CHAP. XLii. rosa'ce^. PY'RUS. 883 



that country. All these have been collected by the London Horticultural 

 Society, Mr. Braddick, and some other persons ; and most of them have been 

 proved in the Horticultural Society's Garden: a Herculean task, which has 

 been commenced on sound principles, judiciously pursued, and successfully 

 accomplished; and the credit of which is due to Mr. Sabine. The number of 

 names of pears in the Horticultural Society's Fruit Catalogue, published in 

 18.31, exclusive of synonymes, is 677; which number may be considered as 

 including all the best sorts then known, but to which additions are making 

 annually. For selections of these sorts suited to the various purposes of 

 fruit-growers, we refer to the Gardener's Magazine, vol. xi. p. 34-. ; to the En- 

 ci/cIoj)CBdia of Gardening, edit. 1835, § 4840.; and to the lists of pear trees in 

 our Suburban Gardener. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of the wild pear is heavy, strong, compact, 

 of a fine grain, and slightly tinged with red. It weighs, green, 79 lb. 5 oz. per 

 cubic foot; and, when dry, from 49 lb. to 53 lb. This wood, in common 

 with that of all the iiosaceae, is hable to have its natural colour changed by 

 steeping it in water ; which ought, therefore, to be avoided when it is intended 

 for particular purposes. It is readily stained black, and then so closely resem- 

 bles ebony as to be scarcely distinguishable from it. According to Du Hamel, 

 it is, next to the true service ( P. Morbus domestica), the best wood that can 

 be employed by wood engravers ; which use Gerard also seems to hint at when 

 he says it " likewise serveth to be cut into many kindes of moulds ; not only 

 such prints as these figures are made of, but also many sorts of pretty toies, 

 for coifes, brest-plates, and such like, vsed among our English gentlewomen." 

 (p. 1459.) For the wood engraver, however, it is far inferior to the box ; 

 though it is allowed to be very hard and homogeneous, and yet easy to cut, 

 and, when perfectly dry, not liable either to crack, or to warp. For coarse 

 engravings on wood, such as large plans, &c., we have no doubt that it would 

 succeed perfectly. When it can be obtained, it is much used by turners and 

 pattern makers; also for joiners' tools, and to make various articles which are 

 dyed black in imitation of ebony. As fuel, the wood of the pear is excellent, 

 producing a vivid and durable flame, accompanied by intense heat. It also 

 makes excellent charcoal. The leaves, according to Withering, afford a yellow 

 dye, and may be used to give a green to blue cloths. 



The great use of the pear tree, however, is as a fruit tree. The fruit is used 

 in the dessert, and for stewing and preserving. It is also occasionally used in 

 tarts, though very inferior for this purpose to apples. In France and Belgium, 

 the fruit is very generally dried in ovens, in which state it forms an article of 

 commerce both domestic and foreign, and will keep a year. It is also dried in 

 this manner in Russia ; and, when stewed, is excellent, either as a substitute for 

 pies and puddings, or as forming part of the dessert. Pears are dried in 

 France in two ways : one, for family use, by putting them, without their being 

 pared, into an oven, after the bread is drawn, either on the bricks, or on 

 raised frames of tin or boards. The pears are put in two, three, and some- 

 times even four times, according to their size, and to the degree of heat that 

 there is in the oven. The only things that it is necessary to attend to are, to 

 take care that the oven is not so hot as to burn the pears, and that they are 

 not left in so long as to make them hard. Melting sugary pears, of the 

 middle size, are the" best for this purpose ; and, when properly prepared, they 

 may be kept in bags, in a dry place, for several years. The second mode is 

 that used for preparing the pears sold in boxes at the grocers' shops; and 

 rather small pears are considered best. They must be gathered before they 

 are quite ripe, and care taken to preserve the stalk. They are then parboiled 

 in very little water, peeled, and placed on dishes with the stalks uppermost. 

 In this state a kind of syrup runs from them, which must be carefully poured 

 off, and set on one side. They are next placed on raised frames, and put into 

 an oven after the bread has been drawn, or heated to a similar degree, and left 

 there 12 hours; after which they are taken out and steeped in the syrup, 

 which has been sweetened with sugar, to which have been added a little cinna- 



3 N 3 



