142 AGRICULTURE. 



The pear is less difficult with regard to soil than 

 the appl^tree. We have seen it grow well in light 

 sand ; and a part of Normandy, called Bocage, the 

 soil of which is a stiff clay, is renowned for its 

 pears, and for a liquor called Perry, made from 

 their juices.* 



Oliver de Serres counted sixty-two varieties of 

 the pear; and, according to the treatise of M. Van 

 Mons, published in 1808, the number then cultivated 

 in Europe amounted to more than six hundred. Of 

 these we shall name a few, in the order in which 

 they ripen. The Muscat rAllemand, in May ; the 

 St. John and the Bergamot of Holland, in June ; the 

 Petit Muscat and the Cuisse Madame, or Jargonelle, 

 in July; the Salviat and the Bon Chretien d'Ete 

 Musque, in August ; the Beurre Gris, in Septem- 

 ber ; the Bergamot Suisse and Messire Jean, in Oc- 

 tober; the Bon Chretien Turc and the fall Berga- 

 mot, in November ; the Chasserais, the Beurre 

 d'Hiver, the Merveille d'Hiver, the Vergouleuse, the 

 St. Germain, and the Sarrussin, in December.^ 



* When made without the addition of water, Perry is an ex- 

 cellent liquor, and keeps well in bottles. 



t We offer this list as a direction to those who may wish to 

 obtain the best succession of crops, and have therefore retained 

 the names under which they are known abroad. 



J The pears here named belong to the old catalogue ; the 

 quality of the new kinds, named by Van Mons, not then being 

 known to us. The new varieties have since been introduced and 

 fruited, and have added much to the value and variety, of this 

 fruit. We recommend the following, embracing mostly new 

 varieties, as a better selection than the one named in the text. 

 They should be added to old collections, and in new plantations 

 may be advantageously introduced as substitutes for old, and, 

 in many cases, degenerated varieties. Beginning with the early 

 varieties, we recommend the Citron des Carmes, Jargonelle, 

 Summer Rose, &c., ripening in July and August ; the Belle et 

 Bonne, Vergaleu, or White Doyenne, Flemish Beauty, Neill, 

 &c., as ripening in September : the Autumn Bergamot, Aston 

 Town, Capiaumont, Beurre d'CEil, Duchesse d'Angouleme, Ma- 

 ria Louise, &c., ripening in October; the Forello, Glout Mor- 

 ceau, Napoleon, Colmar, &c., ripening in November ; the 



