236 THE CULTIVATION OF THE 



Belle Lucrative. — Has a great reputation. I have it 

 standard in Kent County, Maryland, and dont recom- 

 mend it for peninsula field-culture for profit. The soil 

 don't suit it, and that is the reason I say don't plant it. 

 The pear is peculiar and disappoints often when the soil 

 don't please it. 



Duchess. Duchess e d' Angouleme. — Pronounced Do- 

 shess-dong-goo-lame. A French pear, found as a seed- 

 ling in a hedge in France, near Angers. A great, grand 

 pear, and only planted on the quince, and never as stan- 

 dard, as the quality of the fruit is uncertain on them. Fruit 

 large, sometimes uneven, green or greenish-yellow and 

 russetty, and often a beautiful blush, if the exposure has 

 been right for the specimen. Flavor and taste delightful, 

 and needs only to be properly ripened to be appreciated. 

 It needs ripening off the tree and much care is needed, 

 with a cool, dark, dry room and close watching. The tree 

 grows well, and for the first ten years bears large crops of 

 enormous pears. Now just here, one fault of the Duchess 

 pear ; at about ten or twelve to fifteen years of age, it 

 may let up on the size of its fruit, and give you too many 

 knotty small specimens. Here, cultivate freely, fertilize 

 heavily, and cut back new wood and prune severely, and 

 I tell you from experience, the good old Duchess will 

 respond to your call and again make glad your heart. 

 The above treatment will also check the tendency to 

 dropping its foliage prematurely, which it sometimes does. 



