SECKEL 



SHELDON 



101 



to blight, and is equalled by no other variety 

 in high quality of fruit. If the fruits were 

 larger, Seckel would challenge the world as a 

 pear for the markets as it now does as a pear 

 for the home orchard. After Bartlett and the 



94. Seckel. (X%) 



disreputable Kieffer, it is now more grown 

 than any other variety in America. The fruits 

 are small, not highly colored, but attractive 

 because clean and trim in contour. The flesh 

 is melting, juicy, perfumed and most ex- 

 quisitely and delicately flavored, with the 

 curious character of having much of its spicy, 

 aromatic flavor in the skin which should never 

 be discarded in eating. The reddish-brown 

 color of the fruit is another distinguishing 

 character of Seckel. Another distinctive char- 

 acter is that the fruits do not lose much if any 

 by ripening on the tree. Besides being nearly 

 iron-clad in resistance to blight and very pro- 

 ductive, the trees are as hardy as those of 

 any other pear, and are remarkable for their 

 large, compact, broadly pyramidal tops. The 

 tree is further distinguished by its short- 

 jointed, stout, olive-colored wood, and its 

 habit of bearing fruits in clusters on the ends 

 of the branches. Its blossoms are markedly 

 self-fertile. There are several faults of fruit 

 and tree: thus, the fruits are small and do 

 not keep after maturity; fruit and foliage are 

 susceptible to scab; the pears are too small 

 for commercial canning; and the trees are late 

 in coming in bearing. Notwithstanding these 

 several faults, Seckel is usually a profitable 

 commercial variety, as a well-grown crop al- 

 most always commands a fancy price. For 

 the home orchard, it has no rival in any part 

 of North America where European varieties 

 are grown. Seckel is supposed to have origi- 

 nated as a chance seedling soon after the 

 Revolutionary War near Philadelphia, Penn- 

 sylvania. 



Tree very large, very vigorous, upright-spreading, 

 dense-topped, hardy, very productive, long-lived ; trunk 

 stocky ; branches thick, reddish-brown, covered with 

 small lenticels. Leaves 2% inches long, 1% inches 

 wide, oval, leathery ; apex taper-pointed ; margin finely 

 serrate ; petiole 1 ^ inches long ; stipules very long 



when present. Flowers 1 % inches across, in dense clusters, 

 7 or 8 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe in October; small, 

 2 inches long, 1% inches wide, uniform in size and 

 shape, obovate, symmetrical ; stem % inch long, short, 

 thick, often curved ; cavity obtuse, with a shallow, nar- 

 row depression, symmetrical ; calyx small, partly open ; 

 lobes separated at the base, short, variable in width, 

 acute ; basin shallow, narrow, strongly obtuse, sym- 

 metrical ; skin smooth, dull ; color yellowish-brown, 

 lightly marked with pale russet and often with a russet- 

 red cheek ; dots numerous, very small, russet or grayish ; 

 flesh white, with a faint tinge of yellow, slightly 

 granular, melting, buttery, very juicy, sweet, with an 

 exceedingly rich, aromatic, spicy flavor ; quality very 

 good to best ; core small, closed, with clasping core- 

 lines ; calyx-tube short, conical ; seeds small, short, not 

 very plump, obtuse. 



SHELDON. Fig. 95. The fruits of Shel- 

 don satisfy both the eye and the palate; no 

 rival in season surpasses them in either ap- 

 pearance or quality. While not large, they 

 are of sufficient size to meet the demands of a 

 good dessert fruit. The shape is a perfect 

 turbinate, truncated at the base, and is usually 

 symmetrical and uniform. In color, the pears 

 are very distinctive, the whole fruit being more 

 or less russeted, with a handsome ruddy cheek. 

 The flesh is melting and juicy, and deserves 

 more than almost any other pear the adjective 

 luscious; it is sweet, vinous, and highly per- 

 fumed with a pleasant musky aroma. The 



95. Sheldon. (X%) 



fruits keep and ship well, and are esteemed 

 both for dessert and culinary purposes. The 

 trees, while large, vigorous, and hardy, are not 

 productive, blight as badly as any pear in 

 the orchard, are reluctant in coming in bearing, 

 and seldom hold their crop well, so that in 

 exposed positions the wind takes great toll. 

 These faults of the tree keep Sheldon from 

 being a commercial variety of high rank, but 

 the fine fruits make it worth growing in the 

 home orchard or for the markets where the 

 faults of the trees are not too marked. This 

 pear is a native of the town of Huron, Wayne 

 County, New York. The original tree stood 

 on the premises of Major Sheldon, having 

 sprung from seed planted about 1815. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, rapid-growing, 

 hardy, productive; trunk stocky; branches thick, reddish - 

 brown, marked with large lenticels. Leaves 2% inches 

 long, 1% inches wide, oval, leathery ; apex taper- 



