LINCOLN CORELESS 



LUCY DUKE 



95 



it would seem that men give it attributes which 

 Nature denies it. The fruits are but mediocre 

 in appearance and quality, falling below a 

 dozen other varieties of its season whether 

 judged by the eye or the palate. At their best, 

 they are comparable to those of Bartlett, which 

 the western admirers of the variety say it re- 

 sembles. Lincoln seems to possess a constitu- 

 tion to withstand cold, heat, and blight to 

 which most pears are subject. The variety is 

 valuable only in the Middle West. This pear 

 owes its origin to a seedling grown in the spring 

 of 1835 by Mrs. Maria Fleming, Corwin, Il- 

 linois. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, 

 rapid-growing, hardy, very productive ; trunk stocky, 

 smooth ; branches medium in thickness and smoothness, 

 zigzag, greenish-brown, marked especially on the younger 

 wood with very numerous, large, roundish, conspicuous 

 lenticels. Leaves 3% inches long, iy 2 inches wide, 

 stiff ; apex variable ; margin glandless, finely serrate ; 

 petiole 2 % inches long, glabrous, tinged with red ; 

 stipules very long and slender, pinkish. Flowers 1% 

 inches across, well distributed, average 5 buds in a 

 cluster. Fruit matures in late August and September ; 

 about 2 1 / 4 inches in length and width, roundish, with 

 an obtuse neck, tapering very slightly ; stem 1 % inches 

 long, slender ; cavity almost lacking, a slight, narrow 

 depression, occasionally slightly lipped ; calyx large, 

 open ; lobes separated at the base, long, acuminate ; 

 basin shallow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical ; skin thick, 

 tender, rough ; color dull greenish-yellow sprinkled with 

 few russet lines and nettings ; dots numerous, small, 

 russet, conspicuous ; flesh tinged with yellow, firm, 

 coarse and granular especially near the core, tender, 

 very juicy, sweet, aromatic, pleasing but not richly 

 flavored ; quality good ; core unusually large, closed, 

 with clasping core-lines ; calyx-tube short, wide, conical ; 

 seeds large, very wide, long, plump, acuminate. 



LINCOLN CORELESS. The product of 

 Lincoln Coreless is worthless for dessert, and 

 but a coarse makeshift for culinary purposes. 

 The variety receives attention only because 

 the pear is a monstrosity and a curiosity. The 

 fruits are enormous in size, outweighing all 

 other pears unless it be those of the Pound. 

 They are unique in having a very small core 

 and few or sometimes no seeds. They are fur- 

 ther characterized by very late maturity, ripen- 

 ing later than any other pear and keeping until 

 April. While usually rather dull greenish- 

 yellow in color, the cheek is often enlivened 

 by a bright blush which makes the fruits 

 attractive despite their grpssness. The catalogs 

 describe the trees as "blight proof," but they 

 blight. Lincoln Coreless originated in Lincoln 

 County, Tennessee, about 1830. 



Tree medium to small, vigorous, upright, very dense, 

 pyramidal, hardy, an uncertain bearer ; trunk shaggy ; 

 branches smooth, zigzag, reddish-brown, marked with 

 small lenticels. Leaves 3 inches long, 1% inches wide, 

 elongated-oval, leathery ; apex taper-pointed ; margin 

 finely serrate ; petiole 1 % inches long, reddish ; stipules 

 very long. Flowers 1% inches across, very large and 

 showy, average six buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe in 

 February ; very large, 5 V* inches long, 3 inches wide, 

 uniform in size, obovate-acute-pyriform, somewhat ribbed, 

 with unequal sides; stem 1% inches long, thick, curved; 

 cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, russeted, furrowed, often 

 lipped ; calyx open, large ; lobes separated at the base, 

 narrow, acute ; basin very shallow 7 , narrow, obtuse, fur- 

 rowed ; skin very thick, tough, coarse and granular, 

 smooth, dull ; color greenish-yellow, with a handsome 

 pinkish-red blush on the cheek exposed to the sun ; 

 dots many, brownish-russet, very conspicuous; flesh 

 yellowish-white, very firm, granular at the core, crisp, 

 tough, medium juicy, rather bitter and astringent ; 



quality poor ; core closed, with clasping core-lines ; 

 calyx-tube long, wide, conical ; seeds few, narrow, often 

 abortive, acute. 



LOUISE BONNE DE JERSEY. Louise. 

 Now known in America as Louise, this variety 

 is described here under the name used in 

 English and American pomologies to distin- 

 guish it from at least eight other varieties 

 having Louise as the whole or a part of the 

 name. The variety has many excellent quali- 

 ties of fruit and tree, which, however, are not 

 sufficiently above the average to give it high 

 place in the list of pears for the market. The 

 fruits are medium to large, handsome, of ex- 

 cellent quality and keep and ship well. The 

 trees are precariously hardy and somewhat sub- 

 ject to blight, but very vigorous, productive, 

 and long-lived. In Europe, the fruits are bet- 

 ter and the trees more productive when worked 

 on the quince, and in America the variety is 

 considered one of the best for dwarfing. This 

 pear is a standard one for home collections, 

 and finds favor in many commercial orchards. 

 The parent tree of this pear was raised 

 from seed about 1780 by M. de Longueval, 

 Avranches, Normandy. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright, very tall, dense-topped, 

 hardy, productive, long-lived ; trunk stocky ; branches 

 slightly zigzag, reddish-brown, with numerous raised 

 lenticels. Leaves 3% inches long, 1% inches wide, 

 much curled under at the margin, oval, leathery ; apex 

 slightly taper-pointed ; margin glandless, finely serrate ; 

 petiole 1% inches long, slender. Flowers with a dis- 

 agreeable odor, l 1 /^ inches across, white or sometimes 

 faintly tinged with pink along the edge of the petals, 

 averaging 6 buds in a cluster. Fruit matures in Oc- 

 tober ; medium to large, often 2 % inches long, 2 *4 

 inches wide, oblong-pyriform, somewhat irregular, stem 

 1 inch long, slender, usually curved ; cavity obtuse, 

 shallow, narrow, furrowed and wrinkled, often lipped, 

 the flesh folded up around the stem ; calyx open, large ; 

 lobes broad, acute ; basin obtuse, furrowed and uneven ; 

 skin granular, smooth ; color pale yellow, marked on 

 the exposed cheek with a dull pinkish-red blush and 

 with streaks of russet ; dots numerous, small, grayish 

 or russet, conspicuous ; flesh yellowish-white, tender and 

 melting, very juicy ; sweet, aromatic, rich ; quality very 

 good ; core closed, with clasping core-lines ; calyx-tube 

 short, wide, conical ; seeds large, wide, long, plump, 

 acute. 



LUCRATIVE: See Belle Lucrative. 



LUCY DUKE. Why Lucy Duke is neglect- 

 ed is hard to see. The pear has a rich, juicy, 

 spicy, melting flesh that makes it one of the 

 best. In form, the fruits resemble those of 

 Bartlett, which is probably one of the parents; 

 they are but medium in size, but are of a 

 beautiful golden russet color, which makes 

 them as handsome as the handsomest. The 

 skin is thick and the pears stand shipping well. 

 The variety can be recommended for home 

 and local markets, but the trees are unproduc- 

 tive and too irregular in bearing for commer- 

 cial orchards. The tree is hardy, but only 

 moderately vigorous, and resembles Winter 

 Nelis, supposed to be the other parent, in 

 habit of growth. The variety is relatively free 

 from blight. Lucy Duke was grown about 1880 

 by Mrs. Lucy Duke of Beaufort County, North 

 Carolina, from seed of a Bartlett pear. 



Tree medium to large, variable in vigor, upright be- 

 coming slightly spreading, dense-topped, hardy, very 



