SOME PROMISING NEW FRUITS. 



WORDEN'S Seckel pear, of which life- 

 size illustrations appear herewith, has 

 been repeatedly mentioned at recent 

 horticultural gatherings. It was orig- 

 inated by S. Worden, of Worden grape fame, and 

 is a seedling of the Seckel. We make the follow- 

 ing extract from a letter written by Smiths & Powell 

 to The Rural New- Yorker : 



"It seems to us very promising, on account of its 

 beautiful color and very high flavor, as well as of the 

 hardiness of the tree, and its remarkable bearing quali- 

 ties, and the fact that the fruit promises to be a superior 

 keeper. The tree, which we judge to be about three and 

 one-half or four inches in diameter, bore, this season, 

 five bushels of pears, and over thirty props were needed 

 to support the limbs, some 

 of which, notwithstanding 

 this precaution, were broken. 

 On this account the pear is 

 of but little over one-half 

 the size it would be if prop- 

 erly thinned. As we stated, 

 the pears were picked on 

 September 24, and have 

 been kept in a warm place, 

 most of the time in the house 

 where there was a stove. 

 Had they been properly 

 cared for, we think they 

 could have kept nicely until 

 the holidays." 



The Rural Netv- Yorker 

 considers it a remarkable 

 pear. Half (or nearly half) 

 is a bright crimson, the other 

 half a golden yellow. The 

 stock is one and one-fourth 

 inch in length, not curved, 

 inserted with very little if 

 any depression, often with 

 a wrinkle or slight fold at 

 the base. The calyx is very 

 large and open, and set in a 

 shallow basin. The flesh is 



a dull white, very juicy, buttery, melting and fine- 

 grained, with an aroma even higher than that of its dis- 

 tinguished parent. It will be seen that it surpasses the 

 Seckel in its beautiful color, in size, and probably in its 

 keeping qualities. 



Another new pear, of which specimens come from 

 Ellwanger & Barry, has not yet been named. Three 

 specimens weighed sxactly two pounds, or over ten 



ounces each. The shape, as may be seen in illustration 

 on page 136, is between that of the Anjou and Clairgeau, 

 with a neck rather more marked than that of either. 

 The skin is much the color of the Anjou, inclined more 

 to a golden and less to a greenish yellow. The dots are 

 crimson, and so numerous and large on the sunny side 

 as to give it a crimson shade. The stalk varies from 

 slender to short and fleshy, and a half to an inch in 

 length, obliquely set in a small irregular basin. The 

 flesh is buttery, melting, juicy, but less sprightly and 

 rather firmer and more granular than that of Anjou, 

 though less so than that of Clairgeau 



Ellwanger & Barry consider it a cross between Anjou 

 and Clairgeau. The texture of the flesh, they say, "is 

 not quite so fine as that of the Anjou, and the quality, 

 perhaps, is not quite equal to that variety ; but the flesh 



VVorden's Seckel Pear. 



being more firm, the fruit is less liable to injury from 

 rough handling The tree is a vigorous grower. The 

 seedling seems to possess admirable qualities as a mar- 

 ket fruit, and we think there is a place for it. Among 

 recently introduced sorts we have not found any which 

 is so promising. " 



Speci mens of a new apple, the Boardman, were re- 

 ceived about November 12. The color is crimson. 



