PLATE XXVIII. 
2. HESSLE. 
[Syn : Hessel; Hazel .] 
This Pear takes its name from the village of Hessle, near Kingston-upon-Hull, in Yorkshire, 
where it was first discovered, but its precise history is not known. 
Description. —Fruit: below medium size ; turbinate. Skin : greenish yellow, very much 
covered w r ith large russety dots, which give it a freckled appearance. Eye : small and open, slightly 
depressed. Stalk : an inch long, obliquely inserted without depression. Flesh : tender, very 
juicy, sweet, and with a high aroma. 
An excellent Pear, in season in October. There are two varieties of the Hessle Pear, or 
rather two Hessle Pears, known in Yorkshire. The one figured here, the best ol them, is of an olive 
colour thickly studded with large russety dots, but becomes a greenish yellow when ripe. The 
other is an inferior Pear, larger, of a lighter colour, more yellow and with much fewer dots. This 
Pear quickly decays in the centre. It is juicy and pleasant if eaten at the right moment, but has 
no special merit. 
This tree is very hardy, vigorous and a most abundant bearer. It forms a fine standard 
succeeding in almost every situation, and particularly in the northern climates where the more 
tender varieties do not attain perfection. In Yorkshire it is grown almost universally, and as a 
market pear it is one of the best and most remunerative to the grower. The Hessle pear trees in 
Herefordshire were laden with fruit in the vear 1880, when almost all other varieties failed. 
J 
