Olivier De Serres
PearOlivier De Serres
[NOTE: Source text may be incorrect — the George Bunyard & Co. catalog entry (1914) contradicts itself. It calls the fruit both "large" and "Medium size", the flesh both "fairly juicy" and "very juicy", and gives a season of "Oct." that disagrees with every other source. It may be a garbled table row; its details are included below with caution.]
Origin / History
Olivier De Serres was raised by M. Boisbunel of Rouen, France, from seed of Fortunée (Fortunée d'Angers, per Bunyard), about the middle of the nineteenth century (Hedrick). Bunyard says it first fruited in 1861. Hedrick says it fruited a few years after it was raised but did not receive attention until about 1862. At that time it was brought to the notice of the French Society of Horticulture and "pronounced a fruit of merit."
At M. Boisbunel's suggestion it was named after Olivier de Serres, called in France "The Father of Agriculture" (Hedrick). Bunyard calls him "the great French Agronome" whose "Theatre d'Agriculture" was first published in 1600, and to whose birthplace Arthur Young made a pious pilgrimage.
The variety was brought to America about 1865 (Hedrick). Downing's fruit description is credited "(Verg.)". He called it a new sort "reputed of first quality in France" that "has not yet fruited here."
In Europe it is rated a "delicious late-winter pear" (Hedrick 1921; "valuable late winter pear" in the 1922 Cyclopedia). Bunyard counts it "One of the best of late varieties," and the George Bunyard catalog calls it "valuable." Hedrick records that the pomological writers of the last century gave it on this side of the Atlantic all the virtues ascribed to it by Europeans. On closer study of the variety as grown in America, and in New York in particular, he found that it "does not possess the merits in this country given it by the French and English." Its quality there is below that of several other sorts of its season. Its tree-characters are good but "are not sufficiently good to offset the faults of the fruits."
Tree
Tree medium in size, dense-topped, rather spreading to upright-spreading. Downing and Hedrick call it vigorous; Bunyard gives growth as "rather weak and dwarf." Trunk and branches marked with numerous lenticels; medium in thickness and smoothness (Hedrick 1922).
Young wood slender, rich yellow brown (Downing). Hedrick describes the branchlets as slender, short, curved, with short internodes, light reddish-brown tinged with green, sprinkled with scattering, inconspicuous, very small, raised lenticels. Leaf-buds small, short, sharply pointed, free; leaf-scars with prominent shoulders.
Leaves long, narrow, much upfolded, 2½ in. long and 1¼ in. wide (Hedrick 1921; 2¾ in. long in the 1922 Cyclopedia). Apex taper-pointed. Margin glandular, finely, neatly, and markedly serrate. Petiole slender, ¾ in. long (2 inches in the 1922 Cyclopedia). Leaves turn yellow-brown in autumn, occasionally a little red (Bunyard).
Flower-buds small, short, sharply pointed, free, borne singly on short spurs. Flowers showy, with an unpleasant odor, 1⅝ in. across (1 5/16 in. in the 1922 Cyclopedia). Pedicels 1 in. long, thinly pubescent.
Productive to very productive, "a good bearer" (Veitch), "Prolific" (George Bunyard catalog). Bunyard alone gives fertility as irregular.
Veitch says it requires a warm position, and Bunyard that it deserves a wall to bring it to perfection. The George Bunyard catalog calls it hardy and "pretty good for open-ground."
Fruit
Size: Medium to large; Bunyard, Hedrick, and Veitch call it medium, Downing and Budd & Hansen medium to large. The George Bunyard catalog says both "large" and "Medium size." About 2¾ in. long by 2½ in. wide (Hedrick, Bunyard); 2⅝ by 2⅝ in. in the 1922 Cyclopedia.
Form: Irregular in form and outline, generally roundish. Bunyard calls it round, much flattened, apple-like, and uneven. Hedrick calls it roundish-obtuse-pyriform and truncate at both ends.
Stem: Medium (Bunyard), variable in length, averaging ¾ in. long (Hedrick). Stout or thick, woody, enlarged at the top, curved.
Cavity: Deep, broad, slightly furrowed.
Calyx: Large, a little or slightly open.
Basin: Deep (Bunyard), variable in depth (Hedrick), furrowed.
Skin: Rough, tender. Ground deep yellow, greenish-yellow, or olive green, with a shade of rough russet to partly overspread with cinnamon-russet to covered with rough russet. Sometimes a dull blush on the exposed cheek, slight in the 1922 Cyclopedia. Veitch calls the fruit dark brownish and "of good colour"; the George Bunyard catalog calls it gold and golden-russet. Bunyard says the illustration in the Herefordshire Pomona shows it too yellow, and that the fruit is "more greenish brown in reality."
Dots: Many reddish russet dots in the sun (Downing).
Flesh and flavor: Flesh white or whitish, juicy, tender, melting (Downing, Budd & Hansen) or half melting (Bunyard). The George Bunyard catalog calls it buttery, fairly tender, and both "fairly juicy" and "very juicy." Fine (Downing; the George Bunyard catalog) against coarse and gritty as grown in New York (Hedrick), who calls the texture variable. Flavor sweet to very sweet, rich, with a delicate perfume (Downing). Bunyard gives a brisk musky flavor. Hedrick finds it "mediocre," varying from sweet to a brisk, vinous flavor.
Budd & Hansen rate it "very good to best," and the George Bunyard catalog "excellent flavored" and "first rate." Hedrick gives quality "poor unless grown under the most favorable conditions," below that of several other sorts of its season.
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
A late-winter pear, January to April, with February and March common to every dated account. Hedrick begins it in January, and Bunyard extends it to April. Budd & Hansen call it "quite late winter," keeping as well as Josephine of Malines. The George Bunyard catalog alone gives October.
Uses
A dessert pear (Bunyard).
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Bunyard cites the Herefordshire Pomona, vol. II, p. 40. Hedrick's references include Mas, Le Verger (1866–73); Downing (1869); Leroy, Dictionnaire de Pomologie (1869); Tilton, Journal of Horticulture (1871); Oberdieck (1881); Journal of Horticulture, 3rd series (1882); Hogg, Fruit Manual (1884); Gaucher (1894); and Deutschlands Obstsorten (1909).
Book Sources
Described in 5 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 13 catalogs (1897–1917) from England, Washington
- Kelway & Son , Langport, Somerset , England — 1897 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1910 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1911 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- Thomas Rivers & Son , Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire , England — 1913 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1914 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1915 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1916 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917 — listed as Olivier des Serres
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1917 — listed as Olivier des Serres
View original book sources (7)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Olivier de Serres.
Originated with M. Boisbunel, Rouen, France. Tree vigorous, rather spreading, and very productive. Young wood slender, rich yellow brown. A new sort, reputed of first quality in France. It has not yet fruited here.
Fruit medium to large, irregular in form, generally roundish. Deep yellow, with shade of rough russet, and many reddish russet dots in sun. Flesh white, fine, melting, rich, juicy, sweet, delicate perfume. February, March. (Verg.)
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Olivier des Serres. — Medium to large, roundish. Flesh tender, juicy, melting, very good to best. Season, quite late winter, keeping as well as Josephine of Malines.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)OLIVIER DE SERRES. Her. Pom., II., 40. Dessert, February to April, medium, 2¾ by 2½, round much flattened, apple-like, uneven. Skin, rough. Colour, olive green, covered with rough russet. Flesh, white, half melting, with a brisk musky flavour. Eye, a little open in a deep basin. Stem, medium, stout, woody, in a deep cavity. Growth, rather weak and dwarf; fertility irregular. Leaf, long, narrow, much upfolded, neatly and markedly serrate, turns yellowbrown, occasionally a little red. Origin, raised by M. Boisbunel of Rouen from a seed of Fortunée d'Angers, first fruited in 1861. It was named after Olivier de Serres the great French Agronome whose "Theatre d'Agriculture" was first published in 1600 and to whose birthplace Arthur Young made a pious pilgrimage. One of the best of late varieties deserving a wall to bring it to perfection. The illustration in the Herefordshire Pomona shows the fruit too yellow in colour. It is more greenish brown in reality.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)OLIVIER DE SERRES
- Mas Le Verger 1:67, fig. 40. 1866-73. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 822. 1869. 3. Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:477, fig. 1869. 4. Tilton Jour. Hort. 9:377, fig. 1871. 5. Oberdieck Obst-Sort. 316. 1881. 6. Jour. Hort. 3rd Ser. 4:15, fig. 4. 1882. 7. Hogg Fruit Man. 624. 1884. 8. Gaucher Pom. Prak. Obst. No. 58, Pl. 51. 1894. 9. Deut. Obstsorten 5: Pt. 15, Pl. 1909.
This variety is rated in Europe as a delicious late-winter pear, and the pomological writers of the last century give it all of the virtues on this side of the Atlantic ascribed to it by Europeans. A closer study of the variety as grown in America shows that it does not possess the merits in this country given it by the French and English. The quality of the pear as grown in New York is below that of several other sorts of its season. The flesh is coarse and gritty and the flavor is mediocre. The tree-characters are good, but are not sufficiently good to offset the faults of the fruits.
Olivier de Serres was raised from seed of Fortunée about the middle of the nineteenth century by M. Boisbunel, Rouen, France. It fruited a few years later, but did not receive attention until about 1862. At that time it was brought to the notice of the French Society of Horticulture, and was pronounced a fruit of merit. At the suggestion of M. Boisbunel, it was named after the illustrious Frenchman, Olivier de Serres, who in France is called "The Father of Agriculture." It was brought to America about 1865.
Tree medium in size, vigorous, dense-topped, upright-spreading, productive; trunk and branches marked with numerous lenticels; branchlets slender, short, curved, with short internodes, light reddish-brown, tinged with green, sprinkled with scattering, inconspicuous, very small, raised lenticels. Leaf-buds small, short, sharply pointed, free; leaf-scars with prominent shoulders. Leaves 2½ in. long, 1¼ in. wide; apex taper-pointed; margin glandular, finely serrate; petiole ¾ in. long, slender. Flower-buds small, short, sharply pointed, free, singly on short spurs; flowers with an unpleasant odor, showy, 1⅝ in. across; pedicels 1 in. long, thinly pubescent.
Fruit ripens January to March; medium in size, 2¾ in. long, 2½ in. wide, roundish-obtuse-pyriform, truncate at both ends, irregular in outline; stem variable in length, averaging ¾ in. long, thick, enlarged at the top, curved; cavity broad, slightly furrowed; calyx large, slightly open; basin variable in depth, furrowed; skin tender; color greenish-yellow, partly overspread with cinnamon-russet and sometimes with a dull blush on the exposed cheek; flesh whitish, variable in texture, juicy, varying from sweet to a brisk, vinous flavor; quality poor unless grown under the most favorable conditions.
— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)OLIVIER DE SERRES. This variety is rated in Europe as a valuable late winter pear, and the pomological writers of the last century give it all of the virtues on this side of the Atlantic ascribed to it by Europeans. A closer study of the variety in America shows that it does not possess these merits. The quality of the pear as grown here is below that of several other sorts of its season; the flesh is coarse and gritty and the flavor mediocre. The tree-characters are good, but are not sufficiently good to offset the faults of the fruits. Olivier de Serres was raised from seed about the middle of the nineteenth century by M. Boisbunel, Rouen, France.
Tree medium in size, vigorous, dense-topped, upright-spreading, productive; trunk and branches medium in thickness and smoothness, marked with numerous lenticels. Leaves 2¾ inches long, 1¼ inches wide; apex taper-pointed; margin glandular, finely serrate; petiole 2 inches long, slender. Flowers with an unpleasant odor, showy, 1 5/16 inches across. Fruit ripens January-March, medium in size, 2⅝ inches long, 2⅝ inches wide, roundish-obtuse-pyriform, truncate at both ends, irregular in outline; stem variable in length, averaging ¾ inch long, thick, enlarged at the top, curved; cavity broad, slightly furrowed; calyx large, open; basin variable in depth, furrowed; skin tender; color greenish-yellow, partly overspread with cinnamon-russet and sometimes with a slight dull blush on the exposed cheek; flesh whitish, variable in texture, juicy, varying from sweet to a brisk vinous flavor; quality poor unless grown under the most favorable conditions.
— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)a medium size, dark brownish, sweet and tender; a good bearer; fruit of good colour; requires a warm position.
— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Catalog of Fruit Trees (1914) (1914)Oct. Very; large pear; fairly tender; fairly juicy; gold and golden-russet; flesh white, very juicy, buttery and very sweet; fine; excellent flavored. Medium size; first rate. Prolific; hardy; pretty good for open-ground; valuable.