394 Bloodgcod and Belle do Bruxelles Pear. 



Art. IV. Bloodgood and Belle de Bruxelles Pear. 

 By R. W. S. 



Within the last few days, I have had frequent opportuni- 

 ties to taste and compare the Bloodgood pear with other vari- 

 eties : although it has sometimes a compound flavor, which, 

 to some few persons, is not agreeable, yet it must and will be 

 ranked among the best early pears, "deserving a place in the 

 smallest garden." It is usually ripe in Boston and its vicin- 

 ity from the 10th to the 25th August, say ten to twenty days 

 before the Williams's Bon Chretien or Bartlett. I must ac- 

 knowledge that I have heretofore entertained some doubts 

 whether the Bloodgood would fully sustain the reputation 

 that some cultivators and nurserymen have claimed for it, 

 but, after several years' trial, under favorable and under un- 

 favorable seasons, I am ready to place it among the very best 

 early pears. 



The Belle de Bruxelles, or, as I have always received it 

 from France under the name of Belle d^Aout, is an old ac- 

 quaintance. I have again and again said, "cut it down,*' 

 but still the "outcast" has made friends, who have been ready 

 to plead its cause, and vouch for its being "unsurpassed by 

 any summer pear of native or foreign variety !" It has, in 

 this manner, found its way again into good company, again 

 to be " thrust out." 



The moment I cast my eye upon the 445 and 446 pages of 

 the first volume of the Horticulturist, I said, there is a correct 

 outline of one of the most worthless and deceptive of pears. 

 Mr. Barry has so truly and faithfully described it, except as 

 to its flavor, that it can scarcely be mistaken. I will venture 

 to give a new version, and leave it with your readers to form 

 their own conclusions. Flesh, white, coarse-grained, astrin- 

 gent, and ill-flavored, having nothing but its size and beauty 

 to recommend it, being totally worthless for any other par- 

 pose than to look at or to sell. 



Roxbury, August, 1848. 



We were quite surprised to find the Belle de Bruxelles, 

 which we have fruited these four or five years, so much 

 overrated. — Ed. 



