Fruit matures in early October; medium in size, 2-1/4 in. long, 2-1/8 in. wide, uniform, obovate-obtuse-pyriform, symmetrical; stem 3/4 in. long, thick, slightly curved; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, russeted, usually symmetrical; calyx small, open or closed; lobes short, narrow, obtuse; basin shallow, obtuse, nearly smooth, symmetrical; skin thick, tough, smooth, dull; color clear pale yellow, with a small, bright red blush on the exposed cheek; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh yellowish-white, granular, firm at first but becoming melting when fully ripe, juicy, sweet, with a rich, aromatic flavor; quality very good. Core closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds wide, plump, obtuse. [Illustration: WILDER EARLY] WILDER EARLY =1.= _Can. Hort._ =12=:286, fig. 73. 1889. =2.= _Ibid._ =13=:251, Pl. 1890. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1899. =4.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:268. 1903. _Early Wilder._ =5.= _Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 45. 1896. _Wilder._ =6.= Ont. Dept. Agr. _Fr. Ont._ 183, fig. 1914. This is one of the good, early pears for the markets. It is more highly prized in the Mississippi Valley than in New York and the Eastern states where summer pears are raised in greater variety. The pears are very attractive in size, shape, and particularly in the bright lemon-yellow color, with a flaming cheek to the sun, the whole pear being characteristically marked with small, russet dots set in a pinkish circle. Of all summer pears the fruits of this one seem least inclined to rot at the center, and usually keep longer and ship better, although the skin is tender and bruises easily. The flesh is buttery, moderately juicy, sweet and rich, with a faint, pleasant perfume. The fruits are small but are usually larger than those of the well-known Seckel, and are edible almost to the very center. The tree is large, vigorous, prodigiously productive, as healthy as any, and a remarkably handsome ornamental. Despite this catalog of virtues, Wilder Early is not largely planted in New York. Wilder Early is a chance seedling found by Charles A. Green, Rochester, New York, about 1884, in Chautauqua County, New York. At the time of its discovery the tree was already in bearing. The variety was named after Marshall P. Wilder, President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. The name first appeared in the fruit-catalog of the American Pomological Society in 1899. Tree large, vigorous, upright, dense-topped, rapid-growing, hardy, very productive; branches zigzag, reddish-brown overspread with gray scarf-skin, with numerous lenticels; branchlets thick, very long, light greenish-brown, lightly streaked with ash-gray scarf-skin, dull, smooth, glabrous except near the tips of the new growth, sprinkled with many conspicuous, raised lenticels.