MY (JAKD/CX. 



FIG. 273. Catillac. 



cooked it assumes a beautiful red colour. Another enormous pear, j 

 the Bellissime d'Hiver or Uvedale's St. Germain > 

 (fig. 274), is used in the same way. This pear is , 

 shown in the Palais Royal at Paris or at Covent 

 Garden in London, to attract customers ; and i 

 thirty shillings is sometimes demanded for a 

 single pear. When in its finest state, it is so 

 handsome that it may be used as an ornament 

 on the dinner table, and as it is not eatable in 

 an uncooked state a single dish will last the entire winter. 



Dessert pears are in use from the middle of July till May; though 



it must be admitted 

 that after January, 

 and sometimes after 

 Christmas, it is diffi- 

 cult to maintain a 

 supply in the highest 

 quality of excellence. 

 Although I grow 



so many kinds of pears for the purpose of curiosity 

 and trial, and those which are grown have been 

 selected for their reputed excellence, yet there are 

 certain sorts upon which reliance must be placed for 

 the main crop. 



The list that I recommend, consists of pears which ripen from 

 July till the middle of February. The first pear which ripens is 

 the Doyenne d'Ete (fig. 2/5), a small pear which is pleasant in flavour 

 and is in use in July, when the flavour of a pear is a novelty, and is 

 consequently appreciated. The Citron des Carmes (fig. 276) follows 

 closely upon it, and when in perfection is more excellent. It lasts, 

 however, but a few days. Following closely upon these, the Jargonelle 

 (fi\ 277) ripens, with its piquant etherial odour which modern chemistry 

 has imitated in the oil of Jargonelle pear, an ether, however, which is 

 not extracted from pears but from fusel oil. The pear drops sold at the 



FIG. 27-., 

 Doyenne d'Ete. 



FIG. 276. 

 Citron des Cannes. 



FIG. 274. UvecaU 

 St. Germain. 



