AMERICAN HOME GARDEN. 389 



23. SECKEL. 



Fi s- m - Tree of healthful, but not 



rapid growth, forming a com- 

 pact symmetrical head, not 

 attaining a very large size. 



Young shoots brown-olive, 

 stout and short. A good and 

 regular bearer. 



Fruit small obovate, red- 

 dish-brown. 



Flesh white, buttery, juicy, 

 and melting. 



Flavor peculiarly high, rich, 

 and aromatic. The very finest 

 of pears. Ripens in the house 

 through September and Octo- 

 ber, or later. 



This small but exquisite fruit stands deservedly at the head 

 of all pears for its peculiarly rich, high flavor. There is no 

 European variety that resembles or compares with it. It is 

 not a result of careful, intelligent cultivation, but, like many 

 of our foremost fruits, an " accidental variety," the precise der- 

 ivation of which is unknown. 



The original tree was found near the Delaware, a few miles 

 from Philadelphia, and was in bearing at the period of the 

 Revolution ; but the fruit remained in obscurity until the land 

 on which the parent tree stood, and perhaps still stands, became 

 the property of Mr. Seckel, after whom the pear is named, and 

 by whom it was first brought to public notice. 



24. VIRGALIEU (Fig. 249). 



Tree upright, of medium strength. 



Young shoots light brown ; productive. 



Fruit medium or above, obovate, variable, sometimes almost 

 pyriform ; pale clear yellow, speckled with small dots, some- 

 times having a fine red cheek. 



Flesh white, very fine-grained, buttery, and melting. 



