14. The Lawrence Pear. 



THE LAWRENCE PEAR. 



By Parker Earle, South Pass, 111. 



1 i-ATELY asked a pear-growing friend to name the two most profita- 

 ble market pears. He promptly replied, " Bartlett and Lawrence." I 

 indorse my friend's opinion, only changing the statement to " Lawrence 

 and Bartlett." Undoubtedly the Bartlett is to-day the most popular 

 pear in America ; but its great popularity seems to be threatening the 

 ruin of its profitableness. I judge that fully one third of all the pear 

 trees planted in this country are Bartletts. Within my personal ac- 

 quaintance the proportion is still larger. The effect is even now being 

 felt in the depression of prices during the season of this variety. The 

 great quantity to be hereafter thrown on the market, and at a time 

 when peaches are the most abundant, gives promise of low prices for 

 all varieties during its season. 



So it seems to me that the pear likely to be the most remunerative to 

 the grower a dozen years hence will be found among the later varieties. 

 My own experience and observation every year shortens the list from 

 which this " best pear " must be taken. I cannot now name a half 

 dozen kinds which, in our climate and soil, answer the most essential 

 requisites of good maiket pears. With me, the Lawrence, at present, 

 heads this list. 



As a tree, it is one of the two or three best. It is a fair, compact, 

 but not extravagant grower ; it is very hardy in winter, needs very 

 little pruning to make a good form, and is as free from blight as the 

 best. But a more important point is its persistence of foliage. \\\ this 

 respect, I do not know its superior. For us in "Egypt" this is be- 

 coming the very first question regarding pear trees. To-day nine out 

 of ten of my experimental varieties are as leafless as in winter, and 

 many of our hitherto trustworthy kinds are this year badly defoliated. 

 But the Lawrence trees retain their leaves almost as perfectly as the oaks. 



In respect to quality of fruit, I don't know how I would have the 

 Lawrence improved, though it may be too sweet for some tastes. It is 

 uniformly of a rich, sweet flavor, equalled by none in its season, — pos- 

 sibly excepting Dana's Hovey, — and surpassed only by the Seckel in 

 any season. It never rots at the core. It is an excellent keeper. It 

 colors finely, and has a handsome form, and though only of medium 

 size, it is as large as a pear ever need be for good looks and conven- 

 ience ; and yet it will not satisfy the demand for simple " bigness," 

 which so often decides a sale in the fruit markets. 



