OATUEBINQ AND RII'ENINO OF 8UMMEU FUU1T8. 



Straxchrrnj, Summer Rose, Williams^ Favorite, Sweet Bough, Golden Sweelinf/, and 

 all of tliat I'lass, become mealy, and should be gatliered as soon as the skin changes 

 color and the stalk can be easily removed from the branch. Laid on shelves in thin 

 layers, where the air is still, they will remain in use a considerable length of time, or 

 thev niav bo safely sent to distant markets. 



Summer Pears are mismanaged to a much greater extent than any other fruit, 

 jiartly because they bear ripening on the tree worse than any other fruits, but more 

 jtarticularly on account of the lack of knowledge that exists in regard to the proper 

 time for gathering them and the circumstances most favorable to their perfect matura- 

 tion. A summer Tear ripened on the tree is a detestable thing ; there is scarcely an 

 exception. The process of ripening on the tree, which is the natural one, seems to 

 act upon the fruit for the benefit of the seed, as it tends to tlie formation of woody 

 fibre and farina. When the fruit is removed from the tree at the very commencement 

 of ripening, and placed in a still atmosphere, the natural process seems to be counter- 

 acted, and sugar and juice are elaborated instead of fibre and farina. Thus Pears 

 that become mealy and rot at the core when left on the tree to ripen, and are pro- 

 nounced worthless, become juicy, melting, and delicious when ripened in the house. 

 Good Pears are very often condemned on this account, and not one person in a hun- 

 dred ever tastes even the finest sorts in a perfect state. It requires more skill, more 

 close observation and practice, to gather summer and autumn Pears at the right time, 

 than most people possess, or are willing to bestow. The most experienced and the 

 most careful of us fall short in this matter. Every new Pear is a new study in its 

 ripening. Some people say that they would prefer Pears that would ripen on the 

 tree; but wt regard as a most important and valuable property that of ripening in 

 the house, because it enables the orchardist to gather his fruit ten or twelve days or 

 more before he offers it in market, and gives him ample time to assort it and convey 

 it, if he choose, hundreds of miles. Summer Pears, such as Madelaine, Doyenne d' 

 Etc, Beurre Giffard, Osband^s Suramcr, Bloodyood, Bartlett, &c., may be grown in 

 Western New York or Ohio, and be sent forward to the markets of Boston, New 

 York, or Philadelphia, in as good condition as though they were grown within twenty 

 miles of either of those cities. Is not this an important advantage ? We believe it is, 

 and we desire to call the attention of fruit-growers to it particularly, because it is a 

 common impression that summer Pears can not be grown for distant markets. Fruit- 

 erers in these large cities should provide themselves with spacious rooms convenient 

 to the city, where they could take these summer Pears in an immature state, as they 

 come from the trees, and there ripen and assort them to fit them for their market 

 stalls and the tables of their customers. When summer Pears have attained their 

 full growth, a change in the color and feeling of the skin immediately begins to take 

 place; — the green becomes paler; the red, if it have red, lighter; the surface 

 becomes smoother and finer; the base of the stalk at the union with the branch 

 enlarges : and these are the indications of fitness for gathering. In our experiments 

 gathering, we find the earliest picked, provided they have attained their gro 

 the best. Beurre Giffard, which is the largest and finest early summer Pear 



