variable in its form than this, and this has given rise to the numerous synonymes. In favorable soils and seasons, it is a very excellent pear. Its great merits are the vigor of the tree, — its broad and deep green foliage, — its immense productiveness, — the large size of the fruit, — its long keeping, — and, at all times, its excellence as a baking pear. It bears early, and succeeds admirably upon the quince.
Tree. — Very vigorous, generally upright in habit, the annual shoots often irregular and spreading, and occasionally drooping.
Wood. — Brownish olive, with large, prominent, grayish specks, stout, and rather short-jointed; old wood dull grayish olive; buds medium size, obtuse, and little flattened : Flower-buds, large, obovate.
Leaves. — Large, roundish, shortly pointed, thick, deep glossy green, incurved at the edges, and rather deeply and irregularly serrated; petioles medium length, about one and a half inches long, stout.
Flowers. — Large; petals large, roundish, cupped.
Fruit. — Very large, about five inches long, and two and three quarters in diameter : Form, oblong pyramidal, angular at the crown, largest above the middle, tapering little towards the eye, and slightly contracted near the stem : Skin, fair, nearly smooth, dull green, becoming, when mature, of a pale lemon yellow, considerably suffused with red on the sunny side, somewhat traced with russet, and regularly covered with rather large russet specks : Stem, medium length, about one inch long, moderately stout, curved and twisted, wrinkled, swollen, and fleshy at the base, and set upon an obtuse point on one side of a slight projection : Eye, large, open, slightly depressed in a very shallow basin; segments of the calyx rather short, rounded, and quite reflexed : Flesh, yellowish white, melting and juicy : Flavor, sprightly, rich, and saccharine, with a little perfume : Core, small : Seeds, medium size, long and pointed.
Ripe in December, and often keeps till February.