PEAR, 285 



By Nature's all-refining hand prepared, 

 Of tempered sun, and water, earth, and air, 

 In ever-changing composition mixed." 



Thomson. 



Perry is considered the best liquor that can be drunk 

 after a surfeit of mushrooms. An agreeable wine is made 

 from the wild pears and crab-apples. 



In general pears are thought windy, and improper for 

 weak stomachs ; those are best that are quite ripe, and 

 have a sweet juice, and then they are seldom noxious, 

 unless eaten to excess. (Brooks.) 



We know of no fruit that varies in quality more than 

 the pear, for while some of the kinds are so unpalatable 

 as not only to be refused by the swine, but even rejected 

 by idle boys, others are of so delicious a flavour that we 

 see most of the autumnal fruits give place to them at 

 the dessert. We shall, therefore, with a hope of meeting 

 good pears in greater abundance, give such hints as may 

 lead to their increase, first observing that a bad pear is 

 injurious to health and brings no price in the market, 

 while a rich melting pear is eagerly sought after even at 

 six times the price of oranges or many other imported 

 fruits, and we never recollect hearing of any person being 

 injured by eating such pears. Those, therefore, wh'o 

 have discovered their trees to produce a worthless fruit, 

 should lose no time in grafting them with a known va- 

 riety, that both themselves and future generations may be 

 benefited. 



The author having witnessed the advantage of taking 

 off a ring of bark from the branches of unfruitful pear 

 trees, particularly recommends the practice, as it has not 

 been found to injure the trees at Hampton Court Palace, 

 where it has been repeated for several successive years. 

 Many persons object to the experiment, fearing to injure 



