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JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTTJBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



t December 11, 1866. 



portion, the same rule is followed in this respect as in hot 

 climates where we know that the crops are perfected in an 

 equally short time. I shall, therefore, be very glad if any of 

 your correspondents can assist me with any information upon 

 these points. — G. H. 



PEAR CULTURE. 



If the Pine Apple is worthy of its title, King of Fruits, I 

 think the Pear has an equal if not greater claim to be called 

 Prince of Winter Desserts. Why ? Is it not sweet like the 

 Pine Apple, without being cloying like the Plum, brisk and re- 

 freshing like the Grape and Cherry, melting like the Peach, 

 and buttery as well, which is a quality no other fruit can 

 boast ? Added to these, no small merit is its long continuance 

 in season, the change of kinds giving a pleasing variation, be- 

 sides coming into use at a time when most other fruits are over 

 or scarce. I think the Pear deserving of more extended cultiva- 

 tion, for unlike some fruits of greater fame but less real 

 merit, it requires no expensive glass erections, no costly heat- 

 ing apparatus, but simply a piece of land to grow it on ; and 

 though attaining the dimensions of a tree, it may be grown so 

 as to occupy no more ground than a moderate-sized Goose- 

 berry bush. 



Its culture may be best treated of under three heads. 1st, 

 Bushes and Pyramids ; 2nd, Trained to Walls and Espaliers ; 

 and 3rd, Orchard Trees. 



1st.— BUSHES AND PYRAMIDS. 



Vaiuettes.* — For this mode of culture the most suitable of 

 those requiring Pear stocks, or not succeeding on the Quince, 

 are : — 



Doyenne d'EU. — Small and handsome. July. As a bush on 

 the Quince it is most prolific and ornamental, but does not 

 grow sufficiently for a pyramid. 



Seckle. — Small, buttery, very juicy, sweet, and rich ; highly 

 aromatic and musky, but of an agreeable flavour. October. 



Comte de Flandre. — Large, melting, and handsome. De- 

 cember. 



Duchesse d' 'Orleans. — Large, melting, buttery, and juicy, with 

 a fine aroma, being rich and vinous. October. 



Jargonelle. — Large, juicy, rich piquant flavour. August. 



Monarch. — Medium-sized, juicy, rich, and piquant, sugary, 

 with an agreeably-perfumed flavour. December and January. 



Marie Louise. — Large, buttery, and melting, juicy, rich and 

 vinous ; one of the very best. October and November. 



_ Ne Plus Meuris.— Medium-sized, melting, rich, sugary, and 

 vinous. January to May. 



Suffolk Thorn. — Medium-sized, melting, and excellent. Oc- 

 tober. 



Thompson's.— Medium-sized, delicious, highly flavoured, and 

 melting. October sometimes, but generally November. 



Van Mora Leon le Clerc. — Large, melting, and delicious. 

 November. 



Zephirin Grigoire. — Medium-sized, buttery, very juicy, with 

 a powerful and peculiar aroma ; most delicious.' December 

 and January. 



Succeeding on Quince stocks : — 



Alexandre Lambre. — Medium-sized, juicy, sometimes melt- 

 ing, at others only half melting ; sweet and aromatic. Decem- 

 ber and January. 



Baronne de Mello. — Medium-sized, sometimes large, melting, 

 and buttery ; excellent. October and November. 



Beurre d'Aremberg. — Medium-sized, melting, juicy, and 

 buttery, with a rich, vinous, perfumed flavour. December and 

 January. 



Beinrf d'Amanlis. — Large, melting, and excellent. One of 

 the best autumn Pears. End of September and October. 



Beurre Diet.— Very large, melting, rich, and excellent. No- 

 vember and December. I have had fruit of this 21 ozs. in 

 weight. 



Beuire de Ranee. — Large, sometimes very large, melting, 

 juicy, and excellent ; first-rate, one of the best late Pears. 

 January, and often till May. 



Beurre Goubault. — Medium-sized, melting, juiev, and sugary ; 

 excellent. Does equally well on the Pear stock. ' September. 



Beurre Hardy. — Large, melting, very juicy, and sweet, with 

 a perfume said to resemble Eose-water. October. 



Beurre Superfm.— Large, melting, very good. September 

 and October. 



' For full descriptions Dr. Hogg's " Fruit Manual " should be consulted. 



Bon Chretien. — Large, buttery, melting, delicious, and sugary, 

 having a very pleasant musky aroma. One of the best early 

 autumn Pears. September. Should not be allowed to ripen 

 on the tree. 



Calebasse d'Ete. — Medium-sized, half melting (which some 

 like), juicy, and sweet, but inferior to 



Colmar d'Ete. — Medium-sized, juicy, and agreeable, forming 

 the most beautiful pyramid I know. End of September. 



Conseiller de la Govt. — Medium-sized, but very variable, 

 being sometimes large, and occasionally below the medium 

 size. It is also variable as to quality, but when good is most 

 delicious, having a brisk flavour and a peculiar aroma. No- 

 vember and December. 



Doyenne du Cornice. — Large, melting, and delicious. This 

 deserves to be more extensively grown. It forms a very hand- 

 some pyramid. December. 



Forellc. — Medium-sized, buttery, and melting, with a rich 

 and vinous flavour. November and December. 



Easter Beurre. — Large, melting, and juicy, with a fine per- 

 fumed flavour. January to March. Does not succeed against 

 a wall with me, and is worthless on the Pear as an espalier. 



Duchesse d'Angouleme. — Very large, often its chief recom- 

 mendation ; half melting, and rich. November. 



Josepliiiu: de .Valines. — Medium-sized, melting, very juicy, 

 with a particularly rich aromatic flavour. In my opinion it 

 has no equal. January to April, sometimes May. 



Louise Bonne of Jersey. — Large, but unless the fruit be 

 thinned medium-sized, delicious, melting. It has no equal in 

 its season. October. 



Yat. — Medium-sized, sometimes small, juicy, melting, and 

 rich, with a highly perfumed flavour. A great bearer, and a 

 favourite with many. September. 



The above are all good dessert Pears, calculated to furnish 

 fruit in succession from July to April. 



The following are baking and stewing Pears which may be 

 grown as bushes or pyramids on the Quince, but better as 

 bushes, as from their large fruit they do not form good 

 pyramids. 



Bcllissime d' Hirer. — Very large, sweet and mellow when 

 ripe, keeping well. November to April. 



C'atillac. — Very large, crisp, often gritty, with a musky 

 flavour. One of the best. December to April. 



Leon le Clerc de Laval. — Large, crisp, juicy, sweet, and per- 

 fumed. Undoubtedly the longest-keeping Pear known, often 

 sound in June, and is then tender and agreeable. January to 

 June. 



Vicar of JVinkfield. — Large, handsome, half melting, juicy 

 and sweet, with a musky aroma. December and January. 



Situation. — The situation should be open to the south, and 

 if sheltered from the north, east, and west, all the better; but 

 it should be by trees or hills at a distance, and not by walls 

 or other objects that will deprive the trees of the sun's rays, 

 or cast a shadow upon them. The situation should be open 

 in every sense of the word, with no more protection than is 

 sufficient to prevent its being bleak. In such situations, and 

 not cold from altitude, nor wet, the kinds named will thrive in 

 our climate ; but in high and exposed situations few will do 

 any good. An altitude of 300 feet seems to be the limit of suc- 

 cessful Pear culture in the open air in our northern counties, 

 but the fruit attains a fair degree of perfection at an altitude of 

 500 feet in the southern parts of the kingdom. Much depends 

 upon local and peculiar circumstances, for a particular spot 

 may be so sheltered by hills as to render it even warmer than 

 one at a less elevation. I find that where the Hawthorn 

 blossoms, and perfects a plentiful crop of " haws," the Pear 

 will be at home as to climate, and the kinds named succeed in 

 the open ground with the ordinary protection of gardens. 



Soil. — A good deep loamy soil suits the Pear well, providing 

 the subsoil be efficiently drained, so as to be free of stagnant 

 water. The Pear stock and Quince alike prefer this descrip- 

 tion of soil, and especially one containing more or less cal- 

 careous matter. They do well on marly soils, and such as are 

 not naturally so are much improved for the growth of the Pear 

 by the addition of marl. Very strong clay the Pear stock does 

 not succeed in, or not until the subsoil has been well drained, 

 and the soil well trenched and exposed to the atmosphere ; 

 neither will it thrive where the subsoil contains much iron, 

 nor on light free soils. Dj very heavy land the roots are apt 

 to go down deep, and the trees grow much, offering a prepon- 

 derance of wood, and small, cracked, fungus-spotted fruit, 

 which does not mature, much less keep. If the Pear on the 

 Pear stock will not thrive on stiff soils with an uncongenial 



