[Granville-Hough] 12 Feb 2010 - Pears

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:56:46 -0800
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: [Fwd: Pears]-12 Feb 2010

       Harold Hopkin's story about  pears reminded me that we did work 
on pears quite a  bit but we found just about every variety was overcome 
by blight.  The Keiffer pear had some resistance to blight, so that must 
have been why you saw them.
    We also grew a grainy pear we called the "sand pear," because that 
is how it tasted.  It was resistant to blight, and it could have been a 
form of the Keiffer.  My brother, Harold, was Assistant County Agent for 
Pearl River and Stone Counties, and the County Agent in Pearl River 
wanted to promote sand pears as a commercial venture in that county.  
Harold had spent five years at Miss. State in Horticulture.  In some 
public meeting in Poplarville, the County Agent was promoting sand 
pears, when Harold stood up and told the truth about them.  They were 
not good to eat, and it took more sugar to can them than they were 
worth.  Harold almost lost his job over that encounter.  Afterwards, he 
went along with whatever the County Agent suggested.
    After we acquired the old Jasper Ware farm, we found a stubby old 
stump of a pear tree, that must have been planted about 1900.  We paid 
no attention to it, and one year it grew some new sprouts which had 
pears.  They were smooth like a "D'Anjou" pear you can now buy 
commercially.  They were the sweetest pear I ever tasted.  We tried to 
graft them to other pear stock but the blight got them all.  How that 
old tree escaped the blight until that one year seemed a mystery to me. 
    Like Harold Hopkins, I love pear season in California.  They are all 
good, but the pear ripens from the inside out.  You have to watch them 
carefully and eat them at the right time.

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    My physical condition worsens, and I have hospice and a full time 
assistant.  I appreciate the words of encouragement from all my 
friends.  Thank you all!

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From: harold hopkins
Subject: Pears
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:17:59 -0800


Granville, I liked your piece about the Nicaraugan  president/general. 
It pays to be born to the right parents.


 Appropos de botes,  I got to thinking not long ago about pears that 
were cultivated in Mississippi. When I was growing up, the only pear 
trees I ever saw  was the Kieffer or Kiefer pear. They never ripened on 
the tree, and were used mostly for cooking, (also canning), jams or 
jellies, and such.  It occurred to me that the only conventional fruit 
orchardists I knew of around Mize was your own family farm.  Do you 
remember your family growing any other kinds of pears?  When I was in 
Mexico
about 1963 I remember seeing pear trees that looked like Kiefers.

We just had some pears for breakfast. I bought two Comice pears the 
other day, and we had one yesterday and it was delicious.   This morning 
I served the other for breakfast and it was mealy, as my wife pointed 
out before I ever tasted it.
I also bought some red pears.  They have been pretty good.  Others we 
have available at produce stands here are Bosc, Bartlett, Asian? and now 
and then, Seckel pears.