THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 65 



the cavity in classifying pears and is described by the same terms. The 

 furrows in the basin are sometimes indistinct and are then called wavy. 

 The skin around the calyx-lobes may be wrinkled, plaited, folded, or corru- 

 gated. Rarely, there are fleshy protuberances about the calyx-lobes called 

 mammiform appendages. 



Calyx-lobes. The withered calyx-lobes persist in some pears and not 

 in others. They persist in European pears, but are deciduous in the 

 edible-fruited Asiatic species. The calyx-lobes may be open, partly open, 

 or closed in varieties of the fruits in which they are persistent. In some 

 varieties the segments are separated at the base; in others, united. The 

 lobes may lie flat on the fruit or may stand erect. When upright, if the 

 tips incline inward the lobes are said to be connivent; if inclined outward, 

 they are reflexed, or divergent. The lobes may be broad or narrow, with 

 tips acute or accuminate. 



Characters of the skin. The skin of all pears offers several most 

 valuable features for classification. Of these characters, color is the most 

 important. Perhaps no character of fruits varies more in accordance with 

 environment than the color, yet the color itself and the way in which it is 

 distributed on the fruit, serve to make this character a fairly safe 

 distinguishing mark for most varieties of pears. The ground-color of pears 

 is the green or yellow-green of chlorophyll, usually with an over-color of 

 tints and shades of yellow or red. The over-color may be laid on in stripes, 

 splashes, or streaks; as a blush; may mottle the surface; or may be a 

 single color, in which case the fruit is said to be self-colored. In nearly 

 all varieties of colored pears, it is not an uncommon anomaly to find trees 

 under some conditions bearing green fruits. Usually, in pears, the color 

 is laid on solidly; very few varieties have striped or splashed fruits. 



The skin may be thick or thin, tough or tender. In a few varieties 

 it is relatively free from the flesh, but with most clings tightly. The surface 

 of the skin is often waxy or oily. This character must not be confused 

 with waxen which refers to the glossy appearance of the skin. 



Some pears have an unbroken russet surface as Beurr6 Bosc and 

 Sheldon. Or, the surface may be rough because of minute russet dots or 

 netted veins. With many sorts, the cavity alone is russeted. Sometimes 

 the russet of the cavity is spread out in radiating lines. 



Nearly all pears have few or many dots on the skin, notes on which 

 may enhance the value of a description. These may be obscure or con- 

 spicuous, large or small, raised or sunken. If visible under the epidermis, 



5 



