142 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 
Leaf-buds small, short, conical, pointed, appressed; leaf-scars prominent. Leaves 
33 in. long, 2 in. wide, oval, thin, leathery; apex abruptly pointed; margin glandular, 
finely serrate; petiole 23 in. long. Flower-buds large, conical, pointed, plump, free, arranged 
singly on short spurs and branchlets; flowers 13 in. across, showy, in dense clusters, 6 to 
8 buds in a cluster; pedicels $ in. long, slender, pubescent, greenish. 
Fruit ripe in late September and October; medium in size, 2} in. long, 2 in. wide, 
uniform in size and shape, oblong-obovate-pyriform, with unequal sides; stem } in. long, 
very thick; cavity obtuse, very shallow, narrow, russeted, gently furrowed, often lipped; 
calyx open; lobes separated at the base, short, narrow, obtuse; basin shallow, obtuse, 
gently furrowed; skin thick, very tough and granular, smooth except for the russet markings, 
dull; color deep brownish-yellow, with a bright reddish blush on the exposed cheek toward 
the basin; dots many, small, brownish or russet, conspicuous; flesh white, tinged with yellow, 
firm, granular, stringy toward the center, juicy, sweet, aromatic; quality good. Core 
large, closed; core-lines clasping; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds large, wide, plump, 
acute. 
CLAPP FAVORITE 
1. Mass. Hort. Soc. Rpt. §0. 1860. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 20. 1867. 3. Pom. France 4: No. 170, 
Pl. 170. 1867. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 720, fig. 1869. 5. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 452. 1897. 
Favorite de Clapp. 6. Mas Le Verger 2:207, fig. 102. 1866-73. 
Clapp’s Favourite. 7. Hogg Fruit Man. 548. 1884. 8. Bunyard-Thomas Fr. Gard. 134, 462, fig. 
1904. 
Clapp's Liebling. 9. Gaucher Pom. Prak. Obst. No. 31, Pl. 46. 1894. 
Clapp Favorite is by universal consent the standard late summer pear 
to precede Bartlett, which it much resembles in size, shape, color, and flavor. 
In most regions in the United States and Canada where pears are largely 
zrown for the market, Clapp Favorite is the first pear to be put on the 
market. The season is usually a week or sometimes ten days before that 
of Bartlett. The chief fault of the fruits is that they soon soften at the 
center after ripening, to obviate which they should be picked at least ten 
days before they would ripen on the tree. This softening at the core debars 
the fruit from distant markets, and makes it suitable only for local trade. 
The illustration of the whole fruit in the accompanying plate is so fore- 
shortened by the camera that size and shape are not shown correctly, but 
the half-fruit illustrates the size and shape very well. The fruits are usually 
a little larger than those of Bartlett. Except in one particular, the trees 
of Clapp Favorite are as nearly perfect as those of any variety in American 
orchards. The weak character, unfortunately, is a most important one, 
and all but debars the variety from some regions in which pear-growing is 
a large industry. The weakness is susceptibility to blight. No standard 
pear goes down so quickly as this one when blight is epidemic. Two good 
characters of the trees redeem the variety from failure because of blight. 
