94 



LE CONTE 



LINCOLN 



LE CONTE. Fig. 88. Le Conte is a hybrid 

 between the Chinese Sand pear and a Euro- 

 pean sort, therefore of the same parentage as 

 Kieffer which it greatly resembles in both tree 

 and fruit. The fruits are rather poorer in 

 quality than those of Kieffer, if that be pos- 

 sible for an edible fruit, and the tree is in no 

 way superior to that of its better-known rival, 

 but seems to succeed better in warm climates 

 and light soils. There is, therefore, a place 

 for Le Conte in the South, if a pear is wanted 

 for culinary purposes only. The fruits some- 



88. Le Conte. 



times rot badly at the core, and should usu- 

 ally be harvested as soon as they attain full 

 size. The trees are more susceptible to blight 

 than those of Kieffer. In the South, the trees 

 are often if not usually propagated from cut- 

 tings. Le Conte is supposed to have originated 

 near Philadephia about 1850. 



Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright, slow-growing, 

 very productive, a regular bearer ; branches strongly 

 zigzag, brownish-red mingled with green and nearly 

 covered with scarf-skin. Leaves 3% inches long, 1* 

 inches wide, ovate or oval, leathery ; apex taper-pointed ; 

 margin finely serrate ; petiole pale green, glabrous. 

 Flowers open very early, 1^ inches across, in dense 

 clusters, 7 to 10 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe late 

 October- November ; large, 3 Vie inches long, 2% 

 inches wide, round-oval, tapering at both ends, ribbed, 

 symmetrical ; stem 1 % inches long, very thick, often 

 curved ; cavity obtuse, very shallow and narrow, smooth, 

 slightly furrowed and wrinkled, often compressed ; calyx 

 partly open ; lobes usually dehiscent, separated at the 

 base, short, narrow, acute ; basin usually very deep, 

 abrupt, gently furrowed ; skin thick, tough, smooth or 

 sometimes roughened, dull ; color pale yellow, occasion- 

 ally marked with russet ; dots numerous, small, russet, 

 conspicuous ; flesh white, firm, rather granular and 

 stringy, tender, juicy, sweet, with a strong and dis- 

 agreeable flavor ; quality poor ; core very large, closed, 

 axile, with meeting core-lines ; calyx-tube short, wide, 

 broadly conical ; seeds large, average 2 in each carpel, 

 wide, long, very plump, acute. 



LE LECTIER. In size and beauty of fruit, 

 Le Lectier surpasses most of its associates, and 

 the quality is first rate in soils and climates 

 to which the variety is suited. Unfortunately 

 the tree is capricious to both soils and climates 

 and is seldom at home on this side of the At- 

 lantic. The season is December and January, 

 when good pears are scarce, and it would seem 



that the fine, large fruits of this pear would be 

 most acceptable for either home or market if 

 it could be made to thrive. In Europe, it 

 grows best on warm rich soils. Auguste 

 Lesueur, Orleans, France, obtained this late 

 winter pear about 1882 as a cross between 

 Bartlett and Fortunee. 



Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright, dense-topped, 

 sometimes unsymmetrical, very productive ; trunk and 

 branches medium in thickness and smoothness. Leaves 

 2% inches long, 1% inches wide, thick; apex taper- 

 pointed ; margin glandular, finely serrate ; petiole 2 ^4 

 inches long, slender. Flowers showy, l 1 /^ inches across, 

 8 or 10 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripens December- 

 January ; large, elongated-obovate-pyriform, often with 

 a narrow neck ; stem slender, rather short, enlarged at 

 both ends, inserted obliquely ; cavity irregular, often 

 lipped ; calyx variable in size, partly open ; basin 

 variable in size, abrupt, irregular ; skin glossy, thin, 

 with uneven surface ; color greenish-yellow becoming 

 yellower at full maturity, mottled and faintly blushed 

 on the exposed cheek with yellowish-bronze ; dots in- 

 conspicuous, small ; flesh white, fine-grained, melting, 

 juicy, sweet, pleasantly aromatic ; quality very good. 



LEON LECLERC. This variety is popu- 

 lar in Europe, but its reputation there is not 

 sustained here, although it fills a particular 

 niche in the pear season, the crop coming in 

 season between late fall and early winter at a 

 time when there are few other good varieties. 

 Were it not for a serious fault, the variety 

 might take high rank in America. After 

 Flemish Beauty, no other variety suffers as 

 much in fruit and foliage from scab. Well 

 grown in a congenial environment, the pears 

 are often as large as those of Duchesse d'An- 

 gouleme, with which they compare closely in 

 shape. On well-grown specimens, also, the 

 color is rich and beautiful. The flavor is 

 sprightly and refreshing, which, with good flesh- 

 characters, give the variety high rank for qual- 

 ity. There are no remarkable characters in 

 the trees to recommend them. The variety is 

 suitable only for collections. This pear origi- 

 nated with Leon Leclerc, Laval, France, about 

 1825. 



Tree medium in size, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, 

 slow-growing, productive ; trunk shaggy ; branches 

 roughish, reddish-brown, with numerous large lenticels. 

 Leaves 3 % inches long, 1 ^ inches wide, leathery ; apex 

 taper-pointed; margin glandless, entire; petiole 1*& 

 inches long, glabrous, reddish-green. Flowers showy, 

 1^4 inches across, in dense clusters, nearly a raceme, 

 7 or 8 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripens in late September 

 and October; large, 2*4 inches long, 3% inches wide, 

 oblong-pyriform, tapering to a very long, narrow neck ; 

 stem 1 inch long, thick, curved ; cavity very small, 

 compressed, usually lipped ; calyx large, open ; lobes 

 separated at the base, broad, acute ; basin shallow, 

 narrow, obtuse, symmetrical ; skin thick, tough, rough- 

 ened by russet specks ; color dull yellow, covered with 

 dots and tracings of russet and occasionally with a 

 faint russet-red blush ; dots numerous, small, russet, 

 conspicuous ; flesh granular under the skin, nearly melt- 

 ing, juicy, subacid or with a peculiar sprightliness ; 

 quality good ; core large, closed, with clasping core- 

 lines ; calyx-tube short, narrow, conical ; seeds large, 

 wide, long, acute. 



LINCOLN. Nearly a hundred years old 

 without having received favorable mention 

 from pear-growers, Lincoln has been brought 

 from the limbo of lost fruits in recent years 

 to take high rank in the list of pears for the 

 Mississippi Valley. The variety is spoken of 

 in such superlative terms for that region that 



