Mount Vernon.

Walker's Seedling.

A chance seedling, originated in the grounds of Samuel Walker, Roxbury, Mass., and by him named Mount Vernon. The tree is a vigorous grower, and an early bearer. Young wood yellow reddish brown.

Fruit medium or above, varying in form, but generally roundish obtuse pyriform, light russet on a yellow ground, brownish red in the sun. Stalk short, inserted by a lip, with little or no depression. Calyx small, closed, with short segments. Flesh yellowish, granulated, juicy, melting, slightly vinous and slightly aromatic. Very good. November, December.

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

Mount Vernon.* (Walker's Seedling.) Medium, obovate, irregular; dull brownish russet, with a red cheek; stalk very short, oblique, scarcely sunk; basin shallow, smooth; flesh greenish-white, a little coarse, rich, vinous, aromatic. October, November. Roxbury, Mass.

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

Mount Vernon. — Medium to large, roundish, obtuse pyriform; color yellowish, netted, and nearly covered with light yellowish russet; stalk short, inclined by raised lip. Flesh yellowish, granular, juicy, melting, quite vinous, quality good. Grown in several States. Massachusetts.

— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)

MOUNT VERNON

1. Am. Jour. Hort. 3:144, figs. 1868. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 818. 1869. 3. Horticulturist 24:307, fig. 1869. 4. Ibid. 26:361. 1871. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 20. 1871. 6. Horticulturist 27:204. 1872. 7. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 2:256. 1903.

As a distinct type, and because the pears ripen at a season when there are few other varieties of this fruit, Mount Vernon has a prominent place in the list of worthy American pears. The top-shaped form and reddish-russet color give the pear a unique appearance, and with the greenish-yellow, granular, spicy, piquant flesh constitute very distinct characters in its quality. Unfortunately, the russet color is not well brought out in the accompanying color-plate. Lack of uniformity in shape and size are the chief defects in the appearance of the pears. The variety is valuable because it ripens its crop in early winter from which time, under good conditions, it may be kept until mid-winter, a season in which there are few good pears. The trees are unusually satisfactory in most of the characters of importance in a good pear-tree. The tree is vigorous but the head is small, with numerous, short, stocky branches, many of which droop. The aspect given the top by these peculiarities is quite distinct. The variety is worthy when a winter pear is wanted whether for home or market.

This pear, which is very distinct from any other variety, originated from a chance seedling in the garden of Samuel Walker, Roxbury, Massachusetts, at the end of the first half of the nineteenth century.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, with many drooping branches, dense-topped, hardy, productive, long-lived; trunk stocky; branches thick, shaggy, reddish-brown, overcast with gray scarf-skin, marked by few large lenticels; branchlets thick, with short internodes, grayish-brown, smooth, glabrous, with a few large, raised lenticels.

Leaf-buds variable in shape, usually free. Leaves 3½ in. long, 1½ in. wide, oval, medium to thick, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin crenate, tipped with rudimentary glands; petiole 1¼ in. long. Flower-buds large, long, conical or pointed, free; flowers 1⅛ in. across, in dense clusters, 7 to 9 buds in a cluster; pedicels ⅞ in. long, slender, lightly pubescent, pale green, with a faint tinge of red.

Fruit ripe in late October and November; medium in size, 2⅜ in. long, 2⅜ in. wide, uniform in size, roundish-obtuse-pyriform, irregular, with unequal sides, variable in shape; stem 1 in. long, thick, usually curved; cavity obtuse, very shallow and narrow, russeted, furrowed, often very heavily lipped, so that the stem appears to be inserted under a fleshy enlargement; calyx open; lobes short, narrow, acute to acuminate; basin narrow, obtuse, smooth, usually symmetrical; skin granular, roughened by russet, dull; color light russet overspreading a greenish-yellow ground, with a brownish-red blush on the exposed cheek, dotted and netted with russet; dots numerous, small, russet, obscure; flesh white, with a faint tinge of yellow, often with a green tinge under the skin, granular, tender and melting, juicy, sweet, aromatic, with a vinous tendency; quality good to very good. Core large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds variable in size, wide, long, plump, acute, many abortive.

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

MOUNT VERNON. Fig. 90. As a distinct type, and because the pears ripen at a season when there are few other varieties of this fruit, Mount Vernon has a prominent place in the list of worthy American pears. The top shape and reddish-russet color make this a unique pear in appearance, and the greenish-yellow, granular, spicy, piquant flesh constitute very distinct characters in the quality of the fruits. Lack of uniformity in shape and small size are the chief defects. The variety becomes further valuable because it ripens in early winter, and under good conditions may be kept until midwinter. The tree is vigorous but has a small, dense head with numerous, short, stocky branches, many of which droop, the aspect given the top by these peculiarities being quite distinct. The variety is worthy when a winter pear is wanted whether for home or market.

Mount Vernon originated from a chance seedling in the garden of Samuel Walker, Roxbury, Massachusetts, about 1847.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, with many drooping branches, dense-topped, hardy, productive, long-lived; trunk stocky, medium to rough; branches thick, somewhat shaggy, reddish-brown, marked by few large lenticels. Leaves 2½ inches long, 1¼ inches wide, oval, medium to thick, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin crenate, tipped with rudimentary glands; petiole 1¼ inches long. Flowers 1¾ inches across, in dense clusters, to buds in a cluster.

Fruit ripe in late October and November; medium in size, 2¾ inches long, 2¾ inches wide, uniform in size, oblong-pyriform, with unequal sides; stem ¾ inch long, thick, usually curved; cavity obtuse, shallow and narrow, russeted, furrowed, often heavily lipped; calyx open; lobes short, narrow, acuminate; basin narrow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin granular, roughened by russet, dull; color light russet overspreading a greenish-yellow ground, with a brownish-red blush on the exposed cheek, dotted and netted with russet; dots numerous, small, russet, obscure; flesh with a faint tinge of yellow, granular, tender and melting, juicy, sweet, aromatic; quality good to very good; core large, closed, with clasping corelines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds variable in size, wide, long, plump, acute, many abortive.

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

Planted Spring 1890. Tree a strong grower but a shy bearer. Fruit of medium size, roundish, pyriform. Skin yellowish, with a reddish cheek, and a little russet. Flesh yellowish, juicy, granular with an aromatic flavour. Season November.

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