Lincoln
Pear
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Lincoln
[NOTE: Source text may be incorrect — the Stark Bros. Year Book (1910) entry describes a fruit "of a yellow color with bright red stripe," which does not match the greenish-yellow, russet-marked pear described by Budd and Hansen and by Hedrick. It may refer to a different fruit of the same name; its statements are retained below under Stark's name.]
Origin / History
Lincoln owes its origin to a seedling grown in the spring of 1835 by Mrs. Maria Fleming, Corwin, Illinois (Hedrick). Budd and Hansen give it as an Illinois pear "rapidly coming into public notice." Hedrick's references in The Pears of New York run from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society report of 1845 through the Illinois Horticultural Society reports of 1889 and 1894 (the latter with plates), the Michigan Horticultural Society report of 1894, and the Rural New Yorker of 1889 (figs. 275 and 276). They continue to the American Pomological Society catalog of 1899 and Budd-Hansen's American Horticultural Manual of 1903.
Hedrick finds Lincoln "nearly a hundred years old without having received favorable mention from pear growers." He writes that it "has been brought from the limbo of lost fruits in recent years to take high rank in the list of pears for the Mississippi Valley." He says it is spoken of in such superlative terms for that region that, "judging from its behavior in New York, it would seem that western pear-growers give it attributes which Nature denies it."
He judges the fruits "but mediocre in appearance and quality, falling below a dozen other varieties of its season whether judged by the eye or the palate." In his view, "at their best, they are comparable to those of Bartlett, which the western admirers of the variety say it resembles." His verdict is that the variety "is valuable only in the Middle West."
Tree
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, rapid-growing, hardy, very productive. Budd and Hansen call Lincoln "a hardy prairie variety." Hedrick says it "seems to possess a constitution to withstand cold, heat, and blight to which most pears are subject." Stark Bros. call it "a strong grower and very productive."
Trunk stocky, smooth. Branches medium in thickness and smoothness, zigzag, greenish-brown, marked especially on the younger wood with very numerous, large, roundish, conspicuous lenticels. Leaves 3½ inches long, 1½ inches wide, stiff; apex variable; margin glandless, finely serrate. Petiole 2¼ inches long, glabrous, tinged with red. Stipules very long and slender, pinkish. Flowers 1¼ inches across, well distributed, average buds in a cluster (Hedrick).
Fruit
Size: Large (Budd and Hansen). Hedrick gives about 2¼ inches in length and width.
Form: Budd and Hansen give obovate pyriform. Hedrick gives roundish, with an obtuse neck, tapering very slightly.
Stem: Medium in length, quite stout, fleshy at insertion (Budd and Hansen). Hedrick gives 1¼ inches long, slender.
Cavity: Regular, small (Budd and Hansen). Hedrick finds it almost lacking: a slight, narrow depression, occasionally slightly lipped.
Calyx: Large, open; lobes separated at the base, long, acuminate. Calyx tube short, wide, conical (Hedrick).
Basin: Regular, symmetrical. Budd and Hansen give it medium, with shallow corrugation; Hedrick gives it shallow, obtuse, smooth.
Skin: Thick, tender (Hedrick). Greenish yellow with traces of russet; Hedrick gives dull greenish-yellow sprinkled with few russet lines and nettings. Budd and Hansen call the surface quite smooth; Hedrick calls the skin rough. Stark Bros. describe it as "of a yellow color with bright red stripe, which makes it a most beautiful color."
Dots: Brown (Budd and Hansen); numerous, small, russet, conspicuous (Hedrick).
Flesh and flavor: Very juicy, with conflicting accounts of color and texture: whitish, fine-grained, buttery, vinous (Budd and Hansen); tinged with yellow, firm, coarse and granular especially near the core, tender, sweet, aromatic, "pleasing but not richly flavored" (Hedrick). Budd and Hansen rate it "good to very good," and Hedrick rates it "good."
Core and seeds: Core unusually large, closed, with clasping core lines. Seeds large, very wide, long, plump, acuminate (Hedrick).
Season
Matures in late August and September (Hedrick).
Uses
Not described in source.
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
The Stark Bros. Year Book (1910) entry carries the notation "D,V,S."
Book Sources
Described in 3 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 12 catalogs (1898–1932) from Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Washington
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1898
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
- Phoenix Nursery Company (W. E. Rossney , President; Sidney Tuttle, Vice-President), Bloomington , Illinois — 1904
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1906
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1910
- Galbraith Nursery Co. (DeWitt Hansen , Pres.-Mgr.), Fairbury , Nebraska — 1911
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1911
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1912
- Vineland Nurseries Company , Clarkston , Washington — 1912
- Van Holderbeke Nursery Co. , Incorporated, Spokane, Washington (nurseries at Otis Orchards WA, Pasadena WA, Kennewick WA) — 1913
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
- Stark Bro's Nurseries , Louisiana , Missouri — 1932
View original book sources (4)
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Lincoln. — Large, obovate pyriform. surface quite smooth, greenish yellow, with traces of russet and brown dots; stem medium in length, quite stout, fleshy at insertion with the regular small cavity; basin regular, medium, with shallow corrugation. Flesh whitish, fine-grained, buttery, very juicy, vinous, good to very good. A hardy prairie variety rapidly corning into public notice. Illinois.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)LINCOLN
- Mass. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 88. 1845. 2. Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 196, Pls. 1894. 3. Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 141. 1894. 4. Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 42. 1889. 5. Rural N. Y. 48:754, figs. 275 and 276. 1889. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 36. 1899. 7. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 2:253. 1903.
Nearly a hundred years old without having received favorable mention from pear growers, Lincoln has been brought from the limbo of lost fruits in recent years to take high rank in the list of pears for the Mississippi Valley. The variety is spoken of in such superlative terms for that region that judging from its behavior in New York, it would seem that western pear-growers give it attributes which Nature denies it. At best, in the
— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)LINCOLN. Nearly a hundred years old without having received favorable mention from pear-growers, Lincoln has been brought from the limbo of lost fruits in recent years to take high rank in the list of pears for the Mississippi Valley. The variety is spoken of in such superlative terms for that region that it would seem that men give it attributes which Nature denies it. The fruits are but mediocre in appearance and quality, falling below a dozen other varieties of its season whether judged by the eye or the palate. At their best, they are comparable to those of Bartlett, which the western admirers of the variety say it resembles. Lincoln seems to possess a constitution to withstand cold, heat, and blight to which most pears are subject. The variety is valuable only in the Middle West.
This pear owes its origin to a seedling grown in the spring of 1835 by Mrs. Maria Fleming, Corwin, Illinois. Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, rapid-growing, hardy, very productive; trunk stocky, smooth; branches medium in thickness and smoothness, zigzag, greenish-brown, marked especially on the younger wood with very numerous, large, roundish, conspicuous lenticels. Leaves 3½ inches long, 1½ inches wide, stiff; apex variable; margin glandless, finely serrate; petiole 2¼ inches long, glabrous, tinged with red; stipules very long and slender, pinkish. Flowers 1¼ inches across, well distributed, average buds in a cluster. Fruit matures in late August and September; about 2¼ inches in length and width, roundish, with an obtuse neck, tapering very slightly; stem 1¼ inches long, slender; cavity almost lacking, a slight, narrow depression, occasionally slightly lipped; calyx large, open; lobes separated at the base, long, acuminate; basin shallow, obtuse, smooth, symmetrical; skin thick, tender, rough; color dull greenish-yellow sprinkled with few russet lines and nettings; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh tinged with yellow, firm, coarse and granular especially near the core, tender, very juicy, sweet, aromatic, pleasing but not richly flavored; quality good; core unusually large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds large, very wide, long, plump, acuminate.
— Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co., Stark Bros. Year Book (1910) (1910)Of a yellow color with bright red stripe, which makes it a most beautiful color. A strong grower and very productive. D,V,S