440 Descriptions of Select Varieties of Pears. 



yellowish, little coarse, melting and juicy ; Flavor, sprightly, 

 vinous, perfumed and good ; Core, large and slightly gritty ; 

 Seeds, medium size, short and full. Ripe in January and 

 February. 



150. Calebasse d'Ete. 



Since the death of Van Mons, no name has been more 

 prominent among the growers of seedling pears than that of 

 the late Major Esperin, of Bavay. Some fifteen or twenty 

 kinds, of high reputation, have been introduced into the 

 Belgian catalogues, which are said to have been raised by 

 him ; most of them, according to Mr. Rivers, who has 

 frequently visited his collection, being chance seedlings. 

 Whether they will sustain the rank to which they have been 

 elevated remains to be seen ; but if all of them are equal to 

 the Calebasse d'Ete, it is sufficient to say they have not been 

 overrated. It should be remarked, however, that some of 

 them have proved synonymous with older kinds, while others 

 are quite distinct and new. 



It is unnecessary to recapitulate, now, the kinds he has pro- 

 duced, as we shall soon describe and figure all that are worth 

 cultivating. The Calebasse d'Ete (fig. 35 J is the first which 

 we have yet found to be among our best pears, and its excel- 

 lence will induce us to give them all a fair trial before 

 deciding upon their merits. 



This fine pear is of large size, calabash formed, somewhat 

 of the shape of the Long Green, (not the autumn variety,) 

 but is more irregular in its outline. The tree is a remarkably 

 vigorous grower, with a large light green foliage, and the 

 pears are borne in clusters of three or more. It ripens just 

 before the Bartlett, and has the excellent quality of keeping 

 a long time without rotting at the core. We have not tried 

 it upon the quince. 



Size, large, about three and a half inches long, and two 

 inches in diameter ; Form, oblong pyramidal, often irregular 

 or curved, large at the crown, which is sometimes oblique or 

 flattened, and tapering into the stem, with a contraction about 



