Indeed,
so prominently have choice dessert pears, and apples too for that
matter, come to the front for cooking purposes, that a new demand is
now established, and although Duchesse d'Angouleme, always juicy and
sweet, from bad situations does not always come up to the fine quality
met within Covent Garden in November, it is worthy of our skill, as we
know it has all the good points of a first rate pear when properly
ripened.
The original tree of this pear was observed by M. Anne Pierre
Andusson, a nurseryman at Angers, growing in a farm garden near
Champigne, in Anjou, and having procured grafts of it, he sold the
trees, in 1812, under the name of Poire des Eparannais. In 1820, he
sent a basket of the fruit to the Duchesse d'Angouleme, with a request
to be permitted to name the pear in honor of her. The request was
granted, and the pear has since borne its present name.
That such a fine pear, which does so well in France, would soon find
its way to England there exists little doubt, as we find that within a
few years it became established and well known throughout the United
Kingdom. All the earliest trees would be worked upon the pear or free
stock, and as root pruning until recently was but little practiced, we
may reasonably suppose that the majority of them are deeply anchored
in clay, marl, and other subsoils calculated to force a crude, gross
growth from which high flavored fruit could not be expected.
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