THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 149 



very juicy, sweet but spicy, aromatic; quality good. Core large for the size of the fruit, 

 closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds large, wide, long, 

 plump, acute. 



DORSET 



i. Ellwanger & Barry Cat. 6, fig. 1895. 2. Ibid. 17, fig. 1900. 3. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpl. 118. 

 1900. 4. ///. Hort. Soc. Rpl. 220. 1902. 



Dorset has been on probation in New York for twenty-five years, and 

 its status is not yet decided. The fruits resemble those of Seckel in shape 

 and color, but are larger and come in season later. These external resem- 

 blances to Seckel have given it the name " Late Seckel," which, however, 

 is a misnomer, as a taste of the two fruits at once makes plain. Dorset is 

 not nearly as richly flavored as Seckel. The tree-characters are all very 

 good. Since there are few good late pears to follow Seckel, there may be 

 a place for Dorset. 



Dorset was raised from seed by Lemuel Clapp, Dorchester, Massachu- 

 setts, but the exact date of origin is unknown. The variety was intro- 

 duced by Ellwanger and Barry, Rochester, New York, in 1895. During 

 the next ten years it was placed on trial by several state experiment stations, 

 and soon gained a reputation for the characters noted in the preceding 

 paragraph. 



Tree small, spreading, very productive, a regular bearer; trunk slender, shaggy; 

 branches slender, smooth, reddish-brown mingled with dull ash-gray, marked with many 

 large lenticels; branchlets slender, dark brown, smooth, glabrous, with large, raised, 

 lenticels. 



Leaf-buds medium to small, conical, pointed, free. Leaves 3 in. long, if in. wide, 

 oval, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin crenate; petiole if in. long, slender. Flower- 

 buds large, long, conical, pointed, free; blossoms open very early; flowers often if in. across, 

 showy, in dense clusters, from 8 to 12 buds in a cluster; pedicels i in. or less in length, pubes- 

 cent, greenish. 



Fruit matures in December; medium in size, zf in. long, 2} in. wide, uniform in 

 size and shape, obovate-obtuse-pyriform, with unequal sides; stem J in. long, curved, 

 cavity almost lacking, obtuse, shallow, narrow, furrowed, compressed, often lipped; calyx 

 open; lobes separated at the base, long, acute; basin narrow, obtuse or often quite abrupt, 

 gently furrowed; skin thick, smooth; color dull greenish-yellow, marked with a dull bronze- 

 red blush on the exposed cheek; dots many, small, grayish and russet, conspicuous; flesh 

 yellowish-white, firm, granular at the center, tender, very juicy, very sweet and aromatic; 

 quality good. Core closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; 

 seeds large, wide, long, plump, acute, broad at the base. 



