28 AGEICULTUEAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE OECHAEDS OF CHINA. 



In the Shantung Province there are some very large pears. The 

 "O li" often weighs 1J pounds, is green in color, and has hard flesh. 

 The "Siu hua ll" is a large yellow pear of the same province. This 

 pear is so flat that the vertical diameter is only one- third of the hori- 

 zontal, the shape making it look like a curiousl} r flattened apple. 



A pear of the Pangshan district, Chihli Province, called the "Ma 

 li," or horse pear, is barrel shaped, with a long peduncle, of pale- 

 straw color, and hard but juicy. It is a very good keeper and 

 shipper. (S. P. I. No. 21914.) 



There is a group of red pears in northern China, all of which are 

 apple shaped and remarkable keepers and shippers. One found in the 

 Poliping region, west of Peking, is called ''Hong hsau li." (S. P. I. 

 Xo. 22439.) Then there is the "Hong li," or red pear, of this 

 group. Several varieties of it come from Tongchangdi, Shansi; 

 Pangshan, Chihli; and Kwangning, Manchuria. (S. P. I. Nos. 

 20257 and 21911.) Another of these red pears is the "Hong bo li," 

 from near Pautingfu, Chihli Province. (S. P. I. No. 22443.) Still 

 another is the "Shui hong hsiau li," from Liaoyang, Manchuria. 

 (S. P. I. No. 20244.) 



All these pears are hard fleshed, of medium size, of slightly sour 

 taste, and look so much like apples that one often has to examine them 

 closely to detect the difference. There are also a number of mediocre 

 pears in various places in northern China, like the "Bay li," from 

 Kwangchengtze, the "Kuan hung hsian li," from Kwangning, Man- 

 churia, which, we were informed, is grown only for the Emperor's 

 use, and all the trees of which are known to the magistrate of the dis- 

 trict. The "Liu yuea li," from Kwangning, Manchuria, needs to be 

 kept for six months before it acquires the right flavor, while the "Ta 

 yang li," from the same district, needs to be boxed for a month before 

 it is in condition to eat. The "Chin tze li," from Kwangning, Man- 

 churia, is said to have excellent keeping qualities. The "Yuan po li," 

 the "Ta li," the "Yu chin li," the "Chang poa li," the "An li," the 

 "Mien kuan li," the "Chin pai li," the "Ta ma li," the "Ping ding li," 

 the "Ghua kai li," all from Kwangning, Manchuria, and the "Tang 

 li," or russet pear, from the Pangshan district, Chihli Province, and 

 from Kwangning, Manchuria, may be mentioned. The last two pears 

 are apple shaped and have a russet color like the Japanese pears. 

 They are good shippers and keepers, but the flesh is of a coarse texture. 



Besides the varieties named there are scores of seedlings in almost 

 every orchard that produce fruit of so little value that they bear no 

 names. As a whole, however, some of these cultivated varieties of 

 Chinese pears will in the future prove to be of very great value to the 

 American fruit growers who will use them for breeding hardier, blight 

 and scale resistant varieties, the more so, as we can point already to 



204 



