®lje Cauabiait |5ortitiiltiirfet 



VOL. L] FEBRUARY, 1878. [NO, 2. 



CLAPFS FAVORITK 



Some of the in«inbers of the Association who received a tree of this 

 pear in the Spring of 1873, have had the satisfaction of seeing the fruit 

 and testing its quality. Mr. A. Morse, of Smithville, County of Lincoln^ 

 in reporting upon the trees received from the Association, speaks of this 

 fruit as being j^ow. His report, which is extremely laconic, does not 

 e.xplain in what respect he finds it poor, nor give any account of the 

 soil in which the tree is planted, nor the exposure to sun and air in 

 which it is growing. Our own experience with this variety does not, 

 by any means, confirm the opinion given by Mr. Morse. We have 

 found the tree to be a vigorous grower, forming a very handsome head, 

 quite hardy, and no more subject to the pear-blight than its parent, 

 the Flemish Beauty. The trees are growing in a gravelly loam, wath 

 a clayey bottom, and sheltered on the west by an apple orchard. The 

 fruit is large, very uniform in size, and evenly distributed through the 

 tree ; the appearance, when ripe, is very handsome, the color being a 

 pale lemon yellow, with splashes ■of crimson on the sunny side, and 

 occasional patches of russet The flesh is very fine grained, buttery, 

 and juicy, with a very agreeable, sweet, vinous flavor. It ripens before 

 the Bartlett, and like all summer pears, will not last long ; indeed to 

 be enjoyed at all, must be quickly consumed. It has the fault of its 

 parent, namely that of decaying at the core, so that while the exterior 

 is very beautiful and firm, giving the impression of soundness and 

 perfection, the interior may be wholly decayed. It is quite possible, 

 that to this peculiarity Mr. Morse may have more especial reference 

 when he pronounces it poor. 



It is possible, however, to remedy tliis fault to a very considerable 

 extent, by gathering the fruit before it is fully ripe. The exact time 

 when to gather it can only be. ascertained by experiment. In the 

 case of the writer's soil and exposure, it will not do to let the fruit 



