218 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 
Leaves 23 in. long, 1} in. wide, oval, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin finely serrate; 
petiole 13 in. long. Flower-buds conical or pointed, free; flowers 13 in. across, in dense 
clusters, 13 or 14 buds in a cluster; pedicels 3 in. long, thick, pubescent, greenish. 
Fruit matures in October; large, 2? in. long, 24 in. wide, uniform in size and shape, 
turbinate, often with a tendency to oblateness, symmetrical; stem 3 in. long, thick, nearly 
straight; cavity obtuse, deep, slightly furrowed, occasionally lipped; calyx large, open; 
lobes very broad, obtuse; basin wide, obtuse, symmetrical; skin thick, granular, tender, 
roughish; color dull greenish-yellow, with a brownish-red blush, overspread with russet 
nettings and streaks; dots numerous, small, russet; flesh whitish, somewhat granular, 
tender and melting, very juicy, sweet, and vinous, with a rich and pleasantly aromatic 
flavor; quality very good to best. Core large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube 
short, wide, conical; seeds acute. 
SOUVENIR DU CONGRES 
1. Pom. France 4: No. 162, Pl. 162. 1867. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 34. 1875. 3. Flor. & Pom. 37, 
Pl. 1875. 4. Jour. Hort. N. S. 38:120, fig. 19. 1880. 5. Hogg Fruit Man. 647. 1884. 6. Cat. Cong. 
Pom. France 350, fig. 1906. 
Andenken an den Congress. '7. Oberdieck Obst-Sort. 237. 1881. 8. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 168. 1889. 
9. Deut. Obstsorten 6: Pt. 16, Pl. 1910. 
Souvenir. 10. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 24. 1897. 11. Ont. Dept. Agr. Fr. Ont.179. 1914. 
Very similar to Clapp Favorite and Bartlett, and not as good as either 
in fruit-characters, Souvenir du Congrés hardly merits a place in American 
pomology. The crop ripens between those of the two sorts with which it 
has been compared, and the fruits are larger and often handsomer. The 
fruits are said to be larger and of better quality when the tree is double- 
worked on the quince. The tree is remarkable for vigor, hardihood to cold, 
and healthfulness; and bears so abundantly that the crop must be thinned 
to prevent breaking of branches. The variety grows especially well in 
New York, and is deserving a place in home orchards and in fruit-collec- 
tions. The accompanying color-plate illustrates the size, shape, and color 
of this pear remarkably well. 
Souvenir du Congrés owes its origin to M. Francois Morel, Lyons, 
France. M. Morel grafted one of his pear-trees with cions taken from 
several other varieties, including Bartlett, and from the tree thus grafted 
he obtained fruit, seeds of which he sowed in 1852. One of the resultant 
trees bore fruit in 1863, and the pears had so many earmarks of Bartlett 
that it was at once assumed to be a seedling of that variety. The tree 
continued to do well and in due course the variety was judged to be worthy 
of dissemination by the Rhéne Horticultural Society. Later, M. Morel 
dedicated the new pear to the Pomological Congress of France. The 
variety was introduced in the United States about 1870. The American 
