THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 1 95 



Tree medium to large, variable in vigor, upright becoming slightly spreading, dense- 

 topped, hardy, productive; trunk shaggy; branches thick, zigzag, marked by numerous 

 elongated lenticels; branchlets strongly curved, with short internodes, dark brownish- 

 red mingled with green, mottled with scarf-skin, smooth, glabrous, with small, elongated 

 or roundish, conspicuous, raised lenticels. 



Leaf -buds small, short, pointed, plump, usually free; leaf -scars prominent. Leaves 

 3 in. long, if in. wide, thin; margin occasionally glandular, finely serrate or entire; petiole 

 iJ- in. long, slender. Flower-buds large, long, pointed, plump, free, singly on short spurs; 

 flowers open late, with an unpleasant odor, if in. across; pedicels if in. long. 



Fruit ripens in late October and November; medium in size, acute-pyriform to oblong- 

 pyriform, symmetrical; stem short, thick, curved; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, russeted, 

 often wrinkled and occasionally lipped; calyx large, open, rounded and with a deeply-set 

 center; basin obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin very tough, roughened with thick russet; 

 color greenish-yellow, usually entirely overspread with solid, dark russet, changing to golden 

 russet on the cheek exposed to the sun, with mottlings and flecks of russet ; dots numerous, 

 small, russet, obscure; flesh yellowish-white, fine, melting, rich, juicy, sweet; quality very 

 good. Core large, closed, axile; calyx-tube short, wide, broadly conical; seeds large, wide, 

 long, plump, acute. 



MADELEINE 



i. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:124, PI. IV. 1768. 2. Pom. Mag. 2:51, PI. 1829. 3. Prince Pom. 

 Man. 1:13. 1831. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 341, fig. 138. 1845. 5- Proc. Nat. Cm. Fr. Gr. 51. 

 1848. 6. Elliott Fr. Book 331, fig. 1854. 7. MasLe Verger 2:59, fig. 28. 1866-73. 8. Guide Prat. 62, 

 287. 1876. 



Sainte Madelaine. 9. Knoop Pomologie 76, Tab. I, fig. 1771. 



Griine Sommer- Magdalene. 10. Dochnahl Fuhr. Obstkunde 2:150. 1856. n. Lucas Tafelbirnen 47, 

 fig. 1894. 



Citron des Carmes. 12. Pom. France 3: No. 101, PI. 101. 1865. 13. Leroy Diet. Pom. 1:563, fig. 

 1867. 14. Hogg Fruit Man. 548. 1884. 15. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 212, fig. 1906. 



Crune Magdalene. 16. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 228. 1889. 



Madeleine has long been a dependable summer variety, the crop of 

 which ripens just before that of Bloodgood. Many consider it the best 

 very early summer pear, and if the product alone were to be considered it 

 might well be called the best, but, unfortunately, the faults of the trees more 

 than offset the virtues of the fruits. The pears are attractive in appear- 

 ance, and very good in quality; but their season is short, their skins are 

 tender, and the flesh quickly softens at the core. While the trees are pro- 

 ductive, they are not resistant to blight, do not hold their crop well, are 

 tender to cold, and are short-lived. The variety is worth planting only 

 for the sake of succession in crop, and in large collections of pears. The 

 variety is recommended on the Pacific slope for local markets. 



The Madeleine pear is of ancient and somewhat uncertain origin. It 

 was cultivated by M. Le Lectier in his garden at Orleans in 1628, but 



