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THE HOWELL I'KAB. 



THE HOWELL PEAR.* 



BY P. BARRY, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK. 



E have no hesitation in pronouncing the Ilowdl as the 

 most beautiful, and one of the finest Pears of American 

 oriirin. 



The first published account we have of it is in vol. 15 

 (1849) of Hovey's Magazine ♦of Horticulture, by S. 1). 

 Pardee, Esq., of New Haven. The seed was planted by 

 the late Thomas Howell, Esq., in his garden in New 

 Haven in 1829 or'30. Mr. Howell's premises lay adjoin - 

 ing those of the late Gov. Edwards, some of whose seed- 

 ling Pears have obtained such celebrity, and it was about 

 the time when the Governor's first seedlings began to bear that Mr. Howell planted 

 his seed. The variety from which the seeds were taken was called the Jonah, a hard, 

 tough winter Pear, producing enormous crops every year — on one side of the Jo- 

 nah, from which the seeds were taken, stood a Summer Bonchretlen, and on the 

 other a Virffcdieu ("White Doyenne); we may therefore presume the Howell to be a 

 cross between these. The original tree, appears from Mr. Pardee's account to have 

 borne when eleven years old, and at the present time, if alive, cannot be over twenty 

 five years old. 



The fniit has borne with us for several years, and under various circumstances ; 

 it has also borne in various parts of the country, and we have not heard a single 

 unfavorable report of it. We are inclined to believe that it will prove to be one of 

 those varieties which can be successfully grown in eveiy Pear growing country and 

 locality. 



The point is large, obovate, pyramidal, very regular, and uniform in shape. Stalk 

 about one inch and a quarter long, curved, moderately stout, and inserted without 

 depression. Calyx open, in a shallow, smooth, regiilar basin. Skin very smooth, 

 greenish, becoming pale lemon yellow or straw color at maturity, sprinkled with 

 small russet dots, and has a faint blush on the sunny side, in some cases a clear red 

 cheek. Flesh fine-grained, white, juicy, melting, sweet and pleasantly but^ not 

 highly perfumed. In eating, from the first to the last of September, and sometimes 

 into October. 



Last season we gathered from a single graft set on an old tree in 1852, three jiccks 

 of magnificent specimens. We picked a few on the first of September, and the 

 balance on the tenth ; they were then quite green, but being exposed to the winds 

 we feared some accident, and took them ofi" sooner than we should have done other- 

 wise : but they were picked just at the right time, they ripened off to the highest 

 perfection in a cool closet off a living room, and kept a month. The tree is an 

 upright, vigorous grower, with beautiful wood and foliage, succeeding equally well 

 Pear and Quince. 



* See Frontispiece. 



