1 88 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 



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 3j in. long, ij 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, i; in. across, in dense clusters, 7 to 10 buds in a cluster; 

 pedicels i in. long, slender, lightly pubescent, pale green. 



Fruit ripe late October to November; large, jyV in. long, 2f in. wide, imiformin size 

 and shape, roundish-oval, tapering at both ends, ribbed, symmetrical; stem i| in. long, 

 very thick, often curved; cavity obtuse, very shallow and narrow, smooth, slightly fur- 

 rowed 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. 



LE LECTIER 



1. Mathieu Norn. Pom. 246. 1889. 2. Guide Pral. ^5. 1895. 3. Rev. Hort. 466. 1899. 4. Garden 

 59:14, 93, 124. 1901. 5. Soc. Nat. Horl. France Pom. 420, fig. 1904. 6. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 287, 

 fig. 1906. 



In size and beauty of fruit, Le Lectier surpasses most of its associates, 

 and the quality is first rate in soils and climates to which the variety is 

 suited. Unfortunately the tree, while very satisfactory in some situations, 

 is capricious to both soils and climates, and is seldom at home on this side 

 of the Atlantic. The season is December and January, when good pears 

 are scarce, and it would seem that the fine, large fruits of this pear would 

 be most acceptable for either home or market if it could be made to thrive. 

 In Europe, it grows best on warm, rich soils. 



Auguste Lesueur, a horticulturist at Orleans, France, obtained this 

 late winter pear about 1882 as a cross between Bartlett and Fortunee. It 

 was named after Le Lectier, the great pomologist of Orleans, who was 

 growing in the year 1628 about 260 varieties of pears. The variety was 

 introduced about 1889. In France, Le Lectier has been described 

 as greatly superior in flavor, aroma, and sweetness to varieties of the 

 same class having established reputations. In 1894, ^^^ Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society of London recommended this variety for cviltivation 

 in England. 



