182 ; THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 
Leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, slightly pointed, appressed. Leaves 33 in. long, 13 in. 
wide, oval, thick, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin often finely serrate; petiole 17 in. 
long. Flower-buds conical to pointed, free; flowers open early, 13 in. across, fairly well 
distributed, varying from 3 to 11 buds in a cluster; pedicels 1§ in. long, thick, very slightly 
pubescent, green, rarely tinged red. 
Fruit matures in late October and November; above medium to large, 23 in. long, 23 in. 
wide, oval, narrowing at both ends, symmetrical, uniform; stem 1 in. long, thick; cavity 
very small, smooth; calyx open; lobes separated at the base, short, narrow, acute; basin 
shallow, narrow, obtuse, nearly smooth; skin thick, tough, smooth; color yellow, blushed 
with dull red on the exposed cheek; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh yel- 
lowish-white, very granular and coarse, crisp, juicy, not sweet, often astringent; quality 
poor. Core large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds 
wide, plump, acute. 
KINGSESSING 
1. Mag. Hort. 13:450. 1847. 2. Ibid. 19:453, 516, fig. 32. 1853. 3.Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 231. 1858. 
4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 795. 1869. 
A summing up of the characters of Kingsessing, as is so often the case 
with varieties of fruits, makes it appear a most desirable sort. Neverthe- 
less, its culture does not make headway. Growers rate it as a “‘ good pear,” 
but will not grow it, for the reason, no doubt, that it has no outstanding 
characters for any region, season, or purpose. As the pears grow on the 
grounds of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station they are a little 
under size for a good commercial fruit, and while the sweet, perfumed 
flavor is pleasant, it lacks individuality. The variety is grown chiefly along 
the Atlantic Coast from Long Island to Maryland. 
This is a natural seedling which sprang up in the family burial ground 
of Isaac Leech, Kingsessing, a suburb of Philadelphia, about 1833. The 
tree first fruited about 1843. Dr. Brincklé, who introduced the variety, 
thought from its close resemblance to Chapman that it was probably a seed- 
ling from it, or of its parent, the Petre, as trees of both these varieties stood 
in the vicinity of the Kingsessing. The American Pomological Society 
placed Kingsessing on its fruit-list in 1858 but dropped it in 1899. 
Tree very large and vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, rapid-growing, hardy, 
medium in yield; trunk very thick; branches very stocky, grayish-brown, sprinkled with 
numerous large lenticels; branchlets thick, long, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous 
rather small, raised, conspicuous lenticels. 
Leaf-buds large, long, conical, free. Leaves 2} in. long, 13 in. wide; apex abruptly 
pointed; margin glandular, finely serrate; petiole rj in. long. Flower-buds large, conical, 
free. 
