THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 59 



or more seeds. These drupes, if they are rightly so-named, are held 

 together by a fleshy receptacle. The best definition seems to be that a 

 pome is a fleshy fruit of which the compound ovary is borne within and 

 connected to the receptacle. 



CHARACTERS OF PEAR-TREES 



Pome-fruits are all woody plants, shrubby or tree-like, of which the 

 pear is always a tree. The value of the variety and the recognition of 

 it usually depend on characters of the fruits, but the trees are nearly as 

 distinct as the fruits, are always helpful in identification, and in the 

 absence of fruit must be relied upon to identify a variety. Also, and 

 even more important, the pear-grower must know whether the plant is 

 manageable in the orchard, for which purpose he must have a description 

 of the chief characters of the tree. 



Size and habit of tree. — Size of tree is a very reliable character to 

 determine varieties of pears. The Winter Nelis pear is dwarf as compared 

 with other pears. Size varies greatly with environment, it must be remem- 

 bered in using this character. The terms large, small, and medium are 

 commonly used to designate size. Vigor, which may be defined as internal 

 energy, must not be confused with size. Small trees may be as vigorous 

 as large ones. 



The term habit of growth, as used by pomologists, has reference to the 

 form of the top. In describing the tops of pear-trees a number of self- 

 explanatory terms are used, such as pyramidal, upright-spreading, drooping, 

 tall, loin, dense, open-topped, and round-topped. Many if not most varieties 

 of pears may be told by the form of the top. One can tell Bartlett or 

 Clapp Favorite at a glance by their upright branches; as one can, also, 

 Beurre d'Anjou and Beurre Superfin by their wide-spreading branches; 

 or Winter Nelis pear by its drooping branches. Depending upon the form 

 of the top, a variety is easy or difficult to manage in an orchard. 



Constitutional characters. — Hardiness, productiveness, susceptibility to 

 pests, adaptability to diverse soils and climates are vaguely supposed to 

 be dependent on the constitution of the tree. Pomologists very generally 

 refer to these characters as constitutional. They speak of the constitution 

 as the aggregate of the vital powers of a variety. 



Horticulturally, hardiness is ability to withstand cold. Obviously, 

 hardiness is of utmost importance in characterizing the value of a variety 

 to the pear-grower, and degree of hardiness is of some use in identifying 



