Vicar of Winkfield.

Vicar of Wakefield, Monsieur le Curé, Le Curé, Clion.

Foreign. First found growing wild in a wood by M. Clion, a French curate, hence the names, Clion, Le Curé, &c.; afterwards it was grown in a garden at Winkfield, Berkshire, by Rev. Dr. Rham, and received the name of Vicar of Winkfield, concentrating the two associations in the one name, and which, being of our own language, is to be preferred. It is a most profitable variety, grown on the quince stock, and, although only second quality, it is always fair and large. Tree, a vigorous grower, with large, roundish, glossy leaves; shoots, diverging, dark olive color.

Fruit, large, oblong obovate pyriform; color, dull pale green at first becoming pale yellow, with sometimes a brownish cheek, marked with brown dots over the whole surface; calyx, with open reflexed segments; stem, an inch or more long, rather slender, obliquely inserted without depression; core, small; seeds, oblong ovate; flesh, greenish white, juicy, sprightly: 'very good.' November to January.

[Additional entry in this volume: "Belle Epine Dumas", pp. 365–365]

Belle Epine Dumas. Epine Dumas, | Du Mas, | Duc de Bordeaux. Foreign. Heretofore considered as a synonym of Vicar of Winkfield. Fruit, large, oblong pyriform, dull yellow, with red cheek in sun ; flesh, fine grained, juicy, sugary; "very good." November, December.

— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)

VICAR OF WINKFIELD.

Le Curé. Missive d'Hiver. Monsieur le Curé. Cueillette d'Hiver. Clion. Cornice de Toulon. Belle de Berry. Du Curé. Belle Heloise. Grosse Allongée. Bon Papa. Du Pradel. De Clion. Vicar of Wakefield. Monsieur. Pradello de Catalogne. Belle Andreane. Curette. De Monsieur Le Curé. Jouffroy. Belle Adrienne. Messire d'Hiver. Vicaire de Winkfield.

This large and productive Pear was discovered, as a natural seedling, in the woods of Clion, France, by a French curate, whence it obtained in France the familiar name of Le Curé, or Monsieur le Curé. A short time after it became known at Paris, it was imported into England by the Reverend Mr. Rham, of Winkfield, Berkshire, and cultivated and disseminated from thence, being known in the neighborhood of London as the Vicar of Winkfield. With regard to its merits there is some difference of opinion—some persons considering it a fine fruit. It is always remarkably large, fair, and handsome. We think it always a first-rate baking Pear. Occasionally we have tasted it fine as a table Pear, but generally it is astringent, and only third-rate for this purpose. If ripened off in a warm temperature, however, it will generally prove a good second-rate eating Pear. But its great productiveness, hardiness, and fine size, will always give it a prominent place in the orchard as a profitable variety. The tree grows thriftily, with drooping fruit branches. Shoots dark olive brown.

Fruit large and long pyriform, often six inches long, and a little one-sided. Skin fair and smooth, pale yellow, sometimes with a brownish cheek, and marked with small brown dots. Stalk an inch or an inch and a half long, slender, obliquely inserted without depression. Calyx large, open, set in a basin which is very slightly sunk. Flesh greenish white, generally juicy, but sometimes buttery, with a good, sprightly flavor. November to January.

[Additional entry in this volume: "Belle Epine Dumas", pp. 691–691]

Belle Epine Dumas.

Due de Bourdeaux. Beurre Rochechourt Epine du Rochoir. Beurre St. Louis. Epine de Limoges. Colmar de Lot. Epine Dumas. Comte de Limoges. Beurre de Rochoir. Emile de Rochois. Beurre d'Elberg.

Tree vigorous, pyramidal form, good bearer. Young wood dull yellow brown, with sharp-pointed buds.

Fruit medium, obovate obtuse pyriform. Skin green, becoming greenish yellow when ripe, with small russet brown dots. Stalk long, set in a very small depression. Calyx partially closed, in a shallow, regular basin. Flesh white, buttery, half melting, juicy, sweet, and of a peculiar flavor. Very good. November and December.

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

Vicar of Winkfield.* (Le Curé, Monsieur le Curé, Clion.) Quite large, long pyriform, with a conical taper toward the crown; skin smooth, pale yellow, or pale yellowish-green, with a dull reddish cheek; stalk an inch to an inch and a half long, slender, often fleshy at insertion, oblique not sunk; basin narrow, very shallow; flesh greenish or yellowish-white, juicy, buttery, with a moderate flavor—sometimes slightly astringent. Ripens late autumn and early winter, for about two months. Growth spreading and irregular, or straggling; shoots strong, dark olive. Grows well on quince stocks. The great and uniform productiveness of this pear, its fine qualities for cooking, and the long period of its continuance, render it valuable. France. Fig. 646.

[Additional entry in this volume: "Belle Epine Dumas", pp. 783–783]

Belle Épine Dumas. See Dumas.

[Additional entry in this volume: "Dumas", pp. 544–544]

Dumas. (Belle Épine Dumas, Duc de Bordeaux.) Medium, long pyriform; greenish-yellow; stalk long, scarcely sunk; basin shallow, regular; calyx partly closed; buttery, half melting, sweet, flavor peculiar. Late autumn. Growth vigorous, succeeds on quince. Shoots dark, speckled; leaves narrow.

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

Vicar of Winkfield. — Large, long pyriform, somewhat one-sided; though slim it is often five to six inches long; color pale yellow, often with brown cheek and quite numerous small brown dots; stalk one to one and one-half inches long, inserted obliquely without cavity at top of narrow neck; basin broad, but very shallow. Flesh greenish white, quite juicy, sometimes buttery, with sprightly flavor, good. Season, late fall. France.

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

VICAR OF WINKFIELD. Her. Pom., II., 66. F. Curé. G. Pastorenbirn. Culinary, December to January, very large, 3½ by 4½, long calebasse, uneven. Skin, smooth. Colour, grass green fading to pale yellow. Flesh, pale yellow, rather firm, dry and woolly. Eye, large and clove like, wide open in a shallow narrow basin. Stem, long and woody, generally inserted at an angle. Growth, very vigorous; fertility good. Leaf, round, sharply pointed, a little uncupped, held out, regularly and finely serrate. Origin, discovered in a wood near Villiers-en-Brenne, France, about 1760, by M. Leroy, curé of the parish. It was introduced to England by the Rev. W. L. Rham, of Winkfield, Berkshire, to which circumstance it owes its English name. This variety grows very vigorously and makes a good standard or pyramid. Some authors have stated that in a warm year it attains dessert quality but I have not found this so.

Vlesembeek: see Thompson's.

White Doyenné: see Doyenné Blanc.

Wiehelmine: see Beurré d'Amanlis.

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

VICAR OF WINKFIELD

1. Gard. Chron. 20, fig. 1843. 2. Mag. Hort. 9:129, 269. 1843. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 448, fig. 208. 1845. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 53. 1852. 5. Elliott Fr. Book 344, fig. 1854. 6. Jour. Hort. N. S. 7:414. 1864. 7. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 875, fig. 1869. 8. Hogg Fruit Man. 660. 1884. Vicar. 9. Mawe-Abercrombie Univ. Gard. Bot. 1778. 10. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 40. 1883. 11. Ont. Dept. Agr. Fr. Ont. 183. 1914. Clion. 12. Kenrick Am. Orch. 159. 1841. Le Curé. 13. Hovey Fr. Am. 1:47, Pl. 1851. Curé. 14. Pom. France 1: No. 18, Pl. 18. 1863. 15. Leroy Dict. Pom. 1:610, fig. 1867. 16. Guide Prat. 61, 261. 1876. 17. Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom. 396, fig. 1904. 18. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 321, fig. 1906. Pastorenbirne. 19. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 262. 1889. 20. Gaucher Pom. Prak. Obst. No. 59, Pl. 49. 1894.

Though large and handsome, the pears of this variety vary so much in quality, often being wretchedly poor, that trees of it are now seldom planted in America. The variety is not liked, also, because the trees blight badly. The fruits, besides being large and handsome, keep well, and are excellent for all culinary purposes. They are in season from November to January. The pears have a strong musky smell, and are more or less astringent. The quality depends largely on the soil, and is best when the trees stand in a deep, warm loam. The fruits are long-pyriform, usually one-sided, and are further characterized by the peculiarity that the calyx is not in line with the axis, as in other pears, but is on one side, generally opposite to that in which the stalk is inserted as shown in the accompanying illustration. The trees, barring susceptibility to blight, are about all that could be desired — large, vigorous, handsome, and thrive both as standards and dwarfs. Many old trees of largest size of this variety are still to be found in New York, but young stock is now seldom set.

In 1760, this pear was found as a wilding by a French curate at Villiers-en-Brenne. In due course it was introduced into England by the Rev. W. L. Rahm, Vicar of Winkfield, in Berkshire, and from this circumstance it lost its proper name, Curé or Le Curé, and wrongly acquired that by which it is now known here and in England. The variety was introduced to America early in the nineteenth century. It was placed on the list of recommended fruits by the American Pomological Society in 1852.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, hardy, very productive, long-lived; trunk and branches stocky; branches zigzag, greenish-brown overspread with grayish scarf-skin, with lenticels variable in number and size; branchlets curved, thick, long and willowy, with long internodes, light greenish-brown which is mingled with red on the newer growth, smooth, glabrous except near the ends of the new growth, sprinkled with conspicuous, raised lenticels.

Leaf-buds small, short, pointed, free. Leaves 3 in. long, 2½ in. wide, thick, leathery; apex abruptly pointed; margin tipped with minute scattering glands, finely serrate; petiole variable in length, pinkish-green; stipules short, tinged with pink. Flower-buds small, short, conical, plump, free, singly on very short spurs.

Fruit ripe December to January; large, 4½ in. long, 3 in. wide, oblong-pyriform, with a long, tapering neck, with unequal sides; stem 1½ in. long, slender, curved; cavity lacking, with stem obliquely set without a depression and often with a fleshy fold around the base in the form of a lip; calyx large, open; lobes long, unusually broad, obtusely pointed; basin very shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin thick, tough, smooth, dull; color pale yellow, often with a faint trace of a brownish-red blush over the exposed cheek, marked with light russet around the calyx, and occasionally with russet flecks scattered over the surface; dots numerous, small, conspicuous, brownish-russet; flesh white, granular only near the center, tender and melting, juicy, somewhat astringent or with a sprightly muskiness, with no pleasant aroma; quality inferior for dessert but good for cooking. Core small, closed, axile, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube long, narrow, funnel-shaped; carpels long-oval; seeds large, long, not very plump, often abortive.

[Additional entry in this volume: "Épine du Mas", pp. 558–558]

Épine du Mas.

1. Pom. France 1:No. 31, Pl. 31. 1863.
2. Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:412, fig. 1869. Belle Épine Dumas. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 668. 1869. Dumas. 4. Rural N. Y. 45:480, figs. 292, 293. 1886.

A wilding found about 1760 by a M. Chemison in the forest of Rochechouart near Mas, Department of Haute-Vienne, Fr. Fruit medium, obtuse-pyriform, lively yellow or lemon-yellow, finely dotted with brown and washed with carmine on the sun-exposed cheek; flesh white, fine, tender, melting, sweet, gritty at center, juicy, acid, musky; good; Nov. and Dec.

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

VICAR OF WINKFIELD. Vicar. The pears of this variety are so variable in quality, often being wretchedly poor, that this sort is now seldom planted in America. The variety is not liked, also, because the trees blight badly. The fruits are large and handsome, keep well, and are excellent for all culinary purposes. They have a strong musky smell, and are more or less astringent, the quality depending largely on the soil, being best when the trees stand in a deep, warm loam. The pears are long-pyriform, usually one-sided, and are further characterized by the peculiarity that the calyx is not in line with the axis as in other pears, but is on one side, generally opposite to that in which the stalk is inserted. The trees, barring susceptibility to blight, are about all that could be desired — large, vigorous, handsome, and thriving both as standards and dwarfs. In 1760 this pear was found as a wilding by a French curate at Villiers-en-Brenne.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, hardy, very productive, long-lived; trunk and branches stocky; branches zigzag, greenish-brown, with lenticels variable in number and size. Leaves 2¾ inches long, 2¼ inches wide, thick, leathery; apex abruptly pointed; margin tipped with minute scattering glands, finely serrate; petiole variable in length, pinkish-green.

Fruit ripe December-January; large, 3½ inches long, 2½ inches wide, oblong-pyriform, with a long, tapering neck, with unequal sides; stem 1½ inches long, slender, curved; cavity lacking with stem obliquely set and often with a fleshy fold around the base in the form of a lip; calyx large, open; lobes long, obtusely pointed; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin thick, tough, smooth, dull; color pale yellow, often with a faint brownish-red blush over the exposed cheek, marked with light russet around the calyx, and occasionally with russet flecks scattered over the surface; dots numerous, small, conspicuous, brownish-russet; flesh white, granular only near the center, tender and melting, juicy, astringent or with a sprightly muskiness; good only for cooking; core small, closed, axile, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube long, narrow, funnel-shaped; carpels long-oval; seeds large, long, often abortive.

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

Planted Spring 1890. Tree a strong grower and a regular bearer. Fruit large, long pyriform. Skin smooth, pale yellow, often with a reddish cheek. Flesh whitish, juicy, buttery, with a pleasant flavour. Season December.

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

large, long and handsome; a good stewing pear and valuable for cooking; productive; an excellent bearer; requires a warm position.

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

Dec.; Jan.; fairly large; pale yellow; flesh white, fairly good flavored; flesh very good. English fairly good. Fairly tender; fairly productive. English first found in 1852 and fairly good. English well known fairly Vigorous very hardy. Hardy. Vicar of Winkfield; Medium; fairly hardy; pretty good.

— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Catalog of Fruit Trees (1914) (1914)

large; fine flesh in the autumn; good; pressed. Very good indeed for stewing and kitchen use. Vigorous; very productive. Jan.-Dec.

— Thomas Rivers & Son, Thomas Rivers Catalogue of Fruits (1914) (1914)