40 JANUARY 15, 2016 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com
300 pages on pears
T
he Book of Pears is a fine resource for the
pear aficionado. Author Dr. Joan Morgan
painstakingly traces the history of the pear,
starting with wild pear species and proceeding
through the ages to the present day.
A dip into the 300-page tome reveals that
the first reports of cultivated pears came from
ancient Assyria (now Syria) around the 18th
century B.C. In the fifth and fourth centuries
B.C., pears were cultivated in Greece, and the
Peloponnese peninsula was once called Apia,
meaning "pear land," because pear trees were
so numerous there. Morgan discusses the
development of new dessert and perry pear
varieties and their cultivation and consumption
in Europe through the ages.
The Defra National Fruit Collection at
Brogdale in the United Kingdom now has more
than 500 varieties of pears, drawn from across
the world and spanning many centuries. The
book includes a directory of pear varieties,
based primarily on the Brogdale collection,
which includes descriptions, tasting notes
and historical, geographical and horticultural
information.
The book is illustrated with watercolor paint-
ings of 40 pear varieties by Elisabeth Dowle as
well as many historical photos and drawings.
Go to www.thebookofpears.fruitforum.net
for more information.
January
January 15: Cherry Institute, Yakima, Washington,
www.wastatefruit.com. For information, call (509) 853-3504 or
email cherryinstitute@wastatefruit.com.
January 18: Lake Chelan Horticultural Day, Chelan,
Washington. For information, email tianna.dupont@wsu.edu.
January 18-20: Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers
Association Congress, Sandusky, Ohio, www.opgma.org.
January 19: North Central Washington Stone Fruit Day,
Wenatchee, Washington. For information, email
tianna.dupont
@wsu.edu.
January 19-21: Empire State Producers Expo, Syracuse, New
York, nysvga.org/expo/information.
January 19-21: Indiana Horticultural Congress and Trade
Show, Indianapolis, Indiana, www.inhortcongress.org.
January 20: North Central Washington Pear Day,
Wenatchee, Washington. For information, email
tianna.dupont
@wsu.edu.
January 21: North Central Washington Apple Day,
Wenatchee, Washington. For information, email
tianna.dupont@wsu.edu.
January 26-28: Northwest Ag Show, Portland, Oregon,
www.nwagshow.com. For information, call (503) 769-8940 or
email agshow@wvi.com.
January 26-28: Unified Wine & Grape Symposium,
Sacramento, California, www.unifiedsymposium.org.
January 27-28: Apple Horticulture and Postharvest Research
Review, Confluence Technology Center, Wenatchee,
Washington, www.treefruitresearch.com. For information call
Kathy Coffey at (509) 665-8271 ext. 2 or email
kathy
@treefruitresearch.com.
January 28-29: Apple Crop Protection Research Review,
Confluence Technology Center, Wenatchee, Washington,
www.treefruitresearch.com. For information call Kathy Coffey at
(509) 665-8271 ext. 2 or email kathy@treefruitresearch.com.
January 29-30: BC Fruit Growers Association Annual
Convention, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada,
www.bcfga.com.
January 31-February 6: North America Farmers' Direct
Marketing Association Annual Convention, Vancouver and
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, www.nafdma.com.
February
February 2-4: Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention,
Hershey, Pennsylvania, www.mafvc.org. For information, call
(717) 694-3596 or email pvga@pvga.org.
February 2-5: CiderCon and U.S. Association of Cider
Makers annual conference, Portland, Oregon, www.
ciderconference.com.
February 3-5: Craft Beverages Unlimited Midwest, St. Charles,
Missouri, www.midwestgrapeandwineconference.com.
February 4: Okanogan Horticultural Association Annual
Meeting, Omak, Washington. For information, email
tianna.dupont
@wsu.edu.
February 4: Technology Research Review, Washington
Cattlemen's Association, Ellensburg, Washington, www.
treefruitresearch.com. For information call Kathy Coffey at (509)
665-8271 ext. 2 or email kathy@treefruitresearch.com.
February 9-11: Washington Association of Wine Grape
Growers Annual Meeting and Trade Show, Kennewick,
Washington, www.wawgg.org.
February 9-11: World Ag Expo, Tulare, California,
www.worldagexpo.com.
Good to Go
For a complete listing of upcoming events,
check the Calendar at
www.goodfruit.com
Good StuFF
A selection of the latest products and
services
for tree fruit and grape growers
PAINTING BY ELISABETH DOWLE
Starkrimson is a strain of Clapp's Favorite, which was raised
by Thaddeus Clapp in Dorcester, Massachussets, in 1860.
Starkrimson was discovered in 1939 in South Haven, Michigan,
by Adrian Kalle and introduced by Stark Bros. nursery in 1956.
Starkrimson was tested in the United Kingdom but didn't catch
on because the fruit color was considered too unusual, according
to Joan Morgan's The Book of Pears.
