THE DIX PEAR. 



SYNONYMS. 



CHARACTERS. 



Form. — Oblong, pyriform. 



Calyx. — Symmetrical, not large, \A'ell defined, upright, open, set on one side, of a 

 very shallow and very unequal depression. 



Stem. — Moderate length, stout at top and bottom, a little curved and firmly set in an 

 uneven very slight depression ; the uneven depressions forming shoulders 

 at summit and base of this pear are characteristic • that at the summit 

 does not appear in the plate. 



Color. — Yellowish green ; sunny side occasionally dull red, mottled with small patches 

 of russet, particularly near the stem. 



Skin. — Roughish, thick and coarse. 



Flesh. — Rather coarse grain, but very juicy, melting, and tender. 



Flavor. — Fine, rich sprightly subacid, saccharine, slightly perfumed, with the true 

 pear flavor. 



Maturity and Use. — October and November. — Dessert, 



Size. — Diameter from calyx to stem 3}g to 4 inches. 

 Do. across 2^ to 2.^ do. 



Leaf. — Oval, acuminate, finely, simply and bluntly serrate, margins widely undulate ; 

 petiole often very long ; pale green ; glossy. 



Wood. — Second year pale grey, a little mottled ; new wood with a yellowish tinge ; 

 sterile spurs often terminating in thorns. 



Core. — Small. 



Seeds. — Below medium size, ovate, pointed, plump and full. 



HISTORY AND CULTIVATION. 



This Pear is so great a favorite that we may be pardoned for entering 

 into the following details. The original tree is now alive in the old garden 

 of Madam Dix, on Washington street, opposite Harvard street, and may 

 be distinctly seen from Dix place. It is about twenty feet high, and 

 measures one foot in diameter at five feet from the base ; it has not borne 

 much for the last two or three years, in consequence of having been injured 



