Fruit matures in late October and early November; large, 3⅛ in. long, 3 in. wide, roundish-obtuse-pyriform, with a very thick, blunt neck, with unequal sides; stem ¾ in. long, thick, woody; cavity acuminate, unusually large, deep, russeted, occasionally furrowed and wrinkled, slightly lipped; calyx small, open; lobes separated at the base, short, narrow, acute; basin deep, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin thick, gritty, roughish, dull; color yellow, overspread with light russet, mottled and flecked with russet; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh whitish, granular at the center, tender and melting, juicy, aromatic, sweet but refreshing; quality good to very good. Core small, closed, abaxile, with meeting core-lines; calyx-tube long, conical; seeds small, roundish, plump, obtuse.
SECKEL
1. Prince Pom. Man. 1:139. 1831. 2. Kenrick Am. Orch. 183. 1832. 3. Gard. Chron. 708, fig. 1842. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 415, fig. 188. 1845. 5. Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr. 51. 1848. 6. Hovey Fr. Am. 2:33, Pl. 1851. 7. Mag. Hort. 19:457, fig. 34. 1853. 8. Mas Le Verger 3: Pt. 1, 29, fig. 13. 1866-73. 9. Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:656, figs. 1869. 10. Guide Prat. 63, 303. 1876.
Seckle. 11. Coxe Cult. Fr. Trees 189, fig. 25. 1817. 12. Trans. Lond. Hort. Soc. 3:256, Pl. 9. 1820. 13. Pom. Mag. 2:72, Pl. 1829. 14. Hort. Reg. (Eng.) 1:488. 1833. 15. Pom. France 2: No. 64, Pl. 64. 1864. 16. Jour. Hort. 3rd Ser. 4:128. 1882. 17. Hogg Fruit Man. 644. 1884. 18. Bunyard Handb. Hardy Fr. 197. 1920.
Seckel is an American pear distinct in type from any European variety. Among the several hundred pears that are grown on this side of the Atlantic, Seckel stands almost alone in vigor of tree, productiveness, and immunity to blight, and is equalled by no other variety in high quality of fruit. If the fruits were larger, Seckel would challenge the world as a pear for the markets as it now does as a pear for the home orchard. After Bartlett and the disreputable Kieffer, it is now more grown than any other variety in America, everywhere being used as the standard for excellence. The fruits are small, not highly colored, but attractive because clean and trim in contour. But it is the flesh-characters that give the fruits their high standing. The flesh is melting, juicy, perfumed and most exquisitely and delicately flavored, with the curious character of having much of its spicy, aromatic flavor in the skin, which should never be discarded in eating. The reddish-brown color of the fruit is another distinguishing character of Seckel. Unlike most other dessert pears, the fruits of this one are excellent for culinary purposes. Still another distinctive character is that the fruits do not lose much in quality by ripening on the tree. Besides being nearly iron-clad in resistance to blight and very productive, the trees are almost as hardy as those of any other pear, and are remarkable for their large, low, compact, broadly pyramidal tops. The tree is further distinguished by its short-jointed, stout, olive-colored wood, and its habit of bearing fruits in clusters on the ends of the branches. The trees do best in fertile soils which must not be a heavy clay. Its blossoms are markedly self-fertile. There are several faults of fruit and tree. The fruits are small and do not keep after maturity; it costs twice as much to pick them as it does the large-fruited Bartlett; fruit and foliage are susceptible to scab; the pears are too small for commercial canning; and the trees are late in coming in bearing. With these several faults, however, Seckel is usually a profitable commercial variety as a well-grown crop almost always commands a fancy price. For the home orchard, Seckel has no rival in any part of North America where European varieties are grown.
Toward the close of the eighteenth century, there lived in Philadelphia a well-known sportsman and cattle dealer known as “Dutch Jacob.” Every autumn, upon returning from shooting excursions, Dutch Jacob distributed among his neighbors pears of exceedingly delicious flavor. The place of their growth he kept secret. In time, a tract of land south of Philadelphia was disposed of in parcels, and Dutch Jacob secured the ground on which his favorite pear tree stood, a neck of land near the Delaware river. Shortly afterwards this land became the property of a Mr. Seckel, who gave the pear his name and introduced it. Later, the property was added to the estate of Stephen Girard, and the original tree long remained vigorous and fruitful. The new variety was soon widely disseminated and everywhere became popular. As early as 1819, Dr. Hossack of New York sent trees of the variety to the London Horticultural Society, whence it was later distributed in England. There is much difference of opinion as to the spelling of the name of this pear. Coxe, who lived in Philadelphia and probably knew the introducer of the pear, writing in 1817, spelled the name Seckle. English pomologists have followed Coxe. Nearly all of Coxe’s contemporaries, however, spelled it Seckel, the spelling now in common use. At the first meeting of the American Pomological Society, held in 1848, Seckel was recommended for general cultivation and the variety has ever held its place among the pears recommended by the Society.