PEAKS. 



99 



are still in cultivation, though some of them 

 are difficult to obtain true. Catherine or 

 Katherine (fig. 897) was much valued in 

 Parkinson's time, the Deux Tetes, the Warden 

 (Black Worcester), and the Windsor also belong 

 to the same period, i.e. the sixteenth and seven- 



\ 



Fig. 897.— Pear. Catherine, (i) (Langley, 1729.) 



teenth centuries. The Windsor is, however, 

 believed to be a French Pear of much greater 

 antiquity. Easter Bergamot, Martin Sec, and 

 Jargonelle are also old Continental Pears that 

 have had a place in British gardens for probably 

 200 years or more, and still retain the characters 

 which distinguished them in earlier days. 



The Evolution of the Pear. — The majority of 

 the older Pears were no doubt simply selections 

 from chance seedlings or wildings, but whether 

 the latter were variations from wild stocks or 

 escapes from gardens there is no means of 

 determining. Amongst the most noted dis- 

 coveries of wildings are a few Pears that are 

 highly esteemed now. Besi d'Hery, for in- 

 stance, was found in the forest of Hery in 

 Brittany; Beurre Bosc was discovered at Apre- 

 mont; Beurre Diel was found in a village; 

 Beurre Giffard near Angers; Chaumontelle in 

 a garden; and St. Germain on the banks of the 

 river La Fare, near St. Germain; all of those, 

 with the exception of Beurre Giffard, dating 

 from the seventeenth or eighteenth century. 



Many Pears, in fact the majority of those 

 now cultivated, including many modern varie- 

 ties, have originated as chance seedlings. In 

 a few cases we have the names of the seed 

 parent, for instance, Auguste Jurie was raised 



from seed of Beurre Giffard, Fertility from 

 Beurr6 Goubault, Huyshe's Prince of Wales 

 from Gansel's Bergamot, and Suffolk Thorn 

 from the same variety. Actually recorded 

 crosses between distinct varieties are by no 

 means numerous. Gansel - Seckle was from 

 Seckle crossed with Gansel's Bergamot; Huyshe's 

 Prince Consort from Beurre d'Aremberg crossed 

 with Passe Colmar; and Pitmaston Duchess 

 from a cross between Duchesse d'Angouleme 

 and Glou Morceau. 



Improvement of Pears. — Although we owe the 

 majority of the older varieties of Pears to 

 France, many of the modern varieties were 

 raised in Belgium, chiefly by a few enthusiastic 

 pomologists, who devoted much time and 

 attention to the raising of new varieties. The 

 Abbe Hardenpoint of Mons was one of the 

 first to engage in the work, about the middle 

 of the eighteenth century, and to him we are 

 indebted for Delices d'Hardenpoint, Glou Mor- 

 ceau, and Passe Colmar. Early in the nineteenth 

 century Major Esperen at Malines and Dr. 

 Van Mons at Louvain applied themselves syste- 

 matically to the improvement of Pears, and 

 raised large numbers of seedlings. In British 

 gardens at the present time there are about 

 thirteen of Esperen's Pears in cultivation, and 

 ten of these still merit a position amongst the 

 best, including such well-known varieties as 

 Fondante de Malines, Bergamotte Esperen, 

 Besi Esperen, Josephine de Malines, and Emile 

 d'Heyst. The work accomplished by Van 

 Mons was, however, of a very extraordinary 

 character, as during his career he is said to 

 have raised 80,000 seedling Pears, and in 1823 

 he had a collection of 2000 selected seedlings 

 of distinct characters. Many of these were 

 ultimately discarded, and others which are satis- 

 factory in Belgium and France are disappoint- 

 ing here. In most authoritative British lists 

 of Pears about forty of Van Mons varieties are 

 enumerated, but of all these only thirteen can 

 be described as excellent here, though some of 

 them are of exceptional merit, namely: — Belle 

 Julie, Bergamotte Heimbourg, Beurre des 

 Beguines, Frederic de Wurtemberg, Henkel 

 d'Hiver, Marechal de Cour, Nee Plus Meuris, 

 Sinclair, Surpasse Meuris, and Thompson's. 



As illustrating one method of improving 

 Pears, namely, an elaborate system of selection, 

 the plan adopted by Van Mons is interesting, 

 though it has been to some extent superseded 

 by quicker methods. Still, the results prove 

 that a large measure of success attended his 

 efforts. 



