LUTHER BURBANK 



less seedlings from a great variety of crosses, and 

 have noted many variations, the Test is the only 

 one that I have thus far thought worthy of intro- 

 duction. Several hundred three-year-old seed- 

 lings of this new pear, grafted on quince stocks, 

 give great promise by their vigorous, compact 

 growth, heavy foliage and full, round buds. 



Among those that have fruited are some mam- 

 moth pears of exquisite quality when cooked; and 

 a few are good when fresh. 



There is unusual variation in growth of wood, 

 foliage, season of ripening, form, size, and quality 

 of fruit. Some of the hybrids have a smooth, pol- 

 ished skin with red cheeks; others are russet 

 throughout. The varying qualities of the hybrids 

 are doubtless due to the releasing of latent char- 

 acters brought about by the commingling of the 

 two widely diverse strains. 



It was necessary thus to hybridize and select 

 through successive generations, because the ori- 

 ental pear brought to the combination very unde- 

 sirable qualities of fruit as to texture and flavor. 

 Only when these were eliminated from later gen- 

 erations, and the qualities of the Bartlett and its 

 allies substituted, did the hybrid pear become a 

 commercial possibility. 



But, along with its undesirable qualities of 

 fruit, the oriental pear brought other qualities 



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