210 [ THE PEAR TREE 



the shelves preferably with the stalk up, as close as 

 possible to economise space, but without touching each 

 other. One or two days before taking in the fruit, the 

 room should be thoroughly disinfected by the fumes of 

 sulphur or by spraying with a watery solution of formalin 

 (i per 100). The fruit should be inspected every one or 

 two days, and those showing signs of injury are taken 

 out at once. Summer and autumn pears should be taken 

 out and disposed of as soon as they are ripe, but late 

 autumn and winter pears may be kept much longer, if 

 better prices are expected. 



The classic land for the pear is France and Belgium. 

 In fact not only have these countries produced a consider- 

 able proportion of the best pears, but the cultivation of 

 the pear is understood there probably better than 

 anywhere else. English and Italian cultivators have 

 contributed their fair share to the general stock of 

 desirable varieties of this delicious fruit, but the leading 

 place for the pear is held by France and Belgium, 

 perhaps more decidedly than is the case of England's 

 leadership for the cultivation of the apple. Unfortunately 

 many of the best French and Belgian pears do not 

 acclimatise themselves readily in our southern climate. 

 In full sunshine they often become dwarfed and unpro- 

 ductive, and though they thrive better in very shaded 

 situations, their fruit has a tendency to become gritty at 

 the core particularly in late ripening varieties. Certain 

 Italian sorts do well with us, and the few English pears 

 hitherto introduced seem to do almost as well as the 

 Italian varieties. 



Pears may be classed into three groups. The 

 first includes the small-sized pears often grown on the 

 continent for the production of perry (poiret) a beverage 

 like cider ; with this group of pears we have nothing to 

 do, as they are not grown in these Islands. The second 

 group includes the kitchen pears (poires a cuire) and 

 comprises a section of preserve pears (poires a compSte). 



