Dana's Hovey.

Raised by Francis Dana, of Roxbury, Mass. Tree vigorous, hardy, and productive. Young wood olive yellow brown, retains its foliage late in season. This is one of the highest-flavored Pears, next to the Seckle, that we have known. It lacks in size for a market variety, but as an amateur sort is one of the most desirable.

Fruit small, obovate obtuse pyriform, regular. Skin greenish yellow or pale yellow, considerably netted and patched with russet, and sprinkled with many brown dots. Stalk rather short, a little curved, set in a slight cavity, sometimes by a lip. Calyx open. Basin small, uneven, and slightly russeted. Flesh yellowish, juicy, melting, with a sugary, rich, aromatic flavor. Best. November to January.

— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)

DANA HOVEY

1. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 48. 1891. Dana's No. 16. 2. Mag. Hort. 19:541. 1853. 3. Ibid. 20:136. 1854. Dana's Hovey. 4. Mag. Hort. 25:202, fig. 10. 1859. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 68. 1862. 6. Gard. Chron. 1191, fig. 1866. 7. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 730. 1869. 8. Hogg Fruit Man. 556. 1884.
2. Garden 49:226. 1896. Danas Hovey. 10. Gard. Chron. 3rd Ser. 47:67, fig. 39. 1910.

Dana Hovey is a delicious little dessert pear, so juicy, sweet, and rich that it is a veritable sweetmeat. The fruits are so similar to those of Seckel that the variety is sometimes called "Winter Seckel." Dana Hovey is one of the best pears to succeed Seckel. The fruits come in season about the middle of November and keep six weeks in ordinary storage. The flavor is that of Winter Nelis with a smack of Seckel. If the fruits are picked early and kept in a dry, cool place they ripen early in December with a rich, golden color strewn with russet. It is in the same class with Seckel as to size of fruit, although the pears average larger and are more uniform in size from different trees and in different seasons. The pears are also more brightly colored than those of Seckel. Superiority in size and color makes the fruits of this variety much more attractive than those of the better-known Seckel. The trees are hardy, vigorous, and thrive on various soils but are only moderately productive and are somewhat susceptible to blight, falling far short of those of Seckel in these characters, for which reason the last-named variety is the better for commercial plantations. Dana Hovey is one of few winter pears with fruits of high quality, and thus is very desirable for home plantations and ought to have value in commercial plantations.

Francis Dana, Roxbury, Massachusetts, was an indefatigable raiser of new fruits, there being no fewer than sixteen varieties of pears with the prefix "Dana's," of which the one under notice is the best of all. It was introduced to the public about 1854 under the name of Dana's Hovey in honor of C. M. Hovey, the well-known nurseryman of Boston and author of The Fruits of America. Dana Hovey is so similar to Seckel that the latter is supposed to be one of its parents. The variety was added to the American Pomological Society's fruit-list in 1862.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, rapid-growing, productive; trunk stocky; branches reddish-brown mingled with green which is almost completely overspread with gray scarf-skin, marked by few small lenticels; branchlets thick, short, light brown mingled with green, marked with ash-gray at the tips, smooth, glabrous, with small, scattering, slightly raised lenticels.

Leaf-buds small, short, pointed, plump, usually appressed. Leaves 3½ in. long, 2¼ in. wide, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin glandless or with few reddish glands, finely serrate; petiole short, stocky, 1¼ in. long, glabrous. Flower-buds short, conical but obtuse at the apex, plump, free, arranged singly on short spurs; flowers 1¼ in. across, in dense clusters, average 8 buds in a cluster; pedicels ⅝ in. long, slender, thinly pubescent.

Fruit matures in late October and November; medium in size, 2½ in. long, 2¼ in. wide, obovate-obtuse-pyriform, symmetrical, uniform; stem ⅝ in. long, slender; cavity abrupt, shallow, very small, narrow, slightly lipped; calyx partly open, small; lobes short, narrow, acute; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin thin, tender, smooth; color golden-yellow at maturity, covered with thin russet; dots numerous, small, greenish-russet; flesh tinged with yellow, granular at the center, tender and melting, juicy, sweet, highly perfumed; quality of the best. Core large, closed, abaxile; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds wide, short, plump, obtuse.

— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)

Dana's No. 16.

Raised by Francis Dana, of Roxbury, Mass. Fruit, under medium, obovate : skin, yellow russet, with dark russet specks ; stem in a very slight depression ; calyx, open, in a deep cavity ; flesh, yellowish white, juicy, tender, sweet, high flavored. November. (Hov. in Mag.)

— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)

Dana's Hovey.* Rather small, obovate, slightly pyriform ; rich yellow, with some cinnamon russet; stalk medium, slightly sunk, basin shallow; flesh buttery and melting, of excellent quality. December. Shoots stout, erect. Massachusetts.

— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)

Danas Hovey.—Small to medium, pyriform, tapering towards the stem; color green, blotched and specked with russet, with pale red cheek on exposed side; stalk three-quarter to one inch long, stout, inclined, and inserted in uneven cavity. Flesh creamy white, melting, buttery, subacid, and rich in flavor. Season midsummer, As it is near to the Seckel in quality it is much grown in Kentucky and Tennessee for home use and market. Massachusetts.

— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)

DANAS' HOVEY. Her. Pom. 70. F. Hovey de Danas. Dessert, October to November, small to medium, 2½ by 2¾, round conical, even. Skin, a little rough. Colour, golden yellow almost covered with fine cinnamon russet which is thickest round eye. Flesh, white, very melting, extremely sweet and musky. Eye, medium, a little open almost on level. Stem, rather long, woody, with fleshy lip at base. Growth, very upright, makes a moderate sized tree; fertility good. Leaf, a little upfolded, down curved, rather boldly serrate, rather large, held out, turning a deep claret. Origin, raised at Roxbury, U.S.A. by Mr. Francis Danas, and named after Mr. C. M. Hovey a well known American pomologist. Lovers of Sparkling Muscatelle will appreciate this fruit.

— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)

DANA HOVEY.

Dana Hovey is a delicious little dessert pear, so juicy, sweet, and rich that it is a veritable sweetmeat. It is one of the best pears to succeed Seckel; the fruits come in season about the middle of November and keep from six weeks to two months. The flavor is that of Winter Nelis with a smack of Seckel. The pears are more brightly colored than those of Seckel, and are larger so that the fruits are more attractive. The trees are hardy, vigorous, and thrive on various soils, but are only moderately productive and are somewhat susceptible to blight. Dana Hovey is one of few winter pears with fruits of high quality, for which reason it is very desirable for home use and ought to have value in commercial plantations. Francis Dana, Roxbury, Massachusetts, introduced this pear about 1854 under the name Dana's Hovey in honor of C. M. Hovey, author of The Fruits of America.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, rapid-growing, productive; trunk stocky; branches reddish-brown, marked by few small lenticels. Leaves 3¼ inches long, 2⅛ inches wide, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin glandless or with few reddish glands, finely serrate; petiole short, stocky, 1¾ inches long, glabrous. Flowers 1¾ inches across, in dense clusters, average buds in a cluster. Fruit matures in late October and November; medium in size, 2⅝ inches long, 2¼ inches wide, obovate-obtuse-pyriform, symmetrical, uniform; stem ⅝ inch long, slender; cavity abrupt, shallow, very small, narrow, slightly lipped; calyx partly open, small; lobes short, narrow, acute; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin thin, tender, smooth; color golden-yellow, covered with thin russet; dots numerous,

— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)