THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 215 
SECKEL 
1. Prince Pom. Man. 1:139. 1831. 2. Kenrick Am. Orch. 183. 1832. 3. Gard. Chron. 708, fig. 
1842. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 415, fig. 188. 1845. 5. Proc. Nat. Con. Fr.Gr. 51. 1848. 6. Hovey 
Fr. Am, 2:33, Pl. 1851. 7. Mag. Hort. 19:457, fig..34. 1853. 8. Mas Le Verger 3: Pt. 1, 29, fig. 13. 
1866-73. 9. Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:656, figs. 1869. 10. Guide Prat. 63, 303. 1876. 
Seckle. 11. Coxe Cult. Fr. Trees 189, fig. 25. 1817. 12. Trans. Lond. Hort. Soc. 3:256, Pl. 9. 1820. 
13. Pom. Mag. 2:72, Pl. 1829. 14. Hort. Reg. (Eng.) 1:488. 1833. 15. Pom. France 2: No. 64, Pl. 64. 
1864. 16. Jour. Hort. 3rd Ser. 4:128. 1882. 17. Hogg Fruit Man. 644. 1884. 18. Bunyard Handb. 
Hardy Fr.197. 1920. 
Seckel is an American pear distinct in type from any European variety. 
Among the several hundred pears that are grown on this side of the Atlan- 
tic, Seckel stands almost alone in vigor of tree, productiveness, and immunity 
to blight, and is equalled by no other variety in high quality of fruit. If the 
fruits were larger, Seckel would challenge the world as a pear for the markets 
as it now does as a pear for the home orchard. After Bartlett and the dis- 
reputable Kieffer, it is now more grown than any other variety in America, 
everywhere being used as the standard for excellence. The fruits are small, 
not highly colored, but attractive because clean and trim in contour. But 
it is the flesh-characters that give the fruits their high standing. The flesh 
is melting, juicy, perfumed and most exquisitely and delicately flavored, 
with the curious character of having much of its spicy, aromatic flavor in 
the skin, which should never be discarded in eating. The reddish-brown 
color of the fruit is another distinguishing character of Seckel. Unlike 
most other dessert pears, the fruits of this one are excellent for culinary 
purposes. Still another distinctive character is that the fruits do not lose 
much in quality by ripening on the tree. Besides being nearly iron-clad in 
resistance to blight and very productive, the trees are almost as hardy as 
those of any other pear, and are remarkable for their large, low, compact, 
broadly pyramidal tops. The tree is further distinguished by its short- 
jointed, stout, olive-colored wood, and its habit of bearing fruits in clusters 
on the ends of the branches. The trees do best in fertile soils which must 
not be a heavy clay. Its blossoms are markedly self-fertile. There are 
several faults of fruit and tree. The fruits are small and do not keep after 
maturity; it costs twice as much to pick them as it does the large-fruited 
Bartlett; fruit and foliage are susceptible to scab; the pears are too small 
for commercial canning; and the trees are late in coming in bearing. With 
these several faults, however, Seckel is usually a profitable commercial 
variety as a well-grown crop almost always commands a fancy price. For 
the home orchard, Seckel has no rival in any part of North America where 
European varieties are grown. 
