PYRUS, PEAR TREE. 147 



Its skin is greenish on the shaded side; it yellows a little when the fruit ripens. The 

 side in the sun is the same color as that on the Rousselet de Reims but a little darker. 

 When it ripens it becomes more like that of the Martin-Sec. 



XXXII. PEAR TREE with small, pyriform, partly green partly dark red summer fruit. 



ROUSSELET de Reims. (PL XL) [Translator's note: this pear, grown by La Quintinye in 

 the gardens of Versailles, was enjoyed by Louis XIV|. 



This pear tree grows very well on wild stock & on quince trees. 



The shoots are long, of medium thickness, very smooth, reddish brown, very 

 speckled with small spots, and slightly bent at each bud. 



The buds are short, triangular, flat, sort of squashed against the branch and 

 attached to a flat stem. 



The leaves are large, flat, oval, and come to a point at both ends. They're three 

 inches ten lignes long and two inches four lignes wide. Their denticulation is large & not 

 very deep. The petiole is twenty lignes long. The medium leaves are rounder & finely 

 denticulate. 



The flowers are thirteen to fifteen lignes in diameter. The petals are oval. Some of 

 them are slightly pointed. 



The fruit is small and pear-shaped. It's twenty lignes in diameter & two inches 

 high. It's rounded at the top where there is quite a big eye set flush with the fruit. The 

 stalk is ten lignes long, although often it's shorter. 



Its skin is green on the shaded side. Some parts 



