168 HOBTICULTURAL MANUAL. 



in west Europe and the United States. Pears were culti- 

 vated in the early days of the Roman Empire, but Pliny 

 says of them: "All pears whatever are but heavy meat 

 unless they are well boiled or baked." The real develop- 

 ment of the pear for dessert use began in the seventeenth 

 century. Belgium has the credit for the first remarkable 

 advances of which Van Mons was the noted leader in the 

 early part of the nineteenth century. The pears of west 

 Europe were introduced into this country at an early day 

 and at this time a large part of our best dessert and culi- 

 nary varieties have been developed from the seed of the 

 best European varieties and of the sand pear of China. 



All modern writers make the statement that the modern 

 dessert and culinary varieties have come from these two 

 sources together with their American-born seedlings. 

 They also include the Russian varieties introduced by the 

 writer as a race of the Pyrus communis of west Europe. 

 In reaching this conclusion a third distinct race or species 

 that seems to have been anciently developed in central 

 Asia has been overlooked. Dr. A. Regel, after living in 

 Sungaria and Turkestan nine years, wrote: "The pear is 

 more extensively cultivated in the Amu-Daria River dis- 

 trict than in other parts of central Asia. The firm-fleshed 

 pears of Suidum are famed for their rich aroma, and the 

 large yellow pears of Sharsause are equally popular. The 

 pears mainly grown in Darwas are a large green variety 

 and a smaller sugary-sweet variety. In Shugnan there is 

 a yellow pear which, on some trees in the garden of the 

 Shah, develops singular forms like birds, and another 

 variety with rarely rich juicy flesh and which attains con- 

 siderable size." He speaks of varieties of large size and 

 good quality that seemed to have been anciently cultivated. 

 As Dr. Regel was educated in Germany, he was acquainted 

 with the pears originated by Van Mons and urged that the 



