10 



PEARS. 



LITTLE MUSK. Pr. cat. Evei.. Mil. For. 



Little muscat. Evel. Mil. 



Primitive, or Little muscat. Pr. cat. 25 ed. 



Petit muscat. Quin. Roz, Tourn. Duh. Mil. 



Sept en gueule. Roz. syn. Duh. syn. 



Muscat petit. 



Petit muscat, Little musk, or Primitive. Coxe. 

 Supreme, of some English and American collections, but 

 not of the French. 



Tliis pear, which is one of the very earliest at maturity, is 

 produced in clusters ; it is of a roundish form, somewhat in the 

 shape of a top, very small,, the largest not exceeding thirteen 

 or fourteen lines in height and twelve or thirteen in diameter ; 

 it is often somewhat flattened at the head, and the circum- 

 ference of the eye is swollen by some slight ridges. The 

 stem is in many cases short and thick, at others long and 

 slender ; the skin is a yellowish green on the shade side, and 

 more or less marbled with brownish red dots next the sun ; 

 the flesh is half-breaking, of an agreeable taste, the flavour 

 rather high and musky in the best expositions, but not so in 

 others. The seeds are whitish, brown only at the summit, and 

 large in proportion to the size of the fruit. This variety of 

 pear ripens early in July, and may be ingrafted on both quince 

 and pear stocks. Unlike the preceding variety, this is one of 

 the most vigorous and thrifty growing pear trees, and remark- 

 ably erect in its form, soon attaining to be a handsome and 

 stately tree. Miller describes this under two distinct heads ; 

 first as the Musk, Little musk, or Petit muscat, commonly 

 called the Supreme ; and next as the Muscat, Petit muscat, or 

 Little muscat — for the former he quotes Duh. and for the latter 

 Tourn. Forsyth follows this error, and continues it even in 

 his seventh edition ; but by reference to the earlier authorsj, 

 it will be perceived there is no authority for this course. 



