ROSACEA. 253 



dcfconflantH of the frnit-treps planted around the Roman villai ; but it is more likely 

 tliHt tlie monks were its tirst cultivators here ; and we still find gigantic Pear-treea 

 standing on the sites of old monastic gardens and around the ruins of abbeys and 

 monasteries. Tlie Pear is mentioned by Chaucer, and in the time of Henrj' VIII. it 

 appears that the "Warden Pear" (so called from its jiroperty of keeping) was in cultiva- 

 tion. Gerarde enumerates seven sorts of what he calls " tame pears," and says, '• those 

 most rare and good are growing in the garden of Master Pichard Pointer, a most cun- 

 ning and curious gi-afier and planter of all manner of rare fruits, dwelling in a small 

 vidage ueere London called Twickenham ; and also in the ground of an excellent graifer 

 and painfull jilanter, Air. Henry Banbury, of Touthill Street, neere Westminster ; and 

 likewise in the ground of a diligent and most affectionate lover of plants, Mr. Warner, 

 neere Horseydowne, by London ; and in divers other grounds about London." To this 

 is added, in 1596 : " Most of the best peares are at this day to be had with Mr. John 

 Miller, in Old Street, in whose nurserj' are to be found the choicest fruits this kingdome 

 yields." With regard to the great variety of Pears now in cultivation, we can but quote 

 Gerarde's words, who in his day found it impossible to describe all that were then in 

 use : what would he now have said to see any of our horticultural lists ? He observes : 

 '■ To describe each apart were to send an owl to Athens, or to number those things that 

 are without number." Turner, in 1.573, in his list of fruits, mentions " peeres of all 

 sorts." Parkinson enumerates sixty-four sorts; Mortimer, in 1708, has many sorts ; 

 and Miller has selected eighty sorts. The catalogue published by the Horticultiual 

 Society in lS'^3 contained 677 kinds, and it is from this li.st that most of our writers 

 on horticulture quote ; still, we know that there are constantly additions made to the 

 number of Peai-s in cultivation, and great improvements in their treatment. 



The choice of Pears depends greatly on the purposes for which they are to be used, 

 and gardeners select them accordingly. Worcestershire, Herefordshire, and Devonshire 

 are the chief counties in England where Pears are grown. In the armorial bearings of 

 Worcestershire we find three pears introduced, and we believe the perry made in that 

 county excels any other save that produced in France and the Channel Islands. We 

 find in Don's " Gardener's Dictionary " the following directions as to the choice of 

 Pears : — '■" Dessert Pears are characterized by a sugary aromatic juice, with the jiulp soft 

 and subliquid or melting, as in the Beurres or Butter Pears. Kitchen Pears should 

 be of large size, with the flesh firm, neither breaking nor melting, and rather austere 

 than sweet, as the Wardens. Perry Pears may be either large or small, but the more 

 austere the taste the better will be the liquor. Excellent perry was made from the 

 Wild Pear." 



The great use of the Pear-tree is for its fruit ; but it is by no means an unpicturesque 

 tree in a landscape ; and in the spring, when covered with its white blossoms, we can 

 seldom see a prettier sight. It would be well to remember that with the very same 

 trouble and expense that is often employed to produce inferior kinds of Pears, might 

 be grown the very best sorts, and that the quality of the timber and the effect in a 

 landscape is as good in a tree yielding a fine-flavoured juicy fruit as in one that pro- 

 duces fruit which is dry, hard, and gritty. Not only are Pears used in their natural 

 state as a des.sert fruit, but they are equally good when stewed or jireserved. In France 

 and Belgium the fruit is very generally dried in ovens, in which state it forms an article 

 of commerce, and will keep good for a year. In France they are prepared in two ways, 

 — either simply dried in an oven, or preserved as we see them in boxes in the grocers* 

 shops. This latter mode of preparation consists in gathering them before they are 

 quite ripe, care being taken to preserve the stalk. They are then parboiled in very 



