THE PEARS OF NEW YORK g 



them the Tarentine, the Signina, which others from their color call Testacea 

 (like tiles, or brick-colored), like the Onychina (onyx) and Purpurea (purple). 

 From their odor are named the Myrapia (myrrh-pear), Laurea (laurel), 

 Nardina (nard) ; from their season the Hordearia (barley, at the barley- 

 harvest); from the shape of their neck the Ampullacea (flask). The 

 Coriolana and Bruttia have family-names (Coriolanus, Brutus); the 

 Cucurbitina (gourd-pears) are so called from their bitter taste. The origin 

 of the name is unknown in the case of the Barbarica and the Veneria which 

 they call colored; the Regia, which are attached to a very short stalk; 

 the Patricia; the Voconia, which are green and oblong. Virgil mentions 

 also the Volema, taken from Cato, who names also the Sementiva and the 

 Mustea.i " 



It is pertinent to inquire, now, as to what types of pears the ancients 

 had. Such an inquiry leads up to another and much more important 

 question: Have new characters appeared in pears since Pliny wrote? 

 If so, it may be possible that we shall be forced to assimie that man's dom- 

 inacy over this fruit has produced the new characters, in which case search 

 might be made for the key to unlock more new characters. For the present, 

 however, only the first question can be considered, before going into which it 

 is necessary to know what the most prominent characters of the pear are. 

 Only those of the fruit need be named. 



There are twenty outstanding characters which differentiate the 

 varieties of pears now cultivated, not taking account of those introduced 

 by the hybridization of P. commMnis with P. serotina which has given 

 pomology the Kieffer-like varieties. These characters are: Smooth or 

 russet skin; red, yellow, or green color; large or small size; eariy or late 

 season; long or short stem; round, oblate, ovate, and pyriform shapes; 

 granular, buttery, or breaking flesh; sweet or acid flavor. In the pears 

 described by Pliny so many of these characters are mentioned or may be 

 assumed to be present from inference, that the conclusion is forced that in 

 the many new pure-bred pears of P. commimis which have come into 

 existence since Pliny's time, showing a great shufl3ing of characters in 

 pear-breeding, it is doubtful whether new characters have come into being 

 in 2000 years. This, in turn, forces the conclusion that if this fruit is to be 

 greatly changed, the change must come about through hybridization with 

 other species. 



Another qu otation from Pliny shows that the Romans valued pears 



> Pliny Nat. Hist. XV: 15. From a translation made for the writer by Professor H. H. Yeames, 

 Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y. 



