THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 1 33 



gray almost completely overspreading reddish-brown, with many lenticels; branchlets 

 thick, short, with short internodes, greenish-brown, smooth, glabrous, with slightly raised 

 lenticels. 



Leaf -buds conical, pointed, appressed; leaves very numerous, 3 in. long, 2 in. wide, 

 broadly oval, leathery; apex abruptly pointed; margin glandless, finely serrate; petiole 

 2 in. long, glabrous ; stipules rudimentary or lacking. Flower-buds medium to long, conical, 

 pointed; flowers 15 in. across, showy, in dense clusters, averaging 7 buds to a cluster; 

 pedicels § in. long, thick, pubescent, greenish. 



Fruit in season, late October and November; large, 3§ in. long, 2! in. wide, uniform 

 in size, roundish-acute-pyriform, with a long, tapering neck, symmetrical, uniform in 

 shape; stem 5 in. long, short, very thick and fleshy; cavity obtuse, very shallow and nar- 

 row, fleshy around the base of the stem, russeted, lipped; calyx open, large; lobes separated 

 at the base, long, broad, acute or acuminate; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, furrowed, 

 often compressed; skin thick and granular, tough, smooth, glossy; color yellow, with 

 bright red blush; dots many, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh white, quite granular, firm 

 at first but becoming at maturity tender and melting, buttery, very juicy, sweet, aromatic, 

 with a rich, vinous flavor; quality variable, good to best. Core large, closed, with clasp- 

 ing core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds large, wide, long, plump, acute. 



BEURRfi DIEL 



x. Pom. Mag. 1:19, PI. 1828. 2. Ibid. 3:131, PI. 1830. 3. Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 392. 1831. 

 4. Kenrick Am. Orch. 189. 1832. 5. Ibid. 156. 1841. 6. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 360, fig. 153. 1845. 

 7. Gard. Chron. 856. 1845. 8. Hovey Fr. Am. 1:77, PL 1851. 9. A m. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 231. 1854. 10. 

 Pom. France 1: No. 7, PI. 7. 1863. 11. Mas Le Verger 1:137, fig. 67. 1866-73. 12. Leroy Diet. Pom. 

 1:349, fig. 1867. 13. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 686, fig. 1869. 14. Hogg Fruit Man. 518. 1884. 

 15. Guide Prat. 234. 1895. 



Diel's Butterbirne. 16. Liegel Syst. Anleit. no. 1825. 17. Lauche Deut. Pom. n: No. 8, PI. 8. 

 1882. 18. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 203. 1889. 



Diel. 19. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 36. 1883. 



The catalogs and text-books supply Beurre Diel with several virtues 

 which Nature denies it as the variety grows in New York. As grown in 

 the eastern United States, the pears are dull and unattractive even at 

 maturity when the pale lemon color is brightest. When the tree is happily 

 situated as to soil and care, the quality of its product is excellent, its fruits 

 being delicious and ranking among the very best, but when illy suited 

 to soil, climate or care, the flesh is coarse, the flavor insipid and astringent, 

 bringing the quality down to second or third rate. The pears keep and ship 

 well. The tree is hardy, uncommonly vigorous and fruitful, but very 

 subject to blight; it is characterized by its long twisting branches which 

 need to be pruned back heavily. The variety is still being planted, but there 

 are better autumn pears. 



This variety came from a chance seedling found near Brussels in 1805 



