Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 286, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 November 1916 — THE SECKEL PEAR [ARTICLE]

THE SECKEL PEAR

It is well known among horticulturists that many of the moat valuaDla fruits and flowers have been the chllcren of chance, and the Seckel pear is an example amongst fruits. It sprang up in a meadow near what la now league Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia, and a few years ago the original tree was still standing, as It may be today. From what pear the seed came that gave It life is not known. It must be fully one hundred years ago that it sprang into sxlstencs. The writer knew the pear fifty years sgo, and It was then as popular as it is today. In company with several other pears, It has no beauty of appearance to attract. ▲ dark brown Unted with rqd, would describe It There is not s deep yellow or other signs of Its being ripe as many other fruits show. Its slxa is not large, so that altogether there !■ nothing to proclaim it what It Is, the standard of excellence among pears. This claim has never been dls puted by anyhne who has, eaten it when in its prime, so delicious is Its flavor. Depending on where grown for exact time of. ripening, in the south eastern part of Pennsylvania it is an early October pear. How much climate has to do with the estimation of this pear, as well as of all fruits, is well known to fruit growers. It Is probable that In British Columbia the Seckel la not esteemed as It is here, for there i i mors rain and less heat there than here; and In England, with a climate somewhat similar to that of British Columbia, the Seckel is not good at all. On the other hand, the Bartlett known in England and Germany as Williams’ Bon Chretein, Is a far bet4er pear here than it is there, though not a native here. Three excellent pears, all listed among leading kinds for flavor, are the Bartlett, Seckel and lawiern ripening in the order named, Bartlett in early September, Seckel in early tyctober, and Lawrence in mid-Octo-ber, all varying a little in date according to season and locality. These notes are being penned when a few Seckels are stiU oh the trees, ~and Lawrence are ripening, and should be all gathered soon for fear o' freezings. This last one, Lawrence, is classed as a winter pear, because qf its late ripening, which permits of its being kept through the winter in cold storage. The Anjou, Beurre d’Anjou as it used to called, also ripens at about the same time as Lawrence, or a little earlier, and is an enpellent winter pear, kept as the Lawrence may be, but though greatly lauded, and undoubtedly a good pear, the Law reace takes firßt place with many.