INTllODUCTION. 15 



propagation of tiie Pear wliich will enable us to dis- 

 pense even with tlic Quince in great part, is not 

 doubted by good poniologists. 



In the original introduction of the Pear as a fruit 

 iuto this country, the French Huguenots bore a pro- 

 minent part. In preparing for their exile, they doubt- 

 less selected the seeds of their best varieties, and 

 planted tlicni around their homes in the New AVorld. 

 This is evidenced by the multitude of aged trees 

 (many of them ])roduciDg line varieties) in the im- 

 mediate neighborhood of their first settlements, par- 

 ticularly on Long Island and at New Pochelle, in 

 Michigan and Illinois. 



It is not a little curious to observe how the taste 

 and preference for this fruit has survived in the coun- 

 tries through wliich the Huguenots passed in their 

 flight, or where they temporarily sojourned. Belgium 

 and Holland have produced more fine varieties, and 

 more eminent cultivators, of this fruit than all the rest 

 of the world. 



There are many questions relating to the Pear, 

 which are still little understood, although discussed 

 for a long time by men of talent. Among these are : 

 the decline Df certain highly-esteemed varieties, which 

 can no longer be grown in localities where they 

 formerly ranked as the highest and best ; the excel- 

 lence of many varieties in particular places, and their 

 inferiority when grown in others ; the refusal of 

 some varieties to grow upon the Quince stock. 



These, and many other mysteries, which have caused 

 as much disappointment and chagrin to the cultivator, 

 from his inability to account for them, as from his 



