140 



PEARS. 



which has been long cultivated in France and England, and 

 almost every other country in Europe, so extremely similar to 

 it, that I venture to assert, that beyond all doubt, it is the pa- 

 rent of the Seckel, The pear to which I refer is the " Rous- 

 selet de Rheims, or Petit Rousselet," called also in Europe 



the Musk, or Spice Pear.^^ The growth of the respective 

 trees is similar, and the fruit so much alike, that persons have 

 mistaken them for each other. The difference consists in the 

 part of the fruit next the stem being more pointed in one than 

 the other, and in the spicy flavour of the Seckel being much 

 higher than that of the Rousselet de Rheims. The colour 

 and size are much the same. 



The form of the Seckel pear is regular, rounded at the head, 

 and gradually diminishing towards the stem, which is large, of 

 about an inch in length, and inserted in a slight depression ; 

 the shoots are strong, but only of moderate annual extension ; 

 the bark is a ruddy brown dotted over with specks of a paler 

 shade of the same colour, and with others of a whitish hue ; 

 the flowers are of small size, and at the period of expansion 

 are of a roseate colour, and principally produced in clusters at 

 the extremity of the shoots. 



It is much to be regretted that this fruit is not of larger size, 

 it being among our smallest pears. It ripens from the latter 

 part of August to the beginning of October, and by being 

 gathered and placed carefully in a fruit room, will mature gra- 

 dually, and furnish a regular supply for the table during the 

 period named. 



The London PomologicalMag. when speaking of this vari- 

 ety, says, it is found to exceed in excellence of flavour the very 

 richest of their autumn pears, possessing a high vinous aroma, 

 which can scarcely be compared with any thing in fruits, unless 

 with a concentration of the taste peculiar to the Swan's egg pear. 



LEWIS. Pr. cat. Down. 



The descriptions of this and the four succeeding varieties 

 are from the pen of Samuel Downer, Esq. of Boston. 



