THE PEAR D'ALBRET.

Pear d'Albret. Magazine of Horticulture, vol. xx. 1854. Beurré d'Albret of some Foreign Collections.

Most of the new foreign pears, that have been brought to notice during the last eight or ten years, have been heralded with a great reputation, and have, in consequence, attracted more than usual attention among cultivators. Some of them have proved fully equal to their reputed merits, while a larger part of them have only been of secondary quality, and a few entirely worthless. Others, again, have been added to our collections, of whose merits nothing was known, and from which no high expectations were formed ; but it has happened, in many instances, that the latter have proved of the greatest excellence, and have taken their place among the choicest pears.

The Pear d'Albret is one of the latter description ; unknown only in the Catalogues of the French or Belgian nurserymen, so far as we have been enabled to ascertain, it was received with many new kinds from M. Jamin of Paris, in 1846, and planted out with others of unknown merit, receiving but little attention until after it produced fruit in 1850. Even then it did not show its true qualities; the trees being yet small, and not sufficiently established to fix the character of the variety : but in the following year, and more particularly in the season of 1853, the fruit was so much larger, so rich in color, and of such luscious flavor, that it at once established its claim to a place among the very best pears yet introduced.

The origin and history of the Pear d'Albret is unknown to us. Notwithstanding the efforts of Bivort and other Belgian and French pomologists to establish a correct nomenclature, there has not yet been any authentic descriptions published of many of the new pears, and their identity must be made out from the Nursery Catalogues. Bivort's Album de Pomologie has aided much in this work, and the Annals de Pomologie of the Belgian government will assist still more ; but accurate descriptions and outline engravings, in some journal within the reach of all, would be the means of enabling cultivators to determine more speedily the correctness of many of the varieties which are yearly added to our collections. The Beurre d'Albret of some catalogues proves to be the same as the d'Albret.

This fine pear fortunately does well upon the quince ; the tree is a good, though not a strong, grower ; and with a little care makes a fair pyramid, though inclined to grow somewhat spreading. It comes into bearing rather early.

Tree. — Moderately vigorous, upright, and somewhat irregularly branched, making a rather open and loose head; annual shoots, not very stout.

Wood. — Dark reddish brown, dotted with whitish specks, moderately strong, rather short-jointed ; old wood, grayish brown ; buds, medium size, ovate, diverging, with prominent shoulders : Flower-buds, medium size, swollen towards the base, and acutely pointed, deep brown.

Leaves. — Small, about two inches long, and one inch wide, regularly ovate, narrowing to each end, thin, deep green, glossy, finely nerved, incurved little at the edges, and very finely serrated ; petioles, medium length, about one and a quarter inches long, slender.

Flowers. — Medium size ; petals, narrow, ovate, cupped ; claw, long.

Fruit. — Large, about four inches long, and three in diameter : Form, pyramidal, largest near the crown, contracted about the middle, with a somewhat elongated neck : Skin, slightly rough, clear deep cinnamon russet, bronzed on the sunny side, with dark russet specks : Stem, medium length, about one inch long, stout, curved, swollen, fleshy at the base, and obliquely attached, with a slight cavity on one side : Eye, medium size, partially open, and very little depressed, in a small shallow basin ; segments of the calyx, short, twisted : Flesh, greenish white, coarse, buttery, very melting and juicy : Flavor, vinous, exceedingly rich, and deliciously perfumed : Core, small : Seeds, small, sharply pointed, dark.

Ripe in October, and keeps two or three weeks.

— C.M. Hovey, The Fruits of America (1852)