1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



263 



night, and the variety that might one season be 

 gathered on the fir^t of August, will not in ajiother 

 be fit to be picked before the middle of the month. — 

 A week of difference, as to the season, sometimes 

 exists between two sections of the same garden com- 

 posed of diflerent soils, and besides these, the kind of 

 stock, vigor of trees, &lc., SiC, hasten or retard, as 

 the case may be, the ripening of fruits. We have 

 had tJiis present season some trees of Bartlett that 

 ripened their fruits early in September, whilst others 

 in the same grounds, but in a cooler and more damp 

 soil, were nearly a month later. Hence we cannot 

 say, even for one locality, pick such and such a vari- 

 ety on any given day of the month. We can only 

 say that summer and autumn pears should be picked 

 as soon as they have fully and fairly completed their 

 growth. By familiarity with the fruits, we can tell 

 at a glance when this takes place, and nothing short 

 of familiarity can enable us to judge correctly on this 

 point. Diflerent varieties assume different hues and 

 colors, and some remain quite green till ripe. But 

 euen the same variety varies greatly on different soils, 

 and in different seasons, and on different stocks, and 

 trees of different degrees of vigor. As an instance, 

 we may quote the Summer Francreal. Last season 

 we had a dwarf tree that bore a great crop and every 

 specimen was highly colored when ripe, clear yellow 

 with a red cheek. On standard trees, the same sea- 

 son, the same variety remained quite green till fully 

 ripe. This season we had none that showed any 

 color, even when dropping with ripeness. There is, 

 perhaps, in all varieties a tendency to change color 

 more or less, if no more than a different shade of 

 green. This may be imperceptible to a careless ob- 

 server, but to those who watch their fruits closely, it 

 will generally indicate that period when growth cea- 

 ses and maturity commences. This is the period to 

 be watched for in gathering summer pears. Let 

 them be taken then and laid on a shelf in a room 

 where the temperature is moderate, and the light 

 somewhat subdued, and the finest qualities of the fruit 

 will be brought out. The period at which a variety 

 usually attains its growth in any given locality, in 

 ordinary seasons, being known, and the earliness or 

 lateness of the season being taken into account, to- 

 gether with the size and color of the fruit, will give 

 a pretty correct guide. Most varieties, too, when 

 they begin to mature, will, if taken by the stalk and 

 lifted upwards, part somewhat freely from the branch 

 or spur, but we find that this cannot always be relied 

 on, for some will adhere with great tenacity until 

 after the time they should be picked. 



We feel it necessary to be somewhat minute on this 

 subject, on account of the great lack of correct know- 

 ledge on the subject among a large portion of culti- 

 vators, and several circumstances have brought the 

 subject very forcibly to our attention the preseut year. 



Our Duchess d' Orleans, a pear of which we ex- 

 pected much from its great reputation, bore last sea- 

 son, and as it was new to us, we allowed it to remain 

 on the tree till nearly ripe. The consequence was, 

 it was insipid, and we felt disappointed with it. This 

 year we watched it and gathered it early, and it has 

 proved fine — first rate. This season we had a new 

 variety, Colmar Von Alans, bear. Several young 

 trees bore a prodigious crop, and along in the month 

 of August, near the latter end, one was broken 

 down and they had not yet attained full size. We 

 laid branch and fruit and all on the table in the office, 

 where it remained two or three weeks, when they ri- 



pened and were buttery and fine flavored, nearly as 

 good as those gathered a month later and better than 

 some that were left on the tree until they were evi- 

 dently ripening. We have Louise Bonne de Jersey, 

 Bartlett, and White Doyenne, and others that fell 

 from accident before fully grown, and yet they 

 attained their highest perfection in the hou-se. A 

 great many people are so pleased to have their trees 

 bear, that they leave their fruit on as long as it will 

 hang ; they then expect it to be as fine as reported, 

 but never fail to be disappointed. 



Tliere is yet another point in the management of 

 these fruits nearly as important as the picking at the 

 right season, and that is eating in the right season. 

 As in gathering, so in eating, we must not wait until 

 the pear becomes yellow or natural looking. Many 

 pears do not, as we have already said, become yel- 

 low at all. They ripen off in great variety of color 

 — some dark green, some light green, some yellow, 

 some orange, some brown, and so on. The principal 

 guide in this matter must be the touch. As a gen- 

 eral thing, a pear is fit to oat when the pressure of 

 the finger leaves an impression on the surface, some, 

 however, bearing to be much softer than others. The 

 Bartletljfor instance, may be safely allowed to become 

 quite yellow and soft to the touch, whilst very few 

 of those that precede it would be eatable if so far ad- 

 vanced. Buttery or melting pears may be allowed 

 to become much softer than half melting, or breaking 

 pears, for when a breaking pear becomes soft to the 

 touch, it is generally worthless. 



A great advantage in gathering pears early is, 

 that they last much longer, to say nothing of their 

 safety from birds and other depredators. When 

 picked and put away in the fruit room, they should 

 be examined daily and those that ripen first be used. 

 Those that were most exposed on the outside of the 

 tree, and ends of branches, will ripen from one to 

 three weeks before others less favored. Some varie- 

 ties require much longer to ripen in the house than 

 others, and with new varieties, or those we are not 

 familiar with, great watchfulness is necessary. We 

 have this moment a case in point. A few days ago 

 we picked a fine specimen of the St. Andre which 

 has borne this season for the first time. We expect- 

 ed, from its appearance, that at least two weeks 

 would be necessary at this season to ripen it, but we 

 happened accidentally to take it up and felt that it 

 was soft, and on cutting it we found it exactly right 

 — two days more and it would have been "gone." — 

 In feeling if a pear be ripe, the place to press is 

 about the stem, as there it begins to soften first and 

 pressure there is less injurious than elsewhere. 



There is a great deal to be said on this subject if 

 we only had the experience and leisure to say it to 

 advantage. We shall return to it again ; mean- 

 while we should be glad to hear from our correspon- 

 dents, some of whom no doubt can give valuable hints, 

 from experience, on this and kindred topics. 



Flowers in Winter. — Last year one of my little 

 girls took an old tin milk pan, filled it with earth, and 

 set it full of garden violets which flowered all winter. 

 This fall I liave taken another, (I would prefer a 

 deeper vessel,) perforated it with holes, set up a stalk 

 in the centre, and surrounded it with young violets 

 that have just begun to blossom, and already I have 

 quite a handsome little flower-garden. The lovers of 

 violets will be well paid by a similar arrangement. 

 II.— Down East, 1851. 



