1 82 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 



Leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, slightly pointed, appressed. Leaves 3^ in. long, if in. 

 wide, oval, thick, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin often finely serrate; petiole ij in. 

 long. Flower-buds conical to pointed, free; flowers open early, if in. across, fairly well 

 distributed, varying from 3 to n buds in a cluster; pedicels ij in. long, thick, very slightly 

 pubescent, green, rarely tinged red. 



Fruit matures in late October and November; above medium to large, 2f in. long, 2 J in. 

 wide, oval, narrowing at both ends, symmetrical, uniform; stem i in. long, thick; cavity 

 very small, smooth; calyx open; lobes separated at the base, short, narrow, acute; basin 

 shallow, narrow, obtuse, nearly smooth; skin thick, tough, smooth; color yellow, blushed 

 with dull red on the exposed cheek; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh yel- 

 lowish-white, very granular and coarse, crisp, juicy, not sweet, often astringent; quality 

 poor. Core large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds 

 wide, plump, acute. 



KINGSESSING 



i. Mag. Hort. 13:450. 1847. 2. Ibid. 19:453, 516, fig. 32. 1853. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 231. 1858. 

 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 795. 1869. 



A summing up of the characters of Kingsessing, as is so often the case 

 with varieties of fruits, makes it appear a most desirable sort. Neverthe- 

 less, its culture does not make headway. Growers rate it as a " good pear," 

 but will not grow it, for the reason, no doubt, that it has no outstanding 

 characters for any region, season, or purpose. As the pears grow on the 

 grounds of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station they are a little 

 under size for a good commercial fruit, and while the sweet, perfumed 

 flavor is pleasant, it lacks individuality. The variety is grown chiefly along 

 the Atlantic Coast from Long Island to Maryland. 



This is a natural seedling which sprang up in the family burial ground 

 of Isaac Leech, Kingsessing, a suburb of Philadelphia, about 1833. The 

 tree first fruited about 1843. Dr. Brinckle, who introduced the variety, 

 thought from its close resemblance to Chapman that it was probably a seed- 

 ling from it, or of its parent, the Petre, as trees of both these varieties stood 

 in the vicinity of the Kingsessing. The American Pomological Society 

 placed Kingsessing on its fruit-list in 1858 but dropped it in 1899. 



Tree very large and vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, rapid-growing, hardy, 

 medium in yield; trunk very thick; branches very stocky, grayish-brown, sprinkled with 

 numerous large lenticels; branchlets thick, long, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous 

 rather small, raised, conspicuous lenticels. 



Leaf -buds large, long, conical, free. Leaves 2j in. long, if in. wide; apex abruptly 

 pointed; margin glandular, finely serrate; petiole if in. long. Flower-buds large, conical, 

 free. 



