Smith
PearSmith
Origin / History
Origin not known (Budd and Hansen). Hedrick calls it an oriental variety or hybrid, very similar to Le Conte but blooming later, and cites Cornell Sta. Bul. 332:485, fig., 1913. Grown South quite extensively (Budd and Hansen).
Tree
Very similar to Le Conte but blooms later (Hedrick).
Fruit
Size: Medium to large, most often given as large.
Form: Roundish ovate to oval, truncate at the basin end (truncation from Hedrick).
Stem: Not described in source.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Not described in source.
Basin: Not described in source.
Skin: Yellow with red where exposed; yellowish green, smooth, with patches of russet (Hedrick).
Dots: Not described in source.
Flesh and flavor: Tender, vinous, astringent, "scarcely good" (Budd and Hansen). White, firm, insipid, dry, mealy; "poor" (Hedrick).
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
October (Hedrick).
Uses
Culinary; sent North in barrels for culinary use from the South (Budd and Hansen).
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 3 catalogs (1893–1913) from Florida, Illinois
- Glen St. Mary Nurseries (G.L. Taber , Proprietor), Glen St. Mary , Florida — 1893 — listed as Smith's
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
View original book sources (2)
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Smith. — Large, roundish ovate; color yellow with red where exposed. Flesh tender, vinous, astringent, scarcely good. Grown South quite extensively and sent North in barrels for culinary use. Origin not known.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)Smith,
i. Cornell Sta. Bul. 332:485, fig. 1913.
An oriental variety or hybrid, very similar to Le Conte but blooms later. Fruit medium to large, oval, truncate at basin end; skin yellowish-green, smooth, with patches of russet; flesh white, firm, insipid, dry, mealy; poor; Oct.