THE PEAR 



THE QUINCE 



11 



list of 854 pears, of which 686 originated in 

 Europe and 168 in America. The great Ameri- 

 can pomologists of the nineteenth century 

 Manning, the Downings, Wilder, Berckmans, 

 Hovey, Barry, and Thomas were more inter- 

 ested in the pear than in any other fruit. 



For many years past, however, the pear, in 

 comparison with the apple, peach, plum, or 

 cherry, has been losing in popularity. There 

 are now few good collections in the country; 

 nurserymen list fewer and fewer varieties; the 

 pear is now less and less used as a dessert fruit, 

 the product being largely used in canning. 

 Pear-culture is failing in America for the 

 reasons that the pear is not well adapted to 

 the American climate; that cultural and com- 

 mercial conditions make it more difficult to 

 grow than other fruits ; and that the formidable 

 disease, blight, remains unchecked by any of 

 the remedies now in use. 



Owing to the decline in pear-growing, many 

 of the varieties described in this text cannot now 

 be purchased from nurserymen. All have been 

 cultivated on this continent, however, and 

 many old trees of all varieties still exist. Some, 

 it is to be hoped, will be reintrqduced for 

 home orchards, if not for commercial planta- 

 tions. 



4. Pyrus serotina, Rehd. Tree vigorous, upright, 

 attaining a height of 20-50 feet, the branchlets becoming 

 glabrous. Leaves ovate-oblong, sometimes ovate, 3-5 

 inches long, rounded at the base, long acuminate, 

 sharply setose-serrate ; lower surface cobwebby but be- 

 coming glabrous. Flowers white, borne in 6-9-flowered 

 umbellate-racemose clusters ; calyx-lobes long-acuminate, 

 glandulose denticulate ; petals oval, short-clawed ; stamens 

 about 20 ; styles 4 or 5, glabrous. Fruit subglobose, 

 russet-brown ; stalk slender ; calyx deciduous. 



Pomologists are interested in the type 

 species, which comes from central and western 

 China, only as a possible source of blight- 

 resistant stocks for varieties of the common 

 pear. Stocks from the species were introduced 

 some years ago on the Pacific slope, but have 

 proved unsatisfactory because difficult to bud, 

 very susceptible to leaf-blight, and not im- 

 mune to pear-blight. Render, an authority on 

 Pyrus, gives two botanical varieties, one of 

 which is most important to pomologists, having 

 given, as a hybrid with the common pear, a 

 new and very distinct type of pear. This 

 variety is described as follows: 



Var. culta, Rehd. Sand Pear. Japanese Pear. Chi- 

 nese Pear. Tree strong and rapid in growth, with 

 strong thick shoots. Leaves very large, often 6 inches 

 long and 3-4 inches broad, broadly ovate an'd long- 

 pointed, very dark green ; margins setose-serrate, the 

 teeth very sharp, almost bristle-like. Flowers very large, 

 appearing somewhat in advance of the foliage. Fruit 

 apple-shaped or pyriform, more or less rough, with a 

 well-marked cavity about the stem ; calyx usually de- 

 ciduous ; flesh tough, gritty and poor in flavor. 



The sand pear differs from the type in its 

 larger and differently shaped fruits and much 

 larger, greener leaves. It comes from Japan, 

 where it must have been early introduced from 

 China, and where it is now the most common 

 fruit-tree with the exception of the persimmon. 

 There are several pomological varieties in 

 Japan, although they differ less from each 



other than varieties of the European pear. 

 The fruits are little liked by those who have 

 the common pear, although they are attractive 

 in appearance, long keepers, and not unpalat- 

 able in some culinary preparations. Several 

 Japanese pears have been introduced into 

 America, and their apple-like fruits are not 

 uncommon, being readily distinguished from 

 apples by their deciduous calyces, rough 

 skins, long stems, gritty flesh, and potato-like 

 flavor. 



These Japanese pears hybridize freely with 

 the common pear, and several valuable hybrids 

 are now widely and commonly grown in North 

 America, Kieffer, Le Conte, and Garber, in 

 the order named, being the best known. These 

 hybrids are much stronger in growth, more 

 blight-resistant, more productive, and more 

 rapid in growth than the common pear; the 

 fruits are more pyriform and of much better 

 flavor than those of the oriental parent; the 

 calyx in the hybrid is sometimes persistent 

 and sometimes deciduous. They do not make 

 good stocks and intergraft but poorly with 

 the common pear. Of all pear-trees, these are 

 handsomest in growth, making excellent orna- 

 mental plants. 



Several other oriental pears are being tested 

 in the United States as stocks for named varie- 

 ties of the common pear. Seedlings of the 

 common pear have been used in the past as 

 stocks, but these are susceptible to blight, lack 

 in vigor, and the seedlings are not uniform. 

 Search is being made for an oriental pear that 

 does not have these defects and those of 

 European stocks. Some of the species intro- 

 duced from China for stocks are cultivated in 

 their native country for their fruits, and it 

 may be expected that hybrids between these 

 and the common pear will give new types of 

 this fruit. 



THE QUINCE 



The common quince belongs to the genus 

 Cydonia, which differs from Pyrus chiefly in 

 the fruits. Thus, the pomes of Cydonia are 

 harder than those of Pyrus; the quince has a 

 woolly surface while that of the apple and 

 pear is smooth; the sepals at the apex of the 

 quince are more leaf-like than those of the 

 apple and pear; the five carpels of the quince 

 contain many seeds, those of species of Pyrus 

 but few; the testa of quince seeds abounds 

 in a gum having mucilaginous and demulcent 

 properties, while there is little or no gum in 

 seeds of the apple and pear; the stem of the 

 quince is so short as to appear to be wanting, 

 while the stem of the apple and pear is dis- 

 tinct and often long. Cydonia contains only 

 the species now to be described. 



Cydonia oblonga, Mill. Common Quince. Small trees 

 or shrubs 15-20 feet in height, with slender unarmed 

 branches. Leaves alternate, oblong-oval, entire, pubescent 

 beneath, petioled, stipulate, 2-4 inches long. Flowers 

 white or tinged with pink, large, 2 inches in diameter, 

 showy, terminal on short leafy branchlets ; petals 5 ; 

 stamens numerous ; styles 5, free ; ovary with 5 cells 

 each containing many seeds. Fruit large, round or pear- 

 shaped, yellow, woolly, with hard yellow flesh which 

 becomes pink after cooking. 



