158 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 



giving us the Traitc des arbres fmitiers published in 1768, rendered and still 

 renders valuable services to horticulturists. The original tree began to 

 fruit in 1862 and was cataloged by Leroy in 1865. The variety seems to 

 have been described first in America by Downing in 1876. 



Tree vigorous, upright, dense, hardy; trunk stocky; branches thick, zigzag, dull 

 brownish-red, covered with ash-gray scarf-skin, marked with numerous large lenticels; 

 branchlets very thick, short, with short internodes, brownish-red, tinged with green, dull, 

 smooth, glabrous, with many conspicuous, raised lenticels. 



Leaf -buds long, obtuse, appressed; leaf -scars prominent. Leaves 3 in. long, if in. 

 wide, long, folded lengthwise with the margins curled under, leathery; apex taper-pointed; 

 margin entire or coarsely crenate; petiole 2 in. long, slender. Flower-buds large, long, 

 conical, plump, free, singly on short spurs; blossoms open late; flowers 1 in. across, well 

 distributed, averaging 7 buds in a cluster; pedicels i-fc in. long, slender, pubescent, pale 

 green. 



Fruit ripe October to November; above medium in size, 3! in. long, 2\ in. wide, uniform 

 in size, roundish-pyriform or at times oblong-pyriform, symmetrical, with equal sides; 

 stem 1 in. long, slightly curved, thick; cavity lacking, the stem being attached to the smooth, 

 flat surface; calyx open; lobes separated at the base, short, obtuse or acute; basin shallow, 

 obtuse, gently furrowed, small; skin thin, tender, roughened by the russet skin, dull; color 

 greenish-yellow overspread with solid russet, or splashed, spotted and sprinkled with russet, 

 the cheek often solid russet; dots many, small, russet, obscure because of the russet color, 

 slightly raised ; flesh yellowish-white, granular especially around the core, melting, buttery, 

 very juicy, vinous; quality very good. Core variable in size, closed, with clasping core- 

 lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds elongated-oval, wide, plump, acute. 



EARLY HARVEST 



1. Neb. Hort. Soc. Rpt. I2g. 1890. 2. Budd-Hansen Am. Horl. Man. 2:243. 1903. 



Chambers. 3. Horticulturist 25:263, fig. 1870. 4. Tilton Jour. Hort. 8:293. 1870. 5. Mass. 

 Hort. Soc. Rpt. 157. 1874. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 32. 1875. 7. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 3rd App. 

 174. 1881. 8. Can. Hort. 26:130. 1903. g. Ont. Dept. Agr. Fr. Ont. 151, fig. 1914. 



The fruits of Early Harvest are so poor in quality and rot at the core 

 so soon after ripening, that the variety is hardly worth growing in New York, 

 where there are many better pears of its season. To offset these defects, 

 the pears are large and handsome for early fruits, and the trees are healthy 

 and regular and heavy bearers. The pear is characterized by a thick, 

 fleshy stem and a large closed core. Nurserymen report that the tree is 

 difficult to propagate, and fruit-growers find that it is slow in coming in 

 bearing; the growth is usually straggling and difficult to manage in nursery 

 or orchard. The variety is more popular in the Middle West than in any 

 other part of the country. 



