The size of the leaf is a most valuable determinant of varieties of pears. Length and breadth should be given in figures. The shape should be depicted in carefully chosen words. The body of the leaf is usually _ovate_ or _oval_, but these shapes must nearly always be modified by _broad_ or _narrow_, _long_ or _short_. The apex requires a descriptive word or two; as, _taper-pointed_, _acute_, or _obtuse_. Thickness and texture are sometimes noteworthy. The texture is usually described as _stiff_, _leathery_, or _pliant_. Sometimes the leaves are flat; sometimes folded upward, and rarely they are folded downward. The color of both the upper and lower surfaces is often important; and the amount of pubescence, if present, must always be noted on the two surfaces. The autumnal tint is a marked characteristic in some varieties. The margins offer valuable evidence for identification in the character of the serrations which are usually distinct in a variety. Sometimes glands and hairs are found on the margins, in which case they are usually noteworthy. The time of appearance and the fall of leaves are life events that distinguish some varieties. Leaves are many in some sorts; few in others. The length, thickness, color of the petiole and whether it is _smooth_, _pubescent_ or _channeled_ are usually worth noting. The presence and the size and color of stipules are often important enough to record. The petioles of pear leaves are larger and slenderer than those of the apple, and the foliage of a pear-tree has something of the tremulous habit of the aspen and other poplars. The leaves have a gloss that distinguishes them at once from those of the apple-tree. As a rule, the foliage of the pear drops earlier in the autumn than that of the apple. When the leaves of pears open in the spring they are folded along the midrib, and are covered with snow-white wool, but at full maturity no trace of this woolly covering remains. The amount and texture of this covering on the leaves of different varieties vary greatly, although it is doubtful if this character is of much use for taxonomic purposes. _Flower-buds and flowers._--It is not possible to distinguish flower-buds from leaf-buds by their external appearance as certainly as might be wished for the purposes of ascertaining what the crop will be and that pruning and budding may be done more intelligently. As a rule, however, the flower-buds are larger, plumper, and have a blunter point. The flower-buds are much like leaf-buds in color--usually a dark brown. They may be readily told by their contents when examined under a microscope. Time of opening is a mark of distinction with varieties that bloom very early or very late, but the flowers of most varieties of pears open at approximately the same time.