196 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 
previously no other author had made mention of it, though M. Leroy, 
writing in 1867, deemed it presumable that it had originated in France. 
Besides its original names this pear has been known by some fifty others 
in different localities and at different times, but Madeleine is now its 
recognized name in this country. In England, it is known as the Citron 
des Carmes. When and by whom it was introduced to America is not 
clear, but it was a standard variety as early as 1831 when Prince first 
described it. At the national convention of fruit-growers held in 1848, 
Madeleine was recommended for general cultivation, and ever since this 
time the variety has appeared in the fruit-catalog of the American Pomo- 
logical Society. 
Tree large, vigorous, upright, open-topped, tender, productive; trunk shaggy; branches 
zigzag, light greenish-brown covered with gray scarf-skin; branchlets slender, long, reddish- 
brown mingled with green, mottled with ash-gray near the tips, smooth, glabrous, with small, 
raised, conspicuous lenticels. 
Leaf-buds small, very short, pointed, appressed. Leaves 3 in. long, 1} in. wide, thin; 
apex taper-pointed; margin glandless, finely serrate; petiole 12 in. long, glabrous, reddish- 
green. Flower-buds small, thick, short, conical, plump, free, distributed as lateral buds 
or on very short spurs; flowers showy, 13 in. across, in dense clusters, average 11 buds in a 
cluster; pedicels 14 in. long, slightly pubescent. 
Fruit ripens in early August; inferior in size, 23 in. long, 2 in. wide, roundish-obtuse- 
pyriform; stem 13 in. long, thick, curved; cavity very shallow and narrow, or lacking, the 
flesh folded in a lip on one side of the stem; calyx partly open; lobes separated at the base, 
short, narrow, acuminate; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, gently furrowed, symmetrical; 
skin thin, smooth, very tender; color dull green, occasionally with a faint, dotted, brownish 
blush; dots numerous, greenish, obscure; flesh slightly tinged yellow, granular at the center, 
tender and melting, very juicy, sweet, vinous; quality good to very good. Core closed, 
with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds wide, short, plump, 
acuminate. 
MARGARET 
1. Horticulturist 21:172, 245, fig. 80. 1866. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 53. 1869. 3. Downing Fr. 
Trees Am. 811. 1869. 4. Mo. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 35, 36. 1890. §. Guide Prat. 68,279. 1895. 
Mary. 6. Horticulturist 21:78, figs. 43 and 44. 1866. 
The fruits of Margaret are early and attractive in color and shape. 
This is about all that can be said for them, as they run small in size, and in 
neither flesh nor flavor can they compete with the product of several other 
varieties of the same season. The trees are hardly more desirable than the 
fruits, since they are tender to cold, blight badly, and are short-lived, 
seldom attaining full size. Despite these defects of fruit and tree, the 
variety is a one-time favorite still rather commonly planted. Better sum- 
