200 PERRY PEARS. 



is no notice of it in any early catalogues of fruits. Phillips does 

 not mention it, nor does it seem to have been known until the 

 early part of the eighteenth century. An excellent figure of it is 

 given in the Pomona Herefordensis^ PI. xi. 



Description. — Fruit : small, round, even, and regularly formed. 

 Skin : of a uniform greenish yellow when ripe, covered with minute 

 dots, and a patch of russet round the stalk. Eye : open, with 

 incurved segments, set in a shallow depression, surrounded with 

 plaits. Stalk : an inch long, slender, not depressed, but tapering 

 into the fruit at its base. Flesh : yellowish, firm, and crisp. 

 Juice : pale, plentiful, sweet, and very astringent. 



The chemical analysis of the juice of the Oldfield Peat 

 (season 1880), by Mr. G. H. With, F.R.A.S., F.C.S., Trinity 

 College, Dublin, gave the following results : — 



Density of fresh juice ... ... i'o57 



Ditto after 24 hours' exposure to air ... i"o6x 

 100 parts of juice by weight, yielded of 



Sugar ... ... ... ... i3"o6o 



Tannin, Mucilage, Salts, &c. ... .. 3710 



Water .. ... ... ... 83*230 



Mr, Thomas Andrew Knight gives the density of this pear 

 as 1*067, but states that it varies very much, like that of all other 

 pears, according to the soil it grows on. The perry afforded by 

 the Oldfield Pear is rich and sweet, with considerable strength, and 

 ranks next to the Tayntoii Squash in general estimation. It fines 

 readily in making, keeps well, and commands a high price in the 

 market. It will keep and improve for 10 or 12 years in bottle. 



The trees are large, very hardy, blossom the middle of May, 

 and bear abundantly. The variety is very generally distributed 

 throughout the county, and is in full luxuriance at this time. 



