PI. 280. 
THE TIEN KUA PEAR. 
(Pyrus chinensis Lindl., S. P. I. No. 38271.) 
Scions of this variety were collected by F. N. Meyer in the 
village of Wulipu, Honan Province, China, February 27, 
1914. Mr. Meyer never saw the fruit, as the pear is not a 
good keeper, but its name means "sweet melon pear." 
Trees of this variety in the nursery of the Plant Introduction 
Field Station at Chico show an unusual degree of vigor and 
have borne this year for the first time. The fruit is sweeter 
and more aromatic than the Kieffer and ought to be good 
for baking. Its resistance to pear-blight is yet untested, 
but the quality of the fruit makes it worthy of distribution 
in regions where the European pears do poorly. (Photo- 
graphed, natural size, by David Fairchild, September 24, 
1919, Chico, Calif.; P25662FS.) 
