PEARS. 



131 



low with 25,000 each, and Doyenne d'Alencon 

 with 20,000. The last-named is not in general 

 cultivation in Great Britain, though it has occa- 

 sionally been mistaken for Easter Beurre. It 

 is principally valued in France for its produc- 

 tiveness, but its quality and late keeping pro- 

 perties are also notable, as well as its good 

 constitution, characteristics which are prominent 

 in the variety where it thrives in the United 

 Kingdom. There is much land in the Angers 

 district, which comprises a considerable area in 

 the country drained by the River Loire, where 

 Pears succeed to a remarkable degree, the cause, 

 no doubt, being partly climatal suitability, and 

 numerous examples of profitable planting could 

 be given. One will serve as an illustration, 

 and it is the more remarkable, as the 5 acres 

 are planted with two varieties only, namely, 

 Williams' Bon Chretien and Beurre Giffard, and 

 these, it is said, in a good season, yield a return 

 of £75 to £80 per acre, a result, however, which 

 is far surpassed in some other districts. Nearer 

 Paris are several thriving plantations, one of 

 which is described as producing an annual 

 return of £150 to £200 per acre, Louise Bonne 

 and Duchesse d'Angouleme being the varieties 

 chiefly grown, and all in the form of dwarf 

 trees. From the Montmorency district Pears 

 have been exported at the rate of 100 to 130 

 tons per annum, valued at £20 to £40 per ton, 

 or a total of £2000 to £5200. As a further 

 example of the French Pear trade, Mr. W. 

 Robinson has stated, as within his own know- 

 ledge, that one dealer every year collects and 

 sells no less than £10,000 worth of French 

 Pears. Many other facts bearing upon the 

 question of returns and profits on Pear culture 

 for market in France are enumerated by M. 

 Charles Baltet, in an excellent paper which 

 appeared in the Journal of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society, vol. xix., part 2, 1895. 



With regard to the methods adopted by 

 French cultivators, the principal systems are 

 similar in general practice to those prevailing in 

 Great Britain, Pears usually taking the place of 

 Apples. Thus market -gardening is combined 

 with fruit-growing on both a large and small 

 scale, the small holdings predominating, espe- 

 cially near Paris or other large towns, where 

 they range from 1 to 3 acres, with a few extend- 

 ing to 5 acres ( = 2 hectares). In some cases, 

 however, the plantations are wholly devoted to 

 fruit, but as a rule these are rather more distant 

 from the towns, the land being cheaper either 

 to rent or purchase. Highly rented as land is 

 in our own country in the proximity of towns, 



we by no means have a monopoly in this re- 

 spect, for the best market - garden land at a 

 convenient distance from Paris commands a 

 rental of £10 to £20 per acre. The French 

 grower has the advantage in three respects — 1st, 

 he does not so frequently lose his Pear crop by 

 spring frosts as we do; 2nd, he has a lower 

 expenditure for labour, partly because in the 

 smaller market holdings he performs the greater 

 part of the work himself with the aid of his 

 family, and partly the actual cost of hired labour 

 is less, taking into consideration the longer days 

 that are made by workmen ; 3rd, the best 

 systems of selecting and packing fruits for home 

 sale or export are more generally understood 

 and more uniform than here; there is also more 

 co-operation in the shape of syndicates, enabling 

 fruit to be forwarded to distant markets in bulk 

 and at the lowest rates. All these points tell 

 in favour of the producer, and especially apply 

 to the trade in Pears. 



Standard, dwarf, and trained Pear-trees are 

 grown to furnish the supplies, but the two latter 

 preponderate. Dwarf trees are sometimes grown, 

 as they are here, between vegetable and salad 

 plots; while the trained trees, of which large 

 numbers are grown, are commonly secured to 

 walls, which much more frequently surround 

 small holdings than they do here. The system 

 of wiring walls, generally adopted, also renders 

 this method a convenient one, as the trees are 

 readily secured, trained, or untied when neces- 

 sary. 



Boxes are almost invariably used for the 

 exportation of French Pears, the fruits being 

 very evenly graded, and packed in one, two, 

 or three layers, usually with paper only, either 

 in the form of sheets or as paper shavings. In 

 the majority of cases the boxes are stamped 

 or labelled with the name of the variety, the 

 grower's name, or that of the syndicate or 

 shipper, so that the brand is recognizable as a 

 guarantee of the quality. The number of the 

 fruits per box may also be placed on the box. 

 In a few districts baskets are employed that 

 contain rather more than half a bushel (about 

 33 lbs.) of fruits, but these are rarely used for 

 the best Pears. 



Calif omian Pears. — Within recent years an 

 enormous export trade with Pears has been 

 developed in California, and the high quality of 

 the fruits, together with their handsome appear- 

 ance, has rendered the growers in that portion 

 of America even more formidable rivals in the 

 British markets than those in other states who 

 ship such large quantities of Apples. Califor- 



