HINTS ON THE RIPENING OF WINTER PEARS. 



457 



coarse, rich loamy soil is most suited for 

 Fuchsias; and that if full exposure to the 

 light is secured to them, they will thrive 

 best when treated on something like the 

 large-shift system. 



Fuchsias belong to the natural order Ona- 

 gracBE-, the same order which includes the 

 GEnothera, and other garden flowers. In 

 the Linnaean arrangement, they belong to 

 Octandria monogvnia. 



HINTS ON THE RIPENING OF WINTER PEARS. 



BY SAMUEL WALKER, ROXBURY.' 



[Many novices in the culture of the pear are 

 disappointed in many of the new winter va- 

 rieties ; and chiefly because they are not 

 aware that, to attain their proper flavor, they 

 must be ripened off* in a higk temperature. 

 We beg the attention of the uninitiated in 

 these matters, to the excellent hints from our 

 correspondent, Samuel Walker, Esq., than 

 whom no one is more familiar with the sub- 

 ject. — Ed.] 



The increasing demand for fruit, and more 

 particularly for autumn and winter pears, 

 has caused frequent inquiries to be made 

 by the cultivators of this delicious fruit, as 

 to the best mode of keeping and ripening 

 the different varieties for the table and for 

 the market. This subject, at present, is 

 but partially understood ; but, with your 

 permission, I will venture to offer a few 

 crude hints, and all the practical experience 

 I possess on the subject. 



" To begin at the beginning," I consider 

 it very desirable that every fruit-grower 

 should have a Fruit- House, or Fruit-Rooms, 

 consisting of at least two apartments, viz : 

 a keeping and a ripeni?ig room. For this 

 purpose I would suggest an ornamental 

 building of brick, stone or other material, 

 so constructed as to keep out the frost, di- 

 vided into two rooms of such size as may 

 meet the wishes and wants of the cultiva- 

 tor. 



The floor of the keeping-room to be of 

 58 



brick or stone ; the ripening-room floor to 

 be of wood, if you please, covered with a 

 carpet, and to render it comfortable and 

 suitable for the purpose, a fire place to heat 

 the apartment when necessary. 



The same treatment will not, I believe, 

 suit all the kinds of pears (maturing at the 

 same season) whether they be autumn or 

 winter varieties. For illustration, let us 

 compare the Chaumontel and the Vicar of 

 Winkfield {Monsieur le Cure ;) the first will 

 ripen when subjected to great changes and 

 exposure to frost; indeed, it may be left up- 

 on the ground with only a slight covermg 

 of leaves, grass or other light substance, at 

 times covered with snow, the thermometer 

 varying from 10^ above zero to summer 

 heat, and still the ripening process advan- 

 ces, and is, in all probability, accelerated by 

 these sudden changes until the fruit is near- 

 ly ripe, at which time, if the fruit is taken 

 into a cold cellar for a (ew days, (if frozen 

 put into some soil to take out the frost,) and 

 then removed into the keeping-room, there 

 boxed up with cotton batting, and then 

 placed in the ripening apartment, the matu- 

 ring process will be promoted until the fruit 

 has acquired its highest state of perfection. 

 These remarks, I have no doubt, will applj' 

 to other varieties, of which time and e.xpe^ 

 rience will give, to the close and attentive 

 observer, further information on this impor- 

 tant subject. I will, however, venture to 



