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102 



SOUVENIR DU CONGRES 



SUDDUTH 



pointed ; margin finely serrate ; petiole 1 ^ inches long. 

 Flowers 1% inches across, in dense clusters, 13 or 14 

 buds in a cluster. Fruit matures in October ; large, 2 % 

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

 turbinate, symmetrical ; stem % inch long, thick, nearly 

 straight ; cavity obtuse, deep, furrowed, occasionally 

 lipped ; calyx large, open ; lobes very broad, obtuse ; 

 basin wide, obtuse, symmetrical ; skin thick, granular, 

 tender, roughish ; color dull greenish-yellow with a faint 

 brownish-red blush overspread with russet nettings and 

 streaks ; dots numerous, small, russet ; flesh whitish, some- 

 what granular, tender and melting, very juicy, sweet and 

 vinous, with a rich and pleasantly aromatic flavor ; 

 quality very good to best; core large, closed, with 

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

 seeds acute. 



SOUVENIR DU CONGRES. Fig. 96. 

 Congress, Souvenir. Very similar to Clapp 

 Favorite and Bartlett, and not as^ good as 

 either in fruit, Souvenir du Congres hardly 

 merits a place in American pomology. Yet 



96. Souvenir du Congres. (X%) 



since the crop ripens between those of the two 

 sorts with which it has been compared, and 

 because the fruits are larger and often hand- 

 somer, the variety may be worthy a place in 

 collections. The fruits are said to be larger 

 and of better quality when the tree is double- 

 worked on the quince. The tree is remarkable 

 for vigor, hardihood to cold, and healthf ulness ; 

 and bears so abundantly that the crop must 

 be thinned to prevent breaking of branches. 

 Souvenir du Congres owes its origin to Fran- 

 Qois Morel, Lyons, France. M. Morel sowed 

 seeds in 1852, and one of the resultant trees 

 bore fruit in 1863, and was named Souvenir 

 du Congres. 



Tree medium in size and vigor, upright-spreading, 

 open-topped, very productive ; branches zigzag, dull 

 reddish-brown, marked by small, raised lenticels. Leaves 

 1% inches long, 1% inches wide, roundish-oval, leath- 

 ery ; apex abruptly pointed ; margin tipped with very 

 few glands, finely serrate ; petiole 1 % inches long, 

 glabrous, tinged with red. Flowers with a disagreeable 

 odor, 1% inches across, pinkish-white as the buds 

 unfold, becoming whitish, in dense clusters, 6 to 8 "cuds 

 in a cluster. Fruit ripe in September ; large, 3 %e 

 inches lone. 2 iVi inches wide, quite uniform in size 

 and shape, oblong-acute-pyriform, symmetrical, with 



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

 cavity obtuse, almost lacking, shallow, narrow, russeted, 

 furrowed, often with the stem inserted beneath a pro- 

 nounced irregular lip ; calyx open ; lobes separated at 

 the base, narrow, acute ; basin wide, obtuse and flaring, 

 furrowed, symmetrical, smooth except for the thick 

 russet covering ; color yellow, with a reddish blush on 

 the exposed cheek, covered with nettings of russet and 

 yellow patches ; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicu- 

 ous ; flesh white, tinged with yellow, firm, granular, 

 tender, very juicy, sweet, musky ; quality good ; core 

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

 conical ; seeds long, wide, plump, acute. 



SOUVENIR D'ESPEREN. Downing in 

 1869 noted this old French pear as one of the 

 best for either amateur or commercial grower, 

 and at that time it was rather widely planted. 

 Now, growers seldom set it. The trees are 

 vigorous, hardy, healthy, and productive, and 

 the fruits are attractive in appearance and 

 good in quality, but neither tree nor fruit rise 

 much above mediocrity, and the variety has 

 no outstanding character to give it individu- 

 ality. The crop comes in season in December, 

 after which the pears quickly decay. The va- 

 riety is worth planting only for the sake of 

 greater diversity. Major Esperen, Mechlin 

 Belgium, raised this pear from seed about the 

 middle of the nineteenth century. 



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

 slow-growing, productive ; trunk and branches medium 

 in thickness and smoothness ; branches reddish-brown, 

 marked with very conspicuous but scattering lenticels. 

 Leaves 3 inches long, 1 % inches wide ; apex abruptly 

 pointed ; margin uneven, finely serrate ; petiole 2 % 

 inches long, tinged red. Flowers open late, showy, 1% 

 inches across, average 7 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe 

 the last of November and December ; above medium to 

 large, 3% inches long, 2% inches wide, oblong-obovate- 

 pyriform, the surface uneven; stem 1% inches long, 

 slender ; cavity very obtuse and shallow or lacking, the 

 flesh drawn up about the base of the stem in a lip ; 

 calyx partly open, small ; lobes separated at the base, 

 short, narrow, acute ; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, 

 wrinkled ; skin thick, roughened with russet ; color 

 greenish-yellow well mottled and patched with russet, 

 sprinkled with many russet dots and often with russet 

 overspreading nearly the entire surface ; dots numerous, 

 russet, small ; flesh yellowish, very granular near the 

 center, firm, crisp but tender, juicy, with a pleasant, 

 aromatic, vinous flavor ; quality good to very good ; 

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

 short, wide, conical ; seeds small, short, plump, acute, 

 light brown. 



SUDDUTH. Sudduth has little to recom- 

 mend it for eastern pear regions, but it is a 

 standard sort in parts of the Mississippi Valley. 

 The characters which give it a place in the 

 pear flora of the region just named are: re- 

 markable freedom from blight; hardiness to 

 cold and heat; capacity to withstand drought; 

 early bearing; and great productiveness. The 

 fruits are neither attractive in appearance nor 

 high in quality hardly fit for dessert, being 

 but a grade or two better than the disreputable 

 Kieffer. Like those of the Kieffer, however, 

 they do very well for all culinary purposes. 

 The pears do not keep well, as they soften at 

 the center soon after becoming edible. The 

 trees are nearly as hardy as those of the wild 

 crab-apple. The variety is desirable only where 

 hardiness and freedom from blight are prime 

 requisites. Sudduth was introduced about 

 1895, although the parent tree was at that time 

 fully seventy years old. It originated from 



