12 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 
One other landmark, though a somewhat inconspicuous one, in the 
history of the pear in Italy, is deserving brief mention. Toward the middle 
of the sixteenth century Agostino Gallo, an Italian, wrote The Twenty Days 
of Agriculture and the Charms of Country Life. With the fall of the Roman 
Empire in the fifth century, agriculture was reduced to the production 
of the necessities of life and pomology all but perished. It required a 
thousand years to recover from the domination of the barbarian conqueror 
of Rome. Hence, it is not surprising that Gallo names but twelve varieties 
of pears instead of the forty-one of Pliny. Gallo says that he does not 
name all of the summer pears, but leaves the inference that his list is 
complete for autumn and winter sorts. There probably was a greater 
number under cultivation at this time in Italy, but Gallo’s list shows that 
the number was small. Gallo is regarded as the restorer of agriculture in 
Italy after the dark ages, and as one of the most enlightened men of his 
time, so that we may accept him as an accurate historian. Besides 
furnishing a list of the pears of his day in Italy, Gallo names two that 
are now under cultivation — Bergamot and Bon Chrétien. 
THE PEAR IN FRANCE 
Who introduced the pear in France matters little. The Greeks who 
founded Marseille 600 B. C. may have done so. The Romans, masters 
of ancient Gaul for centuries, undoubtedly planted pears at widely separated 
places and in earliest times of Roman occupation. Or, and quite possibly, 
the original natives of the land began the domestication of the pear for, 
as we have seen, two cultivated species grow wild in what is now France. 
Date and manner of introduction matter less than a recognizable landmark 
in the history of the pear as an orchard plant in France. There is such a 
landmark and a conspicuous one. 
Charlemagne, the many-sided genius who ruled the Franks in the 
ninth century, exercised his powerful influence in behalf of agriculture dur- 
ing the time of his reign, and to him is due credit for establishing the first 
notable landmark in the history of the pear in France. We are well informed 
of Charlemagne’s various activities while in power, for official annals were 
kept at the Frankish Court. Charlemagne’s secretary has left a biography 
of his master, and many of the King’s Capitularies, or lists of laws, are 
extant. In these records, agriculture is a matter of constant comment 
and the pear is often up for discussion. One quotation serves to show that 
this fruit was cultivated in considerable variety in Charlemagne’s orchards. 
