Princess

Pear

Princess

Origin / History

Raised by Messrs. Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, England, from seed of Louise Bonne (Louise Bonne de Jersey). Cited in Jour. Hort., N. S. 3:260, 1882. Bunyard calls it "a good and free cropping pear"; Hedrick calls it valuable for market culture and one to be depended upon in poor seasons; Veitch calls it large and handsome.

Tree

Growth upright, pyramidal (Bunyard); compact, upright (Hedrick). Leaf almost exactly like Louise Bonne (Bunyard). Free bearer and free cropper, to be depended upon in poor seasons. Hardy and a good bearer (Veitch). Fine as a cordon (Hedrick); very fine on a wall, requiring a warm position to secure fine fruit (Veitch).

Fruit

Size: Medium, 2½ by 4 (Bunyard). Veitch alone calls it large and handsome.

Form: Long conical, even (Bunyard); long-pyriform, tapering almost to the stalk, not very symmetrical (Hedrick).

Stem: Not described in source.

Cavity: Not described in source.

Calyx: Not described in source.

Basin: Not described in source.

Skin: Smooth, shining, rarely russety. Ground pale yellow with a red-brown flush, much like Louise Bonne (Bunyard); Hedrick alone describes it as green and pale green with a brownish tinge.

Dots: Dark green, under the skin (Hedrick).

Flesh and flavor: White (Hedrick), melting and juicy. Bunyard gives "sweet and refreshing"; Hedrick gives "briskly acid" and rates it "very good".

Core and seeds: Not described in source.

Season

October to Christmas. Bunyard gives November to December; Hedrick gives October to Christmas, "rather variable in season".

Uses

Dessert (Bunyard). Valuable for market culture (Hedrick).

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 2 period pomological works

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 5 catalogs (1900–1917) from England

George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900
James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
Thomas Rivers & Son , Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire , England — 1913
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917

View original book sources (3)

PRINCESS. Dessert, November to December, medium, 2½ by 4, long conical, even. Skin, smooth, pale yellow with red brown flush, much like Louise Bonne, Flesh, melting and juicy sweet and refreshing. Leaf, almost exactly like Louise Bonne. Growth, upright, pyramidal. Raised by Messrs. Rivers from a seed of Louise Bonne. A good and free cropping pear.

Princess de Parme : see Marie Louise.

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

Princess. i. Jour. Hort. N. S. 3:260. 1882. 2. Bunyard Handb. Hardy Fr. 194. 1920.

Raised by Messrs. Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, Eng., from seed of Louise Bonne de Jersey. Growth compact, upright, free bearer, valuable for market culture, and one to be depended upon in poor seasons; fine as a cordon. Fruit medium, long-pyriform, tapering almost to stalk, not very symmetrical, smooth and shining, rarely russety, green and pale green with a brownish tinge, dark green dots under the skin; flesh white, juicy and melting, briskly acid; very good; Oct. to Christmas, rather variable in season.

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

large and handsome; requires a warm position to secure fine fruit; a good bearer and hardy; very fine on wall.

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