The pears of New York

by U. P. Hedrick

Fruit ripens in August; medium in size, 2⅜ in. long, 2¼ in. wide, obovate-obtuse-pyriform, with unequal sides; stem 1¼ in. long, thick; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, compressed, lipped or often drawn up in a wrinkled fold about the base of the stem; calyx open; lobes separated at the base, narrow, acuminate; basin obtuse, gently furrowed; skin thick, tough, roughish; color pale greenish-yellow, with a dull reddish-brown blush spreading over the exposed cheek; dots numerous, very small, greenish-russet, conspicuous; flesh whitish, granular especially at the center, medium tender, juicy, aromatic, sweet but vinous; quality good. Core small, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds small, narrow, short, plump, acute.

LAMY

1. Ragan Nom. Pear, B. P. I. Bul. 126:161. 1908.

Comte de Lamy. 2. Kenrick Am. Orch. 141. 1841. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 371, fig. 158. 1845. 4. Gard. Chron. 20, fig. 1846. 5. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 727. 1869. 6. Jour. Hort. N. S. 38:359, fig. 52. 1880. 7. Hogg Fruit Man. 553. 1884.

Poire Dingler. 8. Ann. Pom. Belge 2:69, Pl. 1854.

Beurré Curtet. 9. Pom. France 2: No. 77, Pl. 77. 1864. 10. Leroy Dict. Pom. 1:341, figs. 1867. 11. Guide Prat. 65, 243. 1876.

Curtet’s Butterbirne. 12. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 200. 1889.

As the history shows, this is an old European pear which had its probationary period in America many years ago, and which never got out of the limbo of nurserymen’s catalogs and collections. On the grounds of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, however, the pears are so handsome and so delectable in quality that the variety seems quite worth while describing and illustrating among the major sorts. It is a splendid pear for the home orchard, but the tree is not large nor robust enough for a commercial plantation. A few nurserymen still list it.