Leaf-buds large, long, conical or pointed, plump, free; leaf-scars prominent. Leaves 4-1/4 in. long, 3-3/4 in. wide, ovate, thin, stiff; apex taper-pointed; margin glandular, finely serrate; petiole 1-3/4 in. long, slender. Flower-buds large, long, conical or pointed, very plump, free, usually singly on short spurs; flowers open early, 1-3/8 in. across, large, well distributed, average 7 buds in a cluster; pedicels 1-1/2 in. long, pubescent, pale green. Fruit matures in February; large, 4 in. long, 2-7/8 in. wide, uniform in size and shape, obovate-acute-pyriform, with unequal sides; stem long, thick, curved; cavity obtuse, very shallow, narrow, russeted, furrowed, drawn up in a fleshy ring about the stem; calyx large, open; lobes separated at the base, obtuse; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, slightly furrowed, symmetrical; skin thick, tough, with patches of russet, dull, roughened by the dots and by the russet markings; color golden-yellow, often marked on the exposed cheek with a bronze or pinkish blush; dots numerous, russet, very conspicuous; flesh yellowish, firm, granular, very tough, subacid, inferior in flavor; quality very poor. Core large, closed, axile, with meeting core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; carpels pear-shaped; seeds very large, brownish-black, wide, long, acuminate. [Illustration: PRÉSIDENT DROUARD] PRÉSIDENT DROUARD =1.= _Gard. Chron._ N. S. =25=:431. 1886. =2.= _Guide Prat._ 51. 1895. =3.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 331, fig. 1906. _Präsident Drouard._ =4.= Lucas _Tafelbirnen_ 211, fig. 1894. _Drouard._ =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 35. 1899. =6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:241. 1903. =7.= _Mich. Sta. Sp. Bul._ =27=:22. 1903. Président Drouard has been on probation in the United States for nearly thirty years, but does not seem to be in great demand in any part of the country. In the pear-growing region of New York to which it first came, it is scarcely known. The accompanying description shows that the fruits contain all of the requisites of a good pear. The flesh is juicy, melting, saccharine, rich, and perfumed. The trees, however, are not satisfactory. They lack vigor, blight badly, and are niggardly in bearing. With these faults, there is no place for the variety in commercial plantations, but it may well be planted in home orchards and in collections. Président Drouard is a chance seedling found in the suburbs of Pont-de-Ce, Maine-et-Loire, France, by M. Olivier, gardener at the Fruit-Garden at Angers. It was sent out by M. Louis Leroy of Angers and was described in 1886 as a new pear. It seems to have been introduced in this country by Charles A. Green, Rochester, New York. The American Pomological Society added the variety to its list of fruits under the name _Drouard_ in 1899.