THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 147 



Leaf-buds small, short, pointed, plump, usually appressed. Leaves 3^ in. long, a| in. 

 wide, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin glandless or with few reddish glands, finely 

 serrate; petiole short, stocky, ij in. long, glabrous. Flower-buds short, conical but obtuse 

 at the apex, plump, free, arranged singly on short spurs; flowers 15 in. across, in dense 

 clusters, average 8 buds in a cluster; pedicels f in. long, slender, thinly pubescent. 



Fruit matures in late October and November; medium in size, 2\ in. long, z\ in. wide, 

 obovate-obtuse-pyriform, symmetrical, uniform; stem 5 in. long, slender; cavity abrupt, 

 shallow, very small, narrow, slightly lipped; calyx partly open, small; lobes short, narrow, 

 acute; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin thin, tender, smooth; 

 color golden-yellow at maturity, covered with thin russet; dots numerous, small, greenish- 

 russet; flesh tinged with yellow, granular at the center, tender and melting, juicy, sweet, 

 highly perfumed; quality of the best. Core large, closed, abaxile; calyx-tube short, wide, 

 conical; seeds wide, short, plump, obtuse. 



DEARBORN 



i. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 36. 1883. 2. Ont. Dept. Agr. Fr. Onl. 155. 1914. 



Dearborn's Seedling. 3. Kenrick Am. Orch. 154. 1832. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 336, fig. 135. 

 1845. 5. Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Cr. 51. 1848. 6. Hovey Fr. Am. 1:63, PI. 1851. 7. Elliott Fr. Book 

 336. 1859. 8. Mas Le Verger 2:17, fig. 7. 1866-73. 9. Leroy Diet. Pom. 2:7, fig. 1869. 



Once a favorite, Dearborn is now nearly lost to cultivation, and few 

 or no nurserymen grow the trees. It is too good a variety to be lost, how- 

 ever, because of splendid fruit- and tree-characters. The fruits ripen early 

 and are of good quality, though hardly as richly flavored as those of Elizabeth 

 which ripen at the same time. Unfortunately the pears run small, but they 

 are attractive in shape and color. In season, the crop succeeds that of 

 Bloodgood and precedes that of Bartlett. The trees are almost flawless, 

 and therefore are well adapted to home orchards where fruits cannot receive 

 the care of skilled hands. Besides being almost free from blight, the trees 

 are hardy, vigorous, and very productive. The variety has many valuable 

 qualities for a summer pear in home orchards. 



This pear was found growing in a border of shrubs in 1818 at Brinley 

 Place, Roxbury, Massachusetts, the home of General H. A. S. Dearborn, 1 



1 General Henry Alexander Scammcll Dearborn, who followed the vocation of a soldier, statesman, 

 and author, chose as his avocation horticulture and in several of its fields became eminent. A native of 

 New England (1783-1851), son of General Henry Dearborn of Revolutionary fame, he was early educated 

 to the profession of law and pursued that vocation until the war with Great Britain in 1812. Services in 

 this war brought him the rank and title of general. After the war he served as Collector of the Port of 

 Boston, in Congress, and as Mayor of Roxbury, Massachusetts, which office he held at the time of his 

 death. But it is as a patron, friend, and lover of horticulture that the life and work of General Dearborn 

 interest pomologists. He was one of the charter members in the Massachusetts Horticultural Society 

 and a prime mover in its organization. He was elected its first president March 17, 1829. In the history 

 of the Society published in 1880, of all the famous members of this truly remarkable organization, General 



