Editorial Miscellany. 381 



Notes on Pears. — There is no fruit so full of vagaries, so capri- 

 cious in its quality, adaptation to different soils, and in its season 

 of ripening as the Pear. The past has been pre-eminently a Pear 

 year ; I purpose, therefore, to give a few running notes on new 

 and old varieties, their variations in quality under different cir- 

 cumstances, and hints as to culture when necessary to serve as a 

 Pear record for the year 1855. 



Mter having cultivated and tasted nearly all the old varieties 

 of early Pears, I have come to the conclusion that we ought en- 

 tirely to discard such sorts as Amire Joannet, the Blanquets, and 

 Muscats, and confine ourselves to Doyenne d'Ete, Citron des 

 Carmes, and Beurre Giffart, as the only very early kinds worthy 

 of cultivation. They ripen as nearly as possible in succession ; 

 the first commeTicing to ripen in July, and the others following 

 till the middle or end of August, depending much upon season, 

 soil, and site. I am wi-iting of their ripening here in the south, 

 but not in a warm locality ; these three varieties were all very 

 good last season and bore abundantly. The first named, as is 

 pretty well known, is small, and when ripe, of a beautiful red and 

 yellow. I have eaten it fully ripe from the tree, and very juicy 

 and agreeable, but as a rule it should be gathered before it is ripe, 

 and kept a few days in the fruit room, it is then more juicy ; a 

 very simple mode of prolonging their season, and which may be 

 applied to all early Pears, is not to gather them all at one time, 

 but to do so at intervals of three or four days. This summer Doy- 

 enne is a great bearer and seems to bear nearly as freely when 

 grafted on pear stock, as on the Quince, in deep rich soils. I have 

 seen it on the latter stock grow vigorously and bear profusely, 

 but in most soils it forms a pretty and prolific bush or small pyr- 

 amid ; on the Pear stock it will grow to a moderate-sized stand- 

 ard, and also forms on that stock a nice prolific espalier or pyr- 

 amid, for such a form is preferred. 



The Citron des Carmes is a very old variety, and in most sea- 

 sons is exceedingly juicy and agreeable ; last season they were 

 very good indeed ; when grafted on the Quince, it grows freely, 

 and bears fine fruit, but it is very apt to swell over the stock and 

 become imsightly, unless the stock is carefully covered. The tree 

 is not so tractable as the Doyenne, but throws out vigorous irreg- 

 ular shoots. As it does not make a handsome pyi-amid, it is bet- 



