270 SYSTEM ATIC POMOLOGY 



pressed, occasionally lipped, with russet rays; calyx small, closed; basin 

 shallow, obtuse, often furrowed and wrinkled; skin toup;h, smooth, yellow, 

 covered with dull red and indistinctly striped with darker red; dots gray 

 or white, small; calyx-tu])e small, eonical; stamens median; core small; 

 cells partly open; core-lines claspin<j:; carpels concave, round varying to 

 cordate, emarginate; seeds large, long, acute, dark, often abortive; flesh 

 yellow, firm, coarse, tender, juicy, mild subacid, aromatic; good to very 

 good ; January to May. 



418. Opalescent (Fig. 97). — The fruits are large, shapely, uni- 

 form in size, and covered with brilliant red 

 on a yellow background. The quality, while 

 not the best, is good. The trees are hardy, 

 vigorous, productive, hold their load well, 

 and are remarkably free from insect and 

 fungous pests. Opalescent is a comparatively 

 new variety introduced about 1899 from 



Fig. 07. Opalescent. Xenia, Ohio. 



Tree vigorous, round-topped, open. Fruit large to very large, round- 

 conic, obscurely ribbed ; stem short, slender ; cavity large, acuminate, very 

 deep, sometimes russeted, compressed; calyx small, partly open; lobes 

 small, obtuse, reflexed; basin small, often oblique, narrow, deep, abrupt, 

 sometimes furrowed; skin thick, tough, glossy, pale yellow overspread with 

 dark deep red with scarcely perceptible streaks of carmine; dots numerous, 

 small, red, yellow or russet, often submerged ; calyx-tube small, cone-shape ; 

 stamens median; core small, abaxile; cells closed; core-lines meeting; car- 

 pels smooth, round or broadly obcordate; seeds acute, medium in size, form 

 and color; flesh yellow, firm, tender, coarse, juicy, mild subacid, aromatic; 

 good to very good ; X-ovember to March. 



419. Stark. — Tlie trees are vigorous, hardy, healthy, produc- 

 tive, and ver}' accommodating as to soils. The fruits are large, 

 smooth, Avell-turned in shape, uniform, and keep well, but are 

 dull and unattractive in color and not good enough in quality 

 for a dessert fruit, though they are well liked for culinarj^ pur- 

 poses and are prime favorites for drying. The flesh is firm and 

 the skin thick and tough. The variety probably originated in 

 Ohio, having been described first in 1867 as coming from that 

 state. 



Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, dense, with long strong branches. 

 Fruit large, round-conic, sides sometimes unequal; stem short, stout; cavity 

 acuminate, deep, wide, occasionally lipped, sometimes with outspreading 

 russet; calyx large, closed or partly open; basin shallow, obtuse, wide. 



