THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 175 
freedom from the ravages of the scab fungus than those of almost any 
other pear. These qualities make Howell a most estimable variety for the 
home orchard where intensive care cannot be given. The variety further 
commends itself to amateur growers, because the trees bear early, annually, 
and abundantly. Howell seems to be better suited to the middle western 
states than to the eastern states. 
In 1829 or 1830, Thomas Howell, New Haven, Connecticut, planted 
in his garden seeds from a variety of pear known locally as the Jonah, a 
hard and tough winter sort which seldom matures sufficiently to be regarded 
as a dessert fruit. One of the trees resulting from these seeds came into 
bearing in 1842 or 1843. Specimens were exhibited in Faneuil Hall by the 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1848 and were considered to be 
‘of the first class and worthy of cultivation in every place where the soil 
and climate are congenial.’’ In 1856, the Howell pear was recommended 
for general cultivation by the American Pomological Society. 
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped; trunk thick; branches stocky, reddish- 
brown, overspread with gray scarf-skin, with few small lenticels; branchlets thick, short, 
dull reddish-brown, smooth, glabrous, with a few large, raised lenticels. 
Leaf-buds large, long, conical, free. Leaves 2 in. long, 1} in. wide, oval, leathery; apex 
taper-pointed; margin finely serrate, hairy, tipped with very minute glands; petiole 14 in. 
long. Flower-buds large, long, conical, rather plump, free; flowers open early, 13 in. across, 
in dense clusters, from 7 to 15 buds in a cluster; pedicels 17's in. long, pubescent, greenish. 
Fruit ripe in late September and October; medium in size, 22 in. long, 2} in. wide, 
uniform in size and shape, round-obovate, symmetrical; stem 1 in. long, thick, straight; 
cavity obtuse, very shallow and narrow, often with almost no cavity, smooth, symmetrical; 
calyx open, small; lobes separated at the base, short, narrow, obtuse; basin obtuse, slightly 
furrowed, nearly symmetrical; skin smooth, dull; color pale lemon-yellow, marked on the 
side exposed to the sun with a trace of blush and with patches and tracings of russet; dots 
many, small, russet, very conspicuous; flesh yellowish-white, firm but tender, granular, 
melting, very juicy, sweet, with a rich, somewhat brisk, almost vinous flavor, aromatic; 
quality very good. Core rather large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, 
wide, conical; seeds long, plump, acute, frequently abortive. 
IDAHO 
1. U.S. D, A. Rpt. 572, Pl. TI. 1888. 2. Can. Hort. 12:2, fig. 1, Pl. 1889. 3. Wickson Cal. Fruits 
341. 1889. 4. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 477, fig. 691. 1897. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 36. 1899. 6 
Rev. Hort. 60. 1901. 7. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 2:249. 1903. 
There is much difference of opinion as to the value of Idaho in America. 
Without question, the variety is of considerable worth in parts of the Pacific 
Northwest, and especially in regions where hardihood is a prime requisite. 
