Pears for Your Heirs

The Endicott Pear, a 348 year old pear in Danvers, MA.

Walnuts and pears you plant for your heirs...

-17th century English proverb

One of the most remarkable characteristics of pear trees are their lifespans. While apples are hardier and reach maturity sooner than pears (making them less picky in our New England climate and a quicker financial return), they do not last nearly as long. Most fruit trees might last 100 years if they escape the hardships of disease and weather. Apples will typically live between 40 - 50 years, yet a pear can be regularly expected to last 100+ years! Hence the proverb.

In search of an example of this longevity, I came across a few articles about the Endicott pear, which is the oldest cultivated fruit tree in the United States. Around 384 years old, the tree traveled across the Atlantic with Governor John Endecott and some of the first colonists of the Massachusetts Bay area in Danvers, Massachusetts. Planted some time between 1630 and 1649, it has survived damage from multiple hurricanes  and even after getting hacked by vandals in 1964 with little attention other than some pruning and a chain-linked fence.

Scions and germplasm samples have been taken from the Endicott pear, as the living monument has borne fruit since the early days of Colonial America up to the present. I find it remarkable that the act of planting a single tree can have such a large effect on future generations, which reminds me of one other proverb that I found:

He who plants trees loves others besides himself.

-Thomas Fuller, 1732, Gnmologia

This philosophy is deeply ingrained in my education here at Sterling College, and I find it comforting to think that whichever path I choose as a homesteader, farmer, businesswoman, or researcher (or all of the above I haven't decided which yet) I can still be an environmental steward who makes positive decisions for those who come after me.   

Resources:
1) Martin, Gary . "Pears for your heirs."Phrases.org. Gary Martin, n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
2) "Endicott Pear Tree." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
3) Howard, Jacqueline. "Oldest Known Fruit Tree In U.S. Still Bears Pears After Nearly 400 Years (VIDEO)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.