PEARS. 371 



quainted j for I have never met with it more than once within the last twenty years 

 out of the districts in which it is made ; and many of the Herefordshire planters 

 have applied to me in vain for information respecting its disappearance. It may be 

 mingled in considerable quantity with strong and new port, without its taste being 

 perceptible ; and as it is comparatively cheap, it possibly sometimes contributes one 

 of the numerous ingredients of that populnr compound." 



"The Barland Pear appears to have been extensively cultivated in Herefordshire 

 prior to the publication of Evelyn's 'Pomona,' in 1674, in which it is very fre- 

 quently mentioned ; and as no trees of this variety are found in decay from age, in 

 favourable soils, it must be concluded that the identical trees which were growing 

 when Evelyn wrote, still remain in health and vigour." 



" The original tree grew in a field called the Bare Lands, in the parish of Bosbury, 

 whence the variety obtained its name, and it was blown down a few years ago." 

 Marshall says, "The Barland Pear is in great repute, as producing a perry which 

 is esteemed singularly beneficial in nephritic complaints." 



BAEONNE DE MELLO {His ; Phillipe Goes).— Fvnit, medium 

 sized, of a curved pyramidal shape, rounding to the eye, and tapering on 

 one side with a dipping curve towards the stalk ; sometimes the surface 

 is bossed or undulating, but generally it is even. Skin, almost entirely 

 covered with dark brown russet, which is thin and smooth, so that it 

 has no roughness to the feel ; on the shaded side, the ground colour, 

 which is generally more or less visible, is greenish yellow, mottled over 

 with russet. Eye, small and open, with incurved, tooth-like segments, 

 and placed in a very slight depression, sometimes almost level with 

 the surface. Stalk, half an inch long, slender, woody, and of a brown 

 colour, inserted on the surface of the fruit. Flesh, greenish yellow, 

 fine-grained, melting, and buttery ; juice, very abundant, rich, sugary, 

 brisk, and vinous, with a fine aroma when it is in perfection ; but in 

 some seasons, and in poor soils, in exposed and cold situations, I have 

 found it coarse-grained and gritty, not at all sugary, and with a watery 

 juiee^ 



This is a very excellent autumn pear, and one of the very first 

 quality. It ripens in the end of October, and sometimes keeps well 

 into November. Though an early autumn pear, it ripens well without 

 decaying at the core, a property which too many do not possess. The 

 tree is very hardy, and maintains a vigorous, though not a rampant 

 growth. It is an excellent bearer, and succeeds well on the quince 

 stock, either as a pyramid or a dwarf bush. 



This is the true Baronne de Mello, respecting which there is a great confusion. 

 I had it from M. Papelen, of Wetteren, in 1847, and it proves to be identical with 

 the fruit described by M. Decaisne, M. Mas, and M. de Liron d'AiroUes. It is 

 remarkable that the latter is the only one of these authors who notices the greenish 

 tinge of the flesh, which I have remarked as a constant character. It also corre- 

 sponds with fruit of Baronne de Mello sent me by M. Andie Leroy in 1866. 

 There is an admirable figure of this in the Jardin Fruitier du Museum, in which 

 the characteristic dark brown russet of the skin is well represented. This is said 

 to have been raised by Van Mons, who sent it to Poiteau, of Paris, about 1 830, and 

 he dedicated it to M. His, Inspector General of Public Libraries. At a later 

 period M. Jamin, of Bourg-la-Keine, having received it from Belgium without a 

 name, called it Baronne de Mello in honour of that lady, who resided at Piscop, in 

 the department of Seine et Oise. 



Bartlett. See Williams' Bon Chretien. 



bb2 



