MOUNT VERNON 



ONTARIO 



97 



90. Mount Vernon. 

 (Xtt) 



granular, tender, buttery, very juicy, aromatic, with a 

 rich, vinous flavor ; quality very good ; core closed, with 

 clasping core-lines ; calyx-tube short, narrow, conical ; 

 seeds wide, acute. 



MOUNT VERNON. Fig. 90. As a dis- 

 tinct type, and because the pears ripen at a 

 season when there are few other varieties of 

 this fruit, Mount Vernon has a prominent 

 place in the list of worthy American pears. 

 The top shape and 

 reddish-russet color 

 make this a unique 

 pear in appearance, 

 and the greenish-yel- 

 low, granular, spicy, 

 piquant flesh consti- 

 tute very distinct 

 characters in the qual- 

 ity of the fruits. Lack 

 of uniformity in shape 

 and small size are the 

 chief defects. The va- 

 riety becomes further 

 valuable because it 

 ripens in early win- 

 ter, and under good 

 conditions may be 

 kept until midwinter. 

 The tree is vigorous 

 but has a small, dense 

 head with numerous, 



short, stocky branches, many of which droop, 

 the aspect given the top by these peculiarities 

 being quite distinct. The variety is worthy 

 when a winter pear is wanted whether for 

 home or market. Mount Vernon originated 

 from a chance seedling in the garden of Samuel 

 Walker, Roxbury, Massachusetts, about 1847. 



Tree large, vigorous, spreading, with many drooping 

 branches, dense-topped, hardy, productive, long-lived ; 

 trunk stocky, medium to rough ; branches thick, some- 

 what shaggy, reddish-brown, marked by few large 

 lenticels. Leaves 2Vfc inches long, l 1 /^ inches wide, oval, 

 medium to thick, leathery ; apex taper-pointed ; margin 

 crenate, tipped with rudimentary glands; petiole 1^4 

 inches long. Flowers 1% inches across, in dense clusters, 

 7 to 9 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe in late October 

 and November; medium in size, 2% inches long, 2% 

 inches wide, uniform in size, oblong-pyriform, with 

 unequal sides ; stem 1 inch long, thick, usually curved ; 

 cavity obtuse, shallow and narrow, russeted, furrowed, 

 often heavily lipped ; calyx open ; lobes short, narrow, 

 acuminate ; basin narrow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical ; 

 skin granular, roughened by russet, dull ; color light 

 russet overspreading a greenish-yellow ground, with a 

 brownish-red blush on the exposed cheek, dotted and 

 netted with russet ; dots numerous, small, russet, ob- 

 scure ; flesh with a faint tinge of yellow, granular, 

 tender and melting, juicy, sweet, aromatic ; quality good 

 to very good ; core large, closed, with clasping core- 

 lines ; calyx-tube short, wide, conical ; seeds variable in 

 size, wide, long, plump, acute, many abortive. 



OLIVIER DE SERRES. This variety is 

 rated in Europe as a valuable late winter pear, 

 and the pomological writers of the last century 

 give it all of the virtues on this side of the 

 Atlantic ascribed to it by Europeans. A closer 

 study of the variety in America shows that it 

 does not possess these merits. The quality of 

 the pear as grown here is below that of several 

 other sorts of its season; the flesh is coarse 

 and gritty and the flavor mediocre. The tree- 

 characters are good, but are not sufficiently 



good to offset the faults of the fruits. Olivier 

 de Serres was raised from seed about the mid- 

 dle of the nineteenth century by M. Boisbunel, 

 Rouen, France. 



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

 spreading, productive ; trunk and branches medium in 

 thickness and smoothness, marked with numerous lenti- 

 cels. Leaves 2 % inches long, 1 ^ inches wide ; apex 

 taper-pointed ; margin glandular, finely serrate ; petiole 

 2 inches long, slender. Flowers with an unpleasant odor, 

 showy, 1 % 6 inches across. Fruit ripens January- 

 March, medium in size, 2% inches long, 2% inches 

 wide, roundish-obtuse-pyriform, truncate at both ends, 

 irregular in outline ; stem variable in length, averaging 

 94 inch long, thick, enlarged at the top, curved ; cavity 

 broad, slightly furrowed ; calyx large, open ; basin 

 variable in depth, furrowed ; skin tender ; color greenish- 

 yellow, partly overspread with cinnamon-russet and 

 sometimes with a slight dull blush on the exposed cheek ; 

 flesh whitish, variable in texture, juicy, varying from 

 sweet to a brisk vinous flavor ; quality poor unless 

 grown under the most favorable conditions. 



ONONDAGA. Swan's Orange. Some 

 seventy or eighty years ago this pear was 

 widely introduced under the names Onondaga 

 and Swan's Orange, and for a generation was 

 much grown in eastern pear regions. It has 

 now practically passed from cultivation in 

 commercial orchards, but is still to be found 

 in collections and home plantings. The fruits 

 are large, handsome, and of very good quality, 

 resembling those of Bartlett in flavor and with 

 even better flesh-characters. The trees are vig- 

 orous, hardy, and fruitful, but so susceptible 

 to blight that the variety can never have com- 

 mercial value in American orchards. Whether 

 or not it is worth planting in home orchards 

 depends on the planter's willingness to suffer 

 loss from blight. The variety originated with 

 a Mr. Curtiss, Farmington, Connecticut, about 

 1790. 



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

 very productive ; branches zigzag, reddish-brown, marked 

 with many large lenticels. Leaves 3 Via inches long, 

 1^4 inches wide, narrow, oval inclining to lanceolate, 

 stiff, leathery ; apex taper-pointed ; margin coarsely but 

 shallowly serrate, tipped with many reddish glands ; 

 petiole 1% inches long, light green mingled with red. 

 Blossoms 1% inches across, in dense clusters, 7 to 8 

 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe in early October ; above 

 medium to large, 2% inches long, 2*6 inches wide, 

 obovate-obtuse-pyriform, symmetrical, with unequal 

 sides ; stem % inch long, thick, curved ; cavity a slight 

 depression, with fleshy enlargement at one side of the 

 stem ; calyx closed ; lobes narrow, acute ; basin narrow, 

 obtuse, furrowed, uneven ; skin granular, tender, smooth, 

 dull ; color rich, pale yellow, with a few lines of russet 

 and with many russet spots ; dots numerous, small, 

 russet, conspicuous ; flesh yellowish, granular both near 

 the skin and at the center, melting, buttery, very juicy, 

 aromatic, with a sweet, rich, vinous flavor ; quality very 

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

 tube long, conical ; seeds narrow, long, acute. 



ONTARIO. Ontario was introduced nearly 

 seventy years ago with the expectation that 

 the crop would follow that of Bartlett and be 

 in as great demand. While the variety has 

 not come up to expectations, it is too good 

 to discard. The fruits are of the type of 

 Bartlett, but are smaller and usually lack the 

 blush. The trees are very satisfactory. The 

 variety fails chiefly in the small size of the 

 fruits. Ontario was raised from seed in the 

 nurseries of W. & T. Smith, Geneva, New 

 York. 



