212 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 



obscure, greenish or russet; flesh white, granular toward the center but fine-grained near 

 the skin, tender, somewhat stringy, very juicy, aromatic; quality good. Core large, closed, 

 with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube long, narrow, funnel-shaped; seeds unusually large, 

 wide, long, plump, acute. 



RIEHL BEST 

 I. Stark Bros. Cat. 18. 1912. 2. Ibid. 55. 1916. 



Riehl Best is described among the major varieties because it is as 

 nearly blight-proof as any other European pear. It might well be tried 

 in localities where standard sorts cannot be raised because of blight, and 

 is worth growing in breeding work as a parent to obtain blight-resistant 

 varieties. The pears are rather unattractive in appearance, but are excellent 

 in quality. The flesh is juicy, tender, vinous, free from grittiness and 

 seldom rots at the core. The trees, besides being nearly free from blight, 

 are hardy to heat and cold, and bear annually. The fruits fall far short 

 of those of standard varieties in New York. 



This pear was discovered by Edwin H. Riehl, Godfrey, Illinois, and 

 was introduced by Stark Brothers, Louisiana, Missouri. Mr. Riehl says: 

 " The farm on which the original tree stood was owned by a pioneer 

 nurseryman who evidently imported from France a number of varieties, 

 some perhaps without name. Riehl Best trees and several hundreds of 

 other varieties represent the remains of three old orchards planted fifty 

 years ago. Trees of other varieties are ruined by blight while Riehl Best 

 is in perfect health and bears every season." From this history it is 

 probable that Riehl Best is an old European pear renamed. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright, dense-topped, rapid-growing, productive; trunk stocky; 

 branches thick, light reddish-brown, overspread with thin scarf-skin, marked with large, 

 conspicuous, numerous lenticels; branchlets slender, often willowy, long, greenish-brown, 

 dull, smooth, pubescent only near the ends of the new growth, sprinkled with small, slightly 

 raised, inconspicuous lenticels. 



Leaf -buds small, short, pointed, plump, free; leaf-scars with prominent shoulders. 

 Leaves 3 in. long, if in. wide, thick; apex abruptly pointed; margin glandless, variable in 

 serrations; petiole 2 in. long. Flower-buds small, short, conical, plump, free, singly on 

 short spurs; flowers if in. across, in dense clusters, average 6 buds in a cluster; pedicels 

 J in. long, lightly pubescent. 



Fruit ripens in October; medium in size, 25 in. long, 2 in. wide, obovate-conic-pyriform, 

 irregular, with unequal sides; stem i J in. long; cavity very shallow and narrow when present, 

 or lacking, the flesh drawn up in a lip on one side of the stem; calyx open; lobes separated 

 at the base, broad, obtuse; basin obtuse, furrowed; skin thick, roughened with russet; 

 color dull yellow, largely overlaid with patches of russet, marked with distinct russet dots 

 and with a faint trace of a pinkish-red blush on the cheek next the sun; dots numerous, 



