KEEPING PEARS. 73 



Our winter pears are very dependent on the kind of 

 season we get for their keeping properties and fine 

 flavour. No artificial or natural warmth can compensate 

 for the absence of abundance of genial sunshine ; exces- 

 sive heat ripens the fruit without properly developing 

 its size or flavour ; and an extremely dry, extremely wet 

 season, or one in which the warmth and the wet come 

 unseasonably, although there may "be a good proportion 

 of both, are all bad for the fruit. Our fruit crops must, 

 both in goodness and quantity, depend greatly on 

 seasons, and we can only watch and ameliorate the dis- 

 advantages of bad seasons, as far as we can, by careful 

 culture. 



Although first-class winter or keeping pears are not 

 numerous, some few make up in goodness what they 

 want in number. The very few which come into use 

 from February onward far into the spring, must in no 

 case be overlooked in planting the fruit garden. These 

 come in when good fruit is very scarce, when it will 

 command almost any price in London and other 

 markets, and when pears of good quality are indeed a 

 dainty dish to set before our friends. Besides these, we 

 ought to have an abundant supply of fine-flavoured, 

 good pears, to carry us over Christmas and the new 

 year a time when abundance of good fare is especially 

 wanted. 



Zephirine Gregoire is a round, middle-sized pear, 

 coming into use from November to February. It is 

 smooth on the surface, a little bossy at the stalk, with a 

 shining skin of a pale waxen yellow colour, inclining to 

 orange on the sunny side ; juicy, sweet, and rich in 

 flavour, and with a delicate aroma something like that 

 imparted by elder-flowers. On a heavy soil the skin is 

 greener and russety. The eye is very small, sometimes 

 on the surface, sometimes in a shallow basin ; and the 

 stalk is of medium length, thick, and set on without any 

 cavity. It is a hardy tree, a good bearer, and very fit for 

 pyramid or other training. 



Crassane is a delicious pear, ripening in November, 

 and going on until Christmas. It is a middle-sized, 



