WILDER EARLY 



WINTER NELIS 



105 



scab fungus which often cracks and scabs the 

 pears and defoliates the trees. Except in sus- 

 ceptibility to scab, the trees are nearly flawless 

 when grown in the soil which they prefer a 

 rich clay which should be heavy rather than 

 light. On such soil, tree and fruit attain per- 

 fection. Grown in a light soil, and when scab 

 is unchecked, the fruits are small, green, 



98. White Doyenne. 



cracked, and cankered intolerable to sight 

 and taste. Unfortunately, also, the trees are 

 ravaged by blight when that disease is epi- 

 demic. The faults named have made the 

 variety an outcast, but it should still receive 

 attention for the superb quality of its fruits 

 where scab and blight can be controlled. This 

 pear is one of the oldest of all varieties. So 

 confused is its identity that it is impossible 

 to state whether the variety originated in 

 France or was brought to that country from 

 Italy. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright, vasiform, hardy, very 

 productive ; trunk stocky, somewhat smooth ; branches 

 thick, dark gray, with many large lenticels. Leaves 

 2 % inches long, 1 % inches wide, flattened, leathery ; 

 apex taper-pointed; margin finely serrate; petiole 1% 

 inches long, slender. Flowers early, 1% inches across, 

 in dense clusters, 7 or 8 buds in a cluster. Fruit ma- 

 tures in early October ; medium in size, 2 ^4 inches 

 long, 2% inches wide, uniform, obovate-obtuse-pyriform, 

 symmetrical ; stem % inch long, thick, slightly curved ; 

 cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, russeted, usually sym- 

 metrical ; calyx small, open or closed ; lobes short, 

 narrow, obtuse ; basin shallow, obtuse, nearly smooth, 

 symmetrical ; skin thick, tough, smooth, dull ; color 

 clear pale yellow with a small amount of bright red 

 blush on the exposed cheek ; dots numerous, small, 

 russet, conspicuous ; flesh yellowish-white, granular, firm 

 at first bat becoming melting when fully ripe, juicy, 

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

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

 wide, conical ; seeds wide, plump, obtuse. 



WILDER EARLY. Early Wilder. Wild- 

 er. This is one of the good, early pears for 

 the markets, more highly prized in the 

 Mississippi Valley than in the eastern states. 

 The pears are very attractive in size, shape, 

 and in the bright lemon-yellow color with a 

 flaming cheek to the sun. The whole pear is 

 characteristically marked with small russet 

 dots set in a pinkish circle. Of all summer 

 pears, the fruits of this one seems least in- 

 clined to rot at the center, and usually keep 



longer and ship better, although the skin is 

 tender and bruises easily. The flesh is buttery, 

 moderately juicy, sweet and rich, with a faint, 

 pleasant perfume. The fruits are small, but 

 are edible almost to the very center, the core 

 being very small. The tree is large, vigorous, 

 prodigiously productive, as healthy as any, and 

 is a remarkably handsome ornamental. De- 

 spite this catalog of virtues, Wilder Early is 

 not largely planted, there being small demand 

 for summer pears. Wilder Early is a chance 

 seedling found by Charles A. Green, Rochester, 

 New York, about 1884, in Chautauqua County, 

 New York. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright, dense-topped, rapid- 

 growing, hardy, very productive ; trunk and branches 

 medium in thickness and smoothness ; branches zigzag, 

 reddish-brown, with numerous lenticels. Leaves 3% 

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



?ointed ; margin very finely serrate ; petiole 2 inches 

 ong, glabrous. Flowers 1 %e inches across, white or 

 tinged with pink, in dense clusters, average 7 buds in 

 a cluster. Fruit ripe in late August ; large, 2 % inches 

 long, 2 % inches wide, oblong-pyriform, symmetrical ; 

 stem % inch long, very thick ; cavity acute, narrow, 

 russeted and with rays of russet extending over the 

 sides, slightly compressed, rarely lipped ; calyx large, 

 open ; lobes separated at the base, long, narrow, acumi- 

 nate ; basin very shallow, narrow, obtuse, wrinkled ; 

 skin thin, tender, smooth, dull ; color pale lemon-yellow 

 with a blush on the exposed cheek, often deepening to 

 dark pink ; dots characteristically distinct, very numer- 

 ous, small, russet or russet-red ; flesh white, stringy, 

 tender and melting, buttery, moderately juicy, sweet, 

 faintly aromatic ; quality good ; core small, closed, with 

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

 seeds long, narrow, acute. 



WINTER BARTLETT. Winter Bartlett 

 is heralded from the Pacific Coast as a winter 

 variety bearing fruits similar to those of Bart- 

 lett. As the fruits grow in New York, there 

 is a suggestion of Bartlett in the shape, color 

 and flavor, but in size they fall far short. As 

 the variety grows in the East, the name is a 

 misnomer, several other sorts being more like 

 Bartlett than this one. The season is Decem- 

 ber and January, a time when there are a half- 

 dozen other good pears, and since this one has 

 no outstanding characters, it is doubtful if it 

 will outlive a brief period of probation in 

 eastern orchards. The westerners say that the 

 tree is very resistant to blight. This pear 

 originated at Eugene, Oregon, some time prior 

 to 1880. 



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

 hardy, productive ; branches stocky, smooth, light-brown, 

 with few lenticels. Leaves 3*4 inches long, 1% inches 

 wide, stiff ; apex taper-pointed ; margin finely serrate ; 

 petiole 2% inches long. Flowers 1% inches across, in 

 dense clusters, average 5 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe 

 in December and January ; large, 3 inches long, 2 % 

 inches wide, oblong-obovate-pyriform ; stem 1 inch long, 

 thick, curved ; cavity narrow, shallow, smooth, oblique ; 

 calyx small, nearly closed ; lobes short ; basin small, 

 shallow, irregular ; skin uneven in surface ; color at- 

 tractive yellow, splashed with russet and often blushed 

 on the exposed cheek with bright red ; dots numerous, 

 email, brownish-russet ; flesh yellowish-white, fine- 



long, plump, obtuse. 



WINTER NELIS. Fig. 99. Winter Nelis 

 is the standard winter pear in the United 

 States. Both fruits and trees possess several 



