ON THE PEAR 
In the mere matter of size, then, there remains 
little to be desired; but there are other qualities 
as to which not so much can be said. In particu- 
lar the pear is often susceptible to disease, and in 
general the extreme development of productivity 
has been more or less associated with a tendency 
to lose vigor, rapidity of growth and general 
vitality. 
For this and sundry other reasons it seemed 
to me that it might be desirable to make further 
experiments in the blending of the oriental and 
occidental heredities. So as early as 1884 I made 
importations of the seeds of the Japanese pear. 
In a shipment containing loquats, plums, chest- 
nuts, persimmons, gooseberries, blackberries, 
peaches and raspberries, I received also twenty 
pounds of pear seeds. 
The seedlings were grown, but at first little use 
was made of them except as grafting stocks. 
The valuable developments that ultimately 
came from the introduction of the oriental hered- 
ities were not secured at the outset. 
TRAITS OF THE ORIENTAL PEAR 
About 1890 I imported from Japan large quan- 
tities of the seeds of the Chinese sand pear. The 
seedlings proved extremely variable. Some of 
them grew six or seven feet the first year, while 
others from the same lot of seed, under exactly 
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