OP FRUIT TREES. 191 



" I may add to the above, that the fruit is ad- 

 mitted by all to be one of the most exquisitely 

 and highly flavoured we possess. Its flavour is 

 very peculiar, having a factitious aromatick per- 

 fume, rather than the natural odour or taste of 

 fruits. The late general Moreau informed me that 

 he had never tasted this fruit in France, the coun- 

 try in which, of all others, the finest pears are cul- 

 tivated." 



24. Skinless pear, or early ruselet. This is a long 

 shaped, reddish coloured fruit, with a very thin 

 skin ; the flesh melting, and full of a rich sugary 

 juice. It ripens in August. 



25. Squash pear. This pear is cultivated in 

 Massachusetts, and Mr. Coxe thus describes it. 

 The fruit of highest estimation for perry in Eng- 

 land ; it is an early pear, remarkable for the ten- 

 derness of its flesh ; if it drops ripe from the tree, 

 it bursts from the fall ; whence probably its name. 

 The liquor made from it is pale, sweet, remarka- 

 bly clear, and of strong body ; it bears a price four- 

 fold of other perry. 



26. Saint Germain Is a large, long pear, of a 

 yellowish colour when ripe ; flesh melting, and very 

 full of juice, with considerable flavour. If the tree 

 be planted on a dry soil, in a warm situation, and 

 trained against a wall, it bears pretty freely. There 

 are two varieties, a spurious and the true ; and it 

 is believed, the former is by much the more gene- 

 rally disseminated. The true is of French origin, 

 and often is very large, of a pyramidal form, having 

 a thick and dotted green skin, but which, while ri- 

 pening on the floor, becomes yellow. The spurious 

 fruit ripens in December, remaining green when 

 ripe, and generally decays by the end of January: 

 unless the soil and season be favourable, it is insipid 

 and watery ; it is shorter, and its form is subject 

 to more variations than that of the true variety. 

 The true St. Germain keeps in perfection till the 



