92 



Memoranda on Pears. 



Vol. XII. 



and the Summer; also the Catharines, or 

 Rousselets, or what are commonly called 

 the Summer Caten or Catern, and the 

 Rousseline. Many of these are esteemed 

 and valuable fruits, when raised for the use 

 of the cultivator and his family. If I were 

 called upon to select six of the finest sum- 

 mer pears for a private garden in the coun- 

 try, I should name the Madeline, the Har- 

 vard, the Jargonelle, Summer Franc Real, 

 and Red Bergamot. 



Among the autumn pears, there are, be- 

 sides those above mentioned, the Dix, a 

 wilding of Boston, inferior to none other, if 

 all its valuable properties be considered. In 

 appearance, form, flesh and size, together 

 with its fine texture and delicate flavor, it 

 resembles the St. Germain, and is, as an 

 autumn pear, what the St. Germain, when 

 in perfection, is as a winter pear, the most 

 valuable species with which we are ac- 

 quainted. 



The Brown Beurre is another pear, per- 

 fecting in October, of superior merit, but it 

 does not last long enough to give it the 

 value of the Dix. 



The Beurre Diel [on quince stocks] is 

 another pear of distinguished merit, if it be 

 properly treated, and kept till it be entirely 

 ripe, and will be more and more esteemed 

 as it is more known. 



The Marie Louise and Josephine, are 

 both excellent, as are the Verte Longue, 

 the Capiaumont, the Sylvanche Vert, the 

 Urbanist and Duchesse d'Angouleme. 



But the autumn pear, under the name of 

 Van Mons' Leon le Clerc, which has lately 

 been brought into notice, has a great repu- 

 tation in England, whence it was imported 

 a few years since. I have had this fruit in 

 bearing two or three years, and have found 

 it very good, but not equal to the account 

 given of it by Mr. Loudon in his Horticultu- 

 ral Journal. I prefer the Dix pear to it, al- 

 though the Dix is not so large or so hand- 

 some; but it continues in eating longer, and 

 when well ripened, has, to my taste, a better 

 or more agreeable flavor. 



Besides the above, there are several other 

 kinds of autumn pears that deserve atten- 

 tion, such as the Beurre Portugal, the Figue 

 d'Amiens, the Beurre Bronze, the Vicar of 

 VVinkfield, Wilkinson, and others of equa 

 value. 



And among autumn pears, were I to se- 

 lect, I should name the Dix, the St. Ghis- 

 lain, Gansel's Bergamot, Beurre Diel, Seck- 

 el, Marie Louise, White Doyenne (or St. 

 Michael,) Isambcrt, Louise bonne de Jersey, 

 Duchesse d'Angouleme, Van Mons' Leon 

 le Clerc, and Urban iste. 



As regards the winter pears, the Napo- 

 leon and Passe Colmar may be considered 

 as belonging to this class, although they 

 sometimes ripen in November, but may be 

 kept till late in December with proper care. 

 These are both excellent fruits. 



Among the new or Belgian pears, that 

 ripen later in winter, those mostly esteemed 

 are the Winter Nelis, the Glout Morceau, 

 Beurre d'Aremberg, and Easter Beurre. 



Although the St. Germain, the Virgou- 

 louse, tiie Winter Colmar, and Chaumontel, 

 are no longer cultivated in the open country 

 near the sea-board, yet they still may be, 

 and are raised in towns, as in Boston, in 

 perfection, and may be in other cities, where 

 they find that protection which the open 

 country does not afford them in New Eng- 

 land. Of these, the most valuable is the 

 St. Germain, which fruit possesses more of 

 the useful and valuable qualities which we 

 require, than any other of the winter sorts; 

 as it begins to ripen in January, and contin- 

 ues, if properly taken care of, into March 

 and April, while it possesses the excellent 

 texture of the buttery sorts, and is among 

 the finest flavored of the pear tribe. 



But as I have said before, this decides no- 

 thing; for my taste may, and would perhaps, 

 be condemned by well informed gardeners. 

 In fiict, on this subject of taste in the flavor 

 of fruits, I have long since become con- 

 vinced, that no one can judge for all others; 

 as I once had a practical evidence of its ex- 

 traordinary deviation from what I had thought 

 an established rule. 



Being in Boston markel: in the autumn, I 

 was, with several other persons, looking 

 over some baskets of peaches and pears at 

 one of the fruit and vegetable stalls. Pre- 

 sently a sailor entered, and the fruiter offered 

 him a choice of his fine fruit, by calling his 

 attention to his fine water melons and musk 

 melons, and apples and pears, peaches and 

 plums, of which he had an abundant supply. 

 But Jack turned up his nose at all these, 

 and fixing his eye upon a green cucumber, 

 he exclaimed, " None of these for me, a cu- 

 cumber for my money!" and applying the 

 action to the word, he seized upon one of 

 them, and clapping the bitter end into his 

 moutli, he ate away upon it till the tears 

 ran out of his eyes, and he was almost suffo- 

 cated by the hasty ami greedy manner that 

 he swallowed it. The bystanders looked at 

 him with astonishment, expecting to see him 

 choke ; at length, however, he «lcared his 

 throat sufRciently to give utterance to his 

 words, when looking at a man who stood be- 

 fore him, watching his delighted and dis- 

 torted countenance, he exclaimed, " If you 



