North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

It's a great year for fruit!  After nothing cropped last year, practically 
all fruit crops are at bumper levels this year.  Apple trees are hanging 
thick everywhere in Cookeville, unthinned so the fruit are too small and the 
trees won't crop next year.  Pears likewise are doing well.  Here's what 
I've picked or sampled, in order of ripening:

1.  Ayers:  Truly a taste of Heaven.  I picked about 8 bags of these from a 
tree in town and gave away what we couldn't eat.  They were too good to can. 
People were swooning over them, saying they were the best pears they'd ever 
eaten, coming back and asking for more.   They are also very pretty.
2.  Moonglow?  I'm still not sure if our office manager has the same variety 
as me.  Mine were less pointy on top, but otherwise they seem to be the 
same.  The skins are more russetted and grittier than Ayers,  but when dead 
ripe I think the quality was very nearly as good.  Both of these are melting 
pears.
3.  Some kind of largish yellow pear, puckered on the bottom and bumpy on 
the sides.  Anyone who knows what this is, please let me know.  Hebe sounds 
much like it, except it's not supposed to be ripe till Dec in SC, and these 
are ripe now.  I'm voting for Maxine till I learn different.  The skin and 
flesh texture are very smooth, no grit at all.  They don't melt and drip 
like the first two kinds did.  The flavor is pretty nice, not terribly 
exciting but not a disappointment either.  I think they would dry well, make 
good pies when underripe.
4.  Clapp's Favorite, according to the nurseryman who gave me a few sample 
fruit.  It looks the same as the photos.  He and I are both puzzled that 
Clapp's is supposed to be terribly blight susceptible.  It was ok.  I'd need 
a bigger sample in case they are at their best at a certain time of picked 
at a certain time.
5.  What I thought was 'New Century' but is a dead ringer for the old 1928 
painting of 'Pineapple' in the Corvallis list.  Their current photos are of 
some totally different variety.  I haven't had a chance to get to the 4 
trees I usually pick from, had only 6 fruits on one of my young trees. 
Tart, crisp, juicy.  Ripe late Aug, early Sept.
6.  A horrible gritty variety, the fruit comes in either a flat bottom or 
larger, rounder shape, both shapes on the same tree.  I have seen 2 of these 
trees now.  If left to ripen on the tree, they have lots of large, hard grit 
in them.  I've picked some green to see if they ripen any better that way.
7.  Last and not least, the Kieffers hang thickly on trees everywhere.  The 
only thing that puzzles me is that some have lots of russet, while others 
are completely smooth.  It makes me think that there are at least 2 
varieties that fit the description of Kieffer to me, ie very late, hard, 
green, prone to grittiness if tree ripened.  But they are not the same pear. 
I suppose that LeConte, Late Faulkner, and who knows what else are being 
sold under the name Kieffer.  On the other hand, Kieffers are commonly sold 
here as Bartlett.        Donna