36 THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 
“The Binsce peare is a reasonable good winter peare, of a russetish 
colour, and a small fruit: but will abide good a long while. 
“The Pucell is a greene peare, of an indifferent good taste. 
“The blacke Sorrell is a reasonable great long peare, of a darke red 
colour on the outside. 
“The red Sorrell is of a redder colour, else like the other. 
“The Surrine is no very good peare. 
“The Summer Hasting is a little greene peare, of an indifferent good 
rellish. 
‘“‘Peare Gergonell is an early peare, somewhat long, and of a very 
pleasant taste. 
“The white Genneting is a reasonable good peare, yet not equall 
to the other. 
“The Sweater is somewhat like the Windsor for colour and bignesse, 
but nothing neare of so good a taste. 
“The bloud red peare is of a darke red colour on the outside, but 
piercing very little into the inner pulpe. 
“The Hony peare is a long greene Summer peare. 
“The Winter peare is of many sorts, but this is onely so called, to bee 
distinguished from all other Winter peares, which have severall names 
given them, and is a very good peare. 
“The Warden or Luke Wards peare of two sorts, both white and 
red, both great and small. 
“The Spanish Warden is greater than either of both the former, and 
better also. 
“The peare of Jerusalem, or the stript peare, whose barke while it is 
young, is as plainly seene to be stript with greene, red, and yellow, as the 
fruit it selfe is also, and is of a very good taste: being baked also, it is as 
red as the best Warden, whereof Master William Ward of Essex hath 
assured mee, who is the chiefe keeper of the Kings Granary at Whitehall. 
“Hereof likewise there is a wilde kindesno bigger than ones thumbe, 
and striped in the like manner, but much more. 
““The Choke peares, and other wilde peares, both great and small, 
as they are not to furnish our Orchard, but the Woods, Forrests, Fields, 
and Hedges, so wee leave them to their naturall places, and to them that 
keep them, and make good use of them.” 
Three hundred years have played havoc with the pears Parkinson 
knew. None are known in America, and unless the Pound of Parkinson is 
the Pound of today, not a half dozen are found in current lists in England. 
Parkinson’s Catherine, Winter Bon Chretien, Windsor, Bergamot, possibly 
the Pound, and his Gergonell, the Jargonelle of today, are about all the 
names that would be recognized by modern pear-growers. The pear shows 
