THE PEAK. 641 



One of the most remarkable pear-trees in this country is growing 

 in Illinois, about ten miles north of Vincennes. It is not believed to 

 be more than forty years old, having been planted by Mrs. Ockletree, 

 about 1805. The girth of its trunk one foot above the ground is twelve 

 feet, and at nine feet from the ground, six and a half feet and its 

 branches extend over an area ninety-four feet in diameter. In 1834 

 it yielded 184 bushels of pears; in 1840 it yielded 140 bushels. It is 

 enormously productive always ; the fruit is pretty large, ripening in 

 early autumn, and is of tolerable flavor. 



The tree came into bearing at the fifteenth year from its planting, 

 but grafts from it produce in about four or five years. Like the Dix, 

 it is almost thornless, and it is remarkable that no blight of any kind 

 has ever affected it. 



The Stuyvesant Pear-Tree, which was destroyed in 1867, was ori- 

 ginally planted by the old governor of the Dutch colony of New York, 

 more than two hundred years ago, on what was once his farm, but is 

 now part of the city, quite thickly covered with houses. 



Along the St. Glair river, below Detroit, and on the banks of the 

 Mississippi, near St. Louis, are found many large old pear-trees vying 

 in health and vigor with those of recent planting. 



USES. The great value of the Pear is as a dessert fruit. Next to 

 this, it is highly esteemed for baking, stewing, preserving, and marma- 

 lades. In France and Belgium the fruit is very generally dried in 

 ovens, or much in the same way as we do the apple, when it is quite an 

 important article of food. 



Dessert pears should have a melting, soft texture, and a sugary, 

 aromatic juice. Kitchen pears, for baking or stewing, should be large, 

 with firm and crisp flesh, moderately juicy. 



The juice of the pear, fermented, is called Perry. This is made- 

 precisely in the same way as cider, and it is richer, and more esteemed 

 by many persons. In the midland counties of England, and in various, 

 parts of France and Germany, what are called Perry Pears very hardy/ 

 productive sorts, having an austere juice are largely cultivated for this, 

 purpose. In several places in our Eastern States, we understand, perry 

 is now annually made in considerable quantities. The fruit should be- 

 ground directly after being gathered, and requires rather more isinglass 

 (say 1^ oz. to a barrel) to fine it, on racking, than cider. In suitable- 

 soil the yield of perry to the acre is usually about one-third more than, 

 that of cider. 



The wood of the Pear-tree is heavy and fine-grained, and makes, when; 

 stained black, an excellent imitation of ebony. It is largely employ- 

 ed by turners for making joiners' tools. The leaves will dye yellow.. 



GATHERING AND KEEPING THE FRUIT. The pear is a peculiar fruit 

 in one respect, which should always be kept in mind : viz., that most- 

 varieties are much finer in flavor if picked from the tree and ripened in 

 the house, than if allowed to become fully matured on the tree. There 

 are a few exceptions to this rule, but they are very few. And,, on the 

 other hand, we know a great many varieties which are only second or 

 third-rate when ripened on the tree, but possess the highest and rich- 

 est flavor if gathered at the proper time and allowed to mature in the 

 house. This proper season is easily known, first, by the ripening of a 

 few full-grown but worm-eaten specimens, which fall soonest from the 

 tree ; and, secondly, by the change of color and the readiness, of the 



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