t 



VICOMPTE DE SPOELBERCH PEAR. 



Wood. — Yellowish brown, stout, short-jointed, and thickly sprinkled 

 mth grayish white specks; annual shoots w^oolly; buds large, short, 

 broad, pointed, and flattened : Flower-buds large, oblong-oval. 



Leaves. — Large, elongate, pointed, smooth, dark green, narrower 

 towards the end than at the base, recurved, and somewhat folded, uTeg- 

 ularly and rather obtusely serrated ; petioles short and rather slender. 



FlowePvS. — Medium size, very slightly cupped; petals oblong. 



Fruit. — ^Large, about three inches long, and two and a half in diam- 

 eter : Form, obovate, full, and slightly flattened around the eye, swollen 

 towards the middle, and contracted near the stem, where it is also a 

 little flattened : Skin fan-, shghtly rough, greenish yellow, becoming of a 

 fine lemon yellow when mature, washed and marbled, or blotched, with 

 purplish red on the sunny side, somewhat russeted in patches extending 

 from the stem, and covered with small, greenish brown specks : Stem, 

 rather long, about one and a half inches, stout, swollen, curved, and 

 obHquely attached to the fruit by a fleshy junction : Eye, medium size, 

 and moderately sunk in a small round basin ; segments of the calyx short 

 and stiff", projecting : Flesh, white, fine, buttery, melting, and very juicy: 

 Flavor, rich, sprightly, saccharine, and dehcious, with a very high per- 

 fume : Core, medium size : Seeds, medium size, dark, nearly round. 



Ripe in December, and keeps into Januaiy. Dr. Van Mons calls it 



" decidedly a winter fruit," sometimes keeping till spring. 



[14] • 



