THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 131 



size and luxuriance of foliage. Very old trees have a nobility of aspect 

 possessed by few other pears. While slow in coming in bearing, after fruit- 

 ing begins the trees bear regularly and abundantly. The variety does not 

 succeed well on the quince unless double-worked. Unfortunately, the 

 trees are tender to cold and somewhat too susceptible to blight. Beurre 

 Bosc has long been a favorite in the pear regions of Europe and America, 

 and its culture in this country may be recommended for the home, for local 

 and general markets, and for exportation. 



This pear is a native of Belgium, having been raised from seed in 1807 

 by Dr. Van Mons, the renowned pomologist of Lou vain, and was in the 

 first instance named by him Calebasse Bosc in honor of M. Bosc, a dis- 

 tinguished French naturalist. In 1820, it was received at the garden of 

 the Horticultural Society of London under the name Beurre Bosc, and Robert 

 Thompson, at that time Director of the gardens, thought it best to retain this 

 name. The variety was early introduced into France. About 1832 or 

 1833, Robert Manning and William Kenrick received cions in the United 

 States from Van Mons and from the London Horticultural Society. The 

 variety was cataloged by the American Pomological Society at its first 

 meeting in 1848. 



Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, productive, not an early 

 bearer; trunk stocky; branches smooth, brownish, covered with ash-gray scarf-skin, with 

 large lenticels; branchlets brownish, tinged with gray, glossy, smooth, nearly glabrous, 

 with slightly raised, conspicuous lenticels. 



Leaf -buds obtuse, pointed, appressed; leaf -scars prominent. Leaves 3 in. long, i| in. 

 wide, ovate, thick, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin finely crenate; petiole ij in. 

 long. Flower-buds large, conical, pointed, free; flowers open early, i in. across, showy, 

 in dense clusters, from 10 to 20 buds in a cluster; pedicels i in. long, slightly pubescent, 

 light green. 



Fruit ripe in late October and November; large, 3! in. long, 2$ in. wide, uniform in 

 size, acute-obovate-pyriform, with a very long, tapering neck, uniform in shape and very 

 symmetrical; stem i| in. long, curved; cavity very obtuse or lacking, occasionally very 

 shallow and narrow, wrinkled, russeted, with a fleshy ring folded up around the stem, 

 slightly lipped; calyx open, small; lobes short, broad, obtuse; basin very shallow, narrow, 

 obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin slightly granular, tender, roughened by russet, dull; 

 color dark yellow, overspread with thick, dark russet, laid on in streaks and patches, with 

 a cheek of solid russet; dots small, light russet, obscure; flesh yellowish-white, slightly 

 granular, tender and melting, buttery, very juicy, with a rich, delicious, aromatic flavor; 

 quality very good to best. Core large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, 

 wide, conical; seeds wide, short, plump, obtuse. 



