THE KIEFFER, A VALUABLE CHANCE HYBRID 
The popular Kieffer pear, a fine specimen of which is here shown, natural size, originated 
as an accidental cross in a Philadelphia nursery half a century or more ago. 
were the Bartlett pear and the poor Chinese Sand Pear shown in Fig. 2. 
Its parents 
The Le Conte 
and several other less-known varieties have come from the same sort of hybridization. 
Although many epicures have condemned the quality of the Kieffer, it holds its place as 
one of the most widely grown varieties in the United States. 
Department of Agriculture. (Fig. 3.) 
a well-sharpened scalpel into the side of 
a bud just below the calyx. Then by 
giving it a quick upward jerk, the whole 
corolla is removed, carrying with it 
all the anthers. Pear buds are espe- 
cially easy to work in this manner, but 
in the apple the abundant pubescence 
soon dulls the scalpel necessitating 
frequent sharpening for the best results. 
FEW BUDS REMOVED 
“Fruit buds of the pear and apple are 
borne in clusters of six or more. Ordi- 
narily only one or two of these buds set 
fruit and come to maturity. In hybrid- 
izing work the question arises as to the 
number of buds in the cluster which 
should be emasculated and pollinated. 
The central bud develops previously 
to the others so that it is safer to remove 
it. The best results have followed the 
working of the majority of the buds in 
the cluster, since the emasculation can 
Photograph from the U. S. 
be done in about the length of time it 
would take to remove the extra buds, 
and pollination requires very little 
longer time. Sometimes several clusters 
are close together and may be enclosed 
in a single bag. As many as eleven 
fruits of the Seckel pear have been 
secured under one sack in this way. 
“Until recently it has been custo- 
mary to emasculate the buds, cover at. 
once with a paper sack and leave for a 
day or so until the stigmatic surface 
reaches a receptive condition before 
pollination is done. The writer has 
found that equally good results are 
secured by pollinating at the time of 
emasculation, provided this operation 
is delayed until the buds are nearly 
ready to open. Pollen will remain on 
the stigma in good condition until it 
can germinate in the nectar which is 
secreted on the stigmatic surface. This 
eliminates the extra work of removing 
439 
