1797 
A PROMISING HYBRID PEAR 
S.P.I. No. 55805. 
"The late Dr. Walter Van Fleet, prior to his en- 
tering the United States Department of Agriculture in 
1909, conducted at his home in Little Silver, New Jersey, 
extensive work in plant breeding. In 1907 he inaugu- 
rated some work in the breeding of pears, the main ob- 
ject beingto secure, if practicable, pears more re- 
sistant to fire blight than those commonly grown. When 
Doctor Van Fleet took up his work in the Office of 
Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction in 1909, he brought 
with him fromhishome In New Jersey many young plants, 
the result of his breeding work. Most of these were 
sent to the Garden at Chico, California, among them a 
number of cross-bred seedling pears. From time to time 
these pears have come into fruit and their characters 
have been noted. The pear here described is one of the 
most promising so far developed as a result of Dr. Van 
Fleet's work. The two original trees have been growing* 
for nearly ten years at Chico. They are strong, fast 
growers, regular and prolific bearers, and have never 
shown any evidence of fire blight. Following is a de- 
tailed description of the pear: 
S. P. I. 55805. Pyrus serotim x communis * 
"Grown at the Plant Introduction Gar- 
den, Chico, California, under P. I. G. No. 
6583. A hybrid pear raised by the late Dr. 
Walter Van Fleet at Little Silver, New Jer- 
sey, and presented to the Plant Introduction 
Garden In 1909. Promising as a blight- 
resistant cooking and preserving pear for 
sections where fire blight is destructive. 
"Origin. Little Silver, N. J. A hybrid 
probably between Golden Russet, an oriental 
pear, and one or more of the P. communis types. 
Medium to large, roundish, obovate; skin gol- 
den, covered with numerous small, round dots; 
stalk long, stout; cavity around stalk quite 
shallow or none at all; basin at the calyx 
end more or less abrupt, deep, russet; flesh 
whitish, sweet, slightly subacid, granular; 
core medium; seeds few, large; not gritty. 
"A handsome golden colored pear which 
