420 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



1. Doyenne d'Ete. 9. Seckel. 17. Angouleme. 



2. Beurre Giffard. 10. Sheldon. 18. Emile d' Heyst. 



3. Dearborn's Seedling. 11. White Doyenne. 19. Lawrence. 



4. Manning's Elizabeth. 12. Gray Doyenne. 20. Anjou. 



5. Tyson. 13. Bosc. 21. Dana's Hovey. 



6. Petite Marguerite. 14. Frederick Clapp. ■ 22. Maline. 



7. Bartlett. 15. Cornice. 23. Vicar. 



8. Boussock. 16. Souvenir d' Esperon. 



For those who have room for only one tree, my choice would be No. 13 ; 

 yet the majority would probably choose the Bartlett. Second choice, No. 

 21 ; then the following numbers according to the size of the garden : Nos. 

 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23. For market: Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 

 19, 20, 21, 23. The last one is mainly for culinary uses, yet in some locali- 

 ties when well grown and well ripened it is a very good eating pear. 



Managing the Fruit". — John J. Thomas says: Nearly all the early 

 pears should be picked some days before becoming soft ; the right time is 

 when the stem separates freely from the tree when the pear is raised or 

 lifted upward above a level. Some of the earliest, as the Summer Doyenne, 

 should be nearer maturity than others larger and later. The Bartlett will 

 ripen well if gathered before full grown, but the quality will not be so per- 

 fect. All pears keep best in the dark, and they may be placed in shallow 

 drawers, or in shallow boxes piled one above another, which may be lifted 

 down for examination, and for selecting the ripening specimens. Packed in 

 soft woolen cloths is an excellent way. Winter pears, and late autumn ones 

 before approaching ripening, may be kept in moss or in boxes or small bar- 

 rels ; and the nearer the temperature approaches freezing the longer they 

 will keep — bringing them into a warmer room to finish the softening process. 



Pears in Perfection. — A writer in the New York Tribune emphasizes 

 the idea brought out by Mr. Thomas, above. He says: 



Many undervalue their pear trees because of losing the right enjoyment of 

 the fruit through not being aware of some points in which pear habits dif- 

 fer from those of the more familiar apple. The skin of the pear, like the 

 bark of its tree, is much more thin and open than that of the apple; hence 

 the tree suffers seriously if it has a tall, bare trunk exposed to the parching 

 heat of the summer sun. The apple tree has more power of resistance, yet 

 it frequently suffers, too, when much exposed. For the same reason, the 

 fruit of the pear dries and shrivels when picked and stored sooner than most 

 sorts of apples do ; and therefore all winter })ears should be covered when 

 put in the cellar. 



A piece of blanketing is the best covering, because it retains still air about 

 the fruit, preventing drying drafts, while at the same time allowing of suf- 

 ficient necessary ventilation. As the pears show signs of coloring, those so 

 advanced should be picked out and placed in a drawer or box, in a warm 

 room, where, in a few days, they will assume the rich color of full ripeness. 

 That is the instant when they have their full high flavor, and the moment 

 for enjoying it, for it speedily dissipates and decay sets in at once, usually 

 first at the core — the richest part. Tbe pears should therefore be looked, 

 over everyday to gain all that super-excellence as dessert fruits. 



