212 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 
obscure, greenish or russet; flesh white, granular toward the center but fine-grained near 
the skin, tender, somewhat stringy, very juicy, aromatic; quality good. Core large, closed, 
with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube long, narrow, funnel-shaped; seeds unusually large, 
wide, long, plump, acute. 
RIEHL BEST 
1. Stark Bros. Cat. 18. 1912. 2. Ibid. 55. 1916. 
Riehl Best is described among the major varieties because it is as 
nearly blight-proof as any other European pear. It might well be tried 
in localities where standard sorts cannot be raised because of blight, and 
is worth growing in breeding work as a parent to obtain blight-resistant 
varieties. The pears are rather unattractive in appearance, but are excellent 
in quality. The flesh is juicy, tender, vinous, free from grittiness and 
seldom rots at the core. The trees, besides being nearly free from blight, 
are hardy to heat and cold, and bear annually. The fruits fall far short 
of those of standard varieties in New York. 
This pear was discovered by Edwin H. Riehl, Godfrey, Illinois, and 
was introduced by Stark Brothers, Louisiana, Missouri. Mr. Riehl says: 
“The farm on which the original tree stood was owned by a pioneer 
nurseryman who evidently imported from France a number of varieties, 
some perhaps without name. Riehl Best trees and several hundreds of 
other varieties represent the remains of three old orchards planted fifty 
years ago. Trees of other varieties are ruined by blight while Riehl Best 
is in perfect health and bears every season.’’ From this history it is 
probable that Riehl Best is an old European pear renamed. 
Tree large, vigorous, upright, dense-topped, rapid-growing, productive; trunk stocky; 
branches thick, light reddish-brown, overspread with thin scarf-skin, marked with large, 
conspicuous, numerous lenticels; branchlets slender, often willowy, long, greenish-brown, 
dull, smooth, pubescent only near the ends of the new growth, sprinkled with small, slightly 
raised, inconspicuous lenticels. 
Leaf-buds small, short, pointed, plump, free; leaf-scars with prominent shoulders. 
Leaves 3 in. long, 12 in. wide, thick; apex abruptly pointed; margin glandless, variable in 
serrations; petiole 2 in. long. Flower-buds small, short, conical, plump, free, singly on 
short spurs; flowers 1% in. across, in dense clusters, average 6 buds in a cluster; pedicels 
4 in. long, lightly pubescent. 
Fruit ripens in October; medium in size, 24 in. long, 2 in. wide, obovate-conic-pyriform, 
irregular, with unequal sides; stem 1§ in. long; cavity very shallow and narrow when present, 
or lacking, the flesh drawn up in a lip on one side of the stem; calyx open; lobes separated 
at the base, broad, obtuse; basin obtuse, furrowed; skin thick, roughened with russet; 
color dull yellow, largely overlaid with patches of russet, marked with distinct russet dots 
and with a faint trace of a pinkish-red blush on the cheek next the sun; dots numerous, 
