192 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 
LINCOLN CORELESS 
1. Parry Cat. 9, fig. 1891. 2. Ann. Hort.185. 1892. 3. Ill. Hort. Soc, Rpt. 137. 1894. 4. Ibid. 
52,178. 1896. §. Rural N. Y. 64:256. 1905. 
The product of Lincoln Coreless is worthless for dessert, and but a 
coarse makeshift for culinary purposes. The variety receives attention 
only because the pear is a monstrosity and a curiosity. The fruits are 
enormous in size, outweighing all other pears unless it be those of the Pound. 
They are unique in having a very small core and few or sometimes no 
seeds. They are further characterized by very late maturity, ripening 
later than those of any other pear on the grounds of this Station and 
keeping until April. While usually rather dull greenish-yellow in color, 
the cheek is often enlivened by a bright blush which makes the fruits 
rather attractive despite their grossness. The catalogs describe the trees 
as “blight proof,” but they blight on the grounds of this Station. The 
variety is worth growing only as an interesting curiosity. 
According to William Parry, Parry, New Jersey, Lincoln Coreless 
originated in Lincoln County, Tennessee, near the Alabama line, about 
1830. The original tree was rated as productive and free from blight, 
and young trees propagated from it have been unusually healthy and- 
vigorous. The variety was introduced about 1890 by William Parry. 
Tree small, vigorous, upright, very dense, pyramidal, hardy, an uncertain bearer; 
trunk shaggy; branches smooth, zigzag, reddish-brown mingled with ash-gray, marked 
with small lenticels; branchlets short to medium, dull brown, smooth, glabrous, with 
conspicuous lenticels. 
Leaf-buds large, obtuse, plump, appressed. Leaves 3 in. long, 1$ in. wide, elongated- 
oval, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin finely serrate; petiole 13 in. long, reddish; 
stipules very long. Flower-buds short, obtuse, plump, free; flowers 12 in. across, very 
large and showy, average 6 buds in a cluster; pedicels 18 in. long, thick, pubescent, pale 
green. 
Fruit ripe in February; very large, 42 in. long, 3 in. wide, uniform in size, obovate- 
acute-pyriform, somewhat ribbed, with unequal sides; stem 12 in. long, thick, curved; 
cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, russeted, furrowed, often lipped; calyx open, large; lobes 
separated at the base, narrow, acute; basin very shallow, narrow, obtuse, furrowed; skin 
very thick, tough, coarse and granular, smooth, dull; color greenish-yellow, with a handsome 
blush on the cheek exposed to the sun; dots many, brownish-russet, very conspicuous; 
flesh yellowish-white, very firm, granular at the core, crisp, tough, medium juicy, rather 
bitter and astringent; quality poor. Core closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube 
long, wide, conical; seeds few, narrow, often abortive, acute. 
