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BOTANICAL INDEX 
conjecture that this was the true ‘'Golden Apple of the Hesperides.” The trees, 
when laden with their ripe fruit, equal in beauty the orange tree in its tropical home. 
The fruit abounds in a pleasant aromatic juice, mingled with a coarse flesh something 
like a pineapple in taste and texture; its firmness causes it to keep well, a month or 
more after maturing in September. As the fruit never becomes mellow, it was deemed 
worthless until within a few years its value for culinary purposes has become known, 
and wherever grown, the fruit ^s in greater demand than any other pear of the season. 
When cooked, the fiesh becomes more fine and tender than a quince, possessing also 
a quince like flavor. The foliage is very large and distinct; leaves often 4 or 6 inches 
long, of a thick, leathery texture, downy underneath. 
GARBER'S HYBRID. 
So far as seedlings of the “Sha-lea'' have fruited, while the appearance and 
habit of the trees are almost identical with the parent, the fruit varies considerably, 
some being small and inferior — some pear and some apple shaped. Mr. Garber has 
raised one seedling, out of a small number fruited, that is a decided improvement on 
the “ Sha-lea This is an excellent dessert pear, superior to some of the highly praised 
foreign sorts, and still possesses the habit of growth and characteristic hardiness 
and vigor of the parent. It is believed to be a hybrid between the Chinese and one 
of our cultivated pears. It is of large size, and ripens in August. This is called 
“Garber’s Hybrid,” and is very similar to No. 2 (Fig. 98) in outline. 
“ KIEFFER'S HYBRID [Fig. 97,] 
Is the result of the bloom of “ Sha-lea ” being fertilized with pollen from Bartlett, 
thus uniting the vigorous growth, great productiveness, and freedom from blight of 
the former, with the luscious quality of the Bartlett. Fruit very large, 10 to 12 
inches in circumference, and often weighing three-fourths of a pound. The shape is 
much like an elongated Orange Quince, being different from almost any other fruit. 
The color is a beautiful yellow, shaded blush, season October. 
