PEARS. 



97 



Drying the fruits for export is another method 

 that has been largely adopted in recent years, 

 and in seasons of great abundance it is a con- 

 venient means of utilizing the crop. In some of 

 the British colonies the cultivation of Pears is 

 being considerably extended, and it is probable 

 that similar systems will 

 be tried when the crops 

 are excessive, and the 

 prices realized are too low 

 to pay for export. Here 

 in the United Kingdom, 

 however, there is always 

 an ample demand for the 

 best Pears in a fresh state, 

 and home cultivators in 

 the most favourable dis- 

 tricts find them a satisfac- 

 tory investment. 



The manufacture of 

 perry is still of some im- 

 portance in a few districts 

 of England and France, 

 but it does not receive 

 the same attention as 

 cider production gener- 

 ally, though it is a very 

 palatable liquor at its best. 



The numerous varieties 

 of Pears have mainly ori- 

 ginated from Pyrus com- 

 munis (fig. 894), which is 

 wild throughout a great 

 part of the temperate and 

 mountainous regions of 

 Europe, and the western 

 portion of Asia. It occurs 

 in many parts of England, 

 but is not so abundant 

 generally as the Crab, and 

 is more frequently found 

 in woods and coppice than 

 in hedgerows. Like the 

 original type of the Apple, 



the Pear, when really in a wild state, and not 

 merely an escape from gardens as a seedling from 

 cultivated varieties, shows but little difference in 

 the fruits from the earliest known to have been 

 used by man. The fruits which were collected by 

 the lake-dwellers in Switzerland, and either used 

 for food as gathered, or dried and preserved for 

 winter use, were small, hard, and untempting, 

 just as those produced by our wild Pear are at 

 the present time. That variations are induced 

 by special conditions of soil and situation there 

 can be no doubt, but though it has been stated 

 vol ii. 



on good authority that there is little difficulty 

 in distinguishing wild Pears from seedlings 

 that have originated from garden varieties, this 

 is open to question. We have raised seedlings 

 from some of the best cultivated varieties, and 

 have found among them forms that could not 



Fig. 895.— Pyrus nivalis. (Natural size.) 



be distinguished in any character of habit, 

 wood, or foliage, and occasionally even of the 

 fruit, from the wild forms. 



Another interesting form of Pyrus is that 

 known as the "Snow Pear" or "Sage-leaved 

 Pear", Pyrus nivalis or salvcefoUa (fig. 895), a 

 near ally of P. communis. This is the "Poirier 

 Sauger" of the French, and is cultivated in 

 some of the southern countries of Europe. 

 Most of the perry Pears grown in France seem 

 to owe their origin to it, but it is difficult to 

 trace what influence it has had upon the de- 



48 



