LE CONTE
1. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 8, 29. 1878. 2. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 303. 1879. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 38. 1883. 4. Gard. Mon. 27:282. 1885. 5. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 55. 1885. 6. Black Cult. Peach & Pear 234. 1886. 7. Cornell Sta. Bul. 332:484. 1913. 8. Ont. Dept. Agr. Fr. Ont. 169. 1914.
Le Conte is a hybrid between the Chinese Sand pear and a European sort, therefore similar in parentage to Kieffer which it greatly resembles in both tree and fruit. The fruits are rather poorer in quality than those of Kieffer, if that be possible for an edible fruit, and the tree is in no way superior to that of its better-known rival, but seems to succeed better in warm climates and light soils. There is, therefore, a place for Le Conte in the South, and possibly on parts of Long Island, if a pear is wanted for culinary purposes only. The fruits sometimes rot badly at the core, and should usually be harvested as soon as they attain full size. The trees are more susceptible to blight than those of Kieffer. In the South, the trees are often, if not usually, propagated from cuttings.
Le Conte originated in America, and is probably a hybrid between the Chinese Sand pear and some native. It is supposed to have been carried from Philadelphia to Georgia about 1850 by Major Le Conte, and has since been extensively cultivated in the southern States for northern markets. In 1885 it was recommended by the Georgia Horticultural Society for cultivation in the middle region of that State. The American Pomological Society added Le Conte to its fruit-catalog in 1883.
Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright, very productive, a regular bearer; branches strongly zigzag, brownish-red mingled with green and covered with scarf-skin; branchlets thick, reddish-brown mingled with green, smooth, pubescent on the new growth which later becomes glabrous, with numerous very small, conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaf-buds small, short, pointed, appressed. Leaves 3¼ in. long, 1½ in. wide, long-ovate or long-oval, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin finely serrate; petiole pale green, glabrous. Flower-buds small, short, conical, plump, free, arranged singly on very short spurs; flowers open very early, 1¼ in. across, in dense clusters, 7 to 10 buds in a cluster; pedicels 1 in. long, slender, lightly pubescent, pale green.
Fruit ripe late October to November; large, 31⁄16 in. long, 2⅝ in. wide, uniform in size and shape, roundish-oval, tapering at both ends, ribbed, symmetrical; stem 1⅛ in. long, very thick, often curved; cavity obtuse, very shallow and narrow, smooth, slightly furrowed and wrinkled, often compressed; calyx partly open; lobes usually dehiscent, separated at the base, short, narrow, acute; basin usually very deep, abrupt, gently furrowed; skin thick, tough, smooth; color pale yellow, occasionally marked with russet; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh white, firm, granular, stringy, tender, juicy, sweet, with a strong and disagreeable flavor; quality poor. Core very large, closed, axile, with meeting core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, broadly conical; seeds large, 2 in each carpel, wide, long, very plump, acute.