Winter Bartlett
Pear
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Winter Bartlett Pear
Origin and History
Winter Bartlett appears to have originated at Eugene, Oregon, sometime prior to 1880, and was introduced to broader cultivation by D. W. Coolidge of Eugene, though it must have been grown locally before Mr. Coolidge brought it to prominence. Because of its marked resemblance to the Bartlett, it is assumed to be a seedling of that variety. The American Pomological Society added Winter Bartlett to its catalog of fruits in 1909.
Tree Characteristics
Tree large, vigorous, upright, scraggly, open-topped, hardy, and productive. Branches stocky, smooth, light-brown overlaid with gray scarf-skin, with few lenticels. Branchlets thick, curved, long, with long internodes, brownish-red streaked with gray scarf-skin, glossy, smooth, glabrous, and sprinkled with conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaf-buds large, long, conical, pointed, plump, and free; leaf-scars with very prominent shoulders. Leaves 3½ inches long and 1¾ inches wide, stiff, with taper-pointed apex and finely serrate margin; petiole 2¼ inches long. Flower-buds conical, plump, free, borne singly on spurs variable in length; flowers very late, 1⅜ inches across, in dense clusters averaging 5 buds per cluster; pedicels 1 inch long, thick, and thinly pubescent.
Fruit Description
Size and Form: Large, 3 inches long by 2⅜ inches wide, oblong-obovate-pyriform in shape.
Stem: 1 inch long, thick, and curved.
Cavity: Narrow, shallow, smooth, and oblique.
Calyx: Small, nearly closed, with short lobes.
Basin: Small, shallow, and irregular.
Skin: Uneven in surface, yellow in ground color, splashed with russet, and often blushed on the exposed cheek with bright red. Dots numerous, small, and brownish-russet.
Flesh and Flavor: Yellowish-white, fine-grained, tender, juicy, sweet, and pleasant-flavored. Quality rated good to very good.
Core and Seeds: Core small, nearly closed, with meeting core-lines. Calyx-tube short and wide. Seeds large, long, plump, and obtuse.
Season, Storage, and Uses
Fruit ripens in December and January. As the season is December–January (a time when a half-dozen other good pears are available), Winter Bartlett offers seasonal diversity but lacks outstanding characters to secure its position in eastern orchards. It is worth trying in a small way in New York.
Botanical Notes
The fruits as grown in New York show a clear suggestion of Bartlett in shape, color, and flavor, but fall far short of the older pear in size. Westerners claim that the tree is very resistant to blight, though this statement has neither been proved nor disproved in eastern conditions as of 1921. The variety's future in eastern orchards remains uncertain, pending further trial.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 29 catalogs (1893–1926) from Missouri, Oregon, Washington
- Milwaukie-Canby Nurseries , Canby, OR (and Milwaukie, OR) — 1893
- Multnomah Nurseries , Russellville , Oregon — 1894
- Washington Nursery Co. , Toppenish , Washington — 1901
- Russellville Nursery Co. , Russellville, OR (three miles east of Portland, one mile from Montavilla car line) — 1903
- The Dalles Nurseries , The Dalles , Oregon — 1906
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1906
- Russellville Nursery Co. , Montavilla Station, Portland, OR (three miles east of Portland, one mile from Montavilla car line) — 1907
- Carlton Nursery Co. , Carlton , Oregon — 1909
- Milton Nursery Co. (A. Miller & Sons , Proprietors), Milton , Oregon — 1909
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1909
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1910
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1910
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1911
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1911
- Pacific Nursery Company , Portland , Oregon — 1912
- Vineland Nurseries Company , Clarkston , Washington — 1912
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1912
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1912
- Van Holderbeke Nursery Co. , Incorporated, Spokane, Washington (nurseries at Otis Orchards WA, Pasadena WA, Kennewick WA) — 1913
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1914
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1915
- Ornamental & Fruit Nursery Company , Wapato, County of Yakima , Washington — 1915
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1916
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1917
- Oregon Nursery Co. , Orenco , Oregon — 1920
- Columbia & Okanogan Nursery Co. , Wenatchee , Washington — 1925
- Hudson's Wholesale Nurseries , Tangent , Oregon — 1926
- North-Western Nurseries , Walla Walla , Washington
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish, Washington (on Yakima Indian Reservation) - [undated; companion to the 1912 "Sixth Edition" descriptive catalogue; same cover design and incorporated 1903 date; dated as c.1912]
View original book sources (1)
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)WINTER BARTLETT
- Ore. Bd. Hort. Rpt. 42. 1895. 2. Ore. Nur. Cat. 19. 1903. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 41. 1909. 4. Cal. Com. Hort. Pear Grow. Cal. 7: No. 5, 278, fig. 94. 1918.
Winter Bartlett is heralded from the Pacific Coast as a winter variety bearing fruits similar to those of Bartlett. As the fruits grow in New York there is a suggestion of Bartlett in the shape, color, and flavor of the fruits, but in size, as the color-plate shows, the newcomer falls far short of the older pear. The season is December and January, a time when there are a half-dozen other good pears, and since this one has no outstanding characters to make it notable, it is doubtful if it will outlive a brief period of probation in eastern orchards. The westerners say that the tree is very resistant to blight, a statement neither proved nor disproved in the East as yet. The variety is worth trying in a small way in New York.
This pear seems to have originated at Eugene, Oregon, some time prior to 1880, and to have been introduced by D. W. Coolidge of Eugene, although it must have been grown to some extent before Mr. Coolidge brought it to the front. Because of its resemblance to Bartlett, it is assumed that it is a seedling of that variety. The American Pomological Society added Winter Bartlett to its catalog of fruits in 1909.
Tree large, vigorous, upright, scraggly, open-topped, hardy, productive; branches stocky, smooth, light-brown overlaid with gray scarf-skin, with few lenticels; branchlets thick, curved, long, with long internodes, brownish-red, streaked with gray scarf-skin, glossy, smooth, glabrous, sprinkled with conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaf-buds large, long, conical, pointed, plump, free; leaf-scars with very prominent shoulders. Leaves 3½ in. long, 1¾ in. wide, stiff; apex taper-pointed; margin finely serrate; petiole 2¼ in. long. Flower-buds conical, plump, free, singly on spurs variable in length; flowers very late, 1⅜ in. across, in dense clusters, average 5 buds in a cluster; pedicels 1 in. long, thick, thinly pubescent.
Fruit ripe in December and January; large, 3 in. long, 2⅜ in. wide, oblong-obovate-pyriform; stem 1 in. long, thick, curved; cavity narrow, shallow, smooth, oblique; calyx small, nearly closed; lobes short; basin small, shallow, irregular; skin uneven in surface; color yellow, splashed with russet and often blushed on the exposed cheek with bright red; dots numerous, small, brownish-russet; flesh yellowish-white, fine-grained, tender, juicy, sweet, pleasant-flavored; quality good to very good. Core small, nearly closed, with meeting core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide; seeds large, long, plump, obtuse.