THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 185 



thick; cavity almost lacking, very obtuse and shallow, narrow, russeted, often lipped; 

 calyx open; lobes broad, acute; basin rather deep, obtuse or abrupt, gently furrowed, com- 

 pressed; skin thin, smooth except for the russet dots, dull; color yellow, with a solid, dark 

 red blush on the exposed cheek; dots numerous, large, brownish-russet, very conspicuous; 

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

 with a faint, vinous flavor, pleasantly aromatic; quality good to very good. Core large, 

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

 plump, acute. 



LAWRENCE 



i. Kenrick^m. Orch. 169. 1841. a. Mass. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 4. 1843. 3. Mag. Hort. 10:212. 1844. 

 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 442. 1845. 5. Mag. Hort. 12:432, fig. 29. 1846. 6. Hovey Fr. Am. 2:13, 

 PI. 1851. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 230. 1854. 8. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 440, fig. 1857. 9. Thomas 

 Am. Fruit Cult. 480. 1897. 



There is great diversity of opinion as to the value of Lawrence for a 

 market pear, but no one denies it a place as one of the very best early 

 winter pears for the home orchard. A generation ago it was held in high 

 esteem as a market pear, but the more showy Kieffer, kept in cold storage, 

 has elbowed the less conspicuous Lawrence off the fruit-stands and almost 

 out of the markets. The tree is hardy, moderately vigorous and fruitful, 

 an early, annual, and uniform bearer, and has the reputation of being one 

 of the longest lived of all pear trees. The fruits are of but medium size, 

 but are shapely in form, trim in contour, and are distinctive in shape 

 because of the rounded, truncate stem end. In color, the pear is a bright, 

 clean lemon-yellow marked with patches of russet and faintly blushed on 

 the side to the sun. No yellow pear is more attractive. The fruits come 

 in season in early winter and have the excellent character of keeping well 

 under ordinary care for a full month or longer. The melting flesh abounds 

 with a rich, sugary, perfumed juice, by virtue of which it is justly esteemed 

 as the best -flavored pear of its season. Lawrence finds congenial soils and 

 climates in nearly every part of New York, and should have a place in 

 every home orchard in the State. 



Lawrence is a native of Flushing, Long Island, and was first intro- 

 duced to growers by Wilcomb and King of Flushing, who sent specimens 

 of it in 1843 to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, saying that it 

 appeared to be a cross between the old Saint Germain and White Doyennd, 

 "as it resembles both of them in wood, foliage, and fruit, and there is no 

 other variety in the neighborhood." The variety rapidly found favor 

 among pear growers and was soon widely disseminated. The American 

 Pomological Society added Lawrence to its fruit-catalog in 1854. 



