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CHAPTER VII. 



OF PEARS. 



Different Sorts of Pears described. Of Planting^- Headings 



Pruning, Experiinents on old Trees A comparative 



Statement of the Produce of Pear-Trees, by the old and new 



way of Pruning and Training Of Trees headed down 



Remedy for the Canker y 8f c. 



The cultivation of the Pear is, undoubtedly, of considera- 

 ble antiquity ; for Pliny mentions no less than twenty kinds, 

 and Virgil five or six. * 



Linnaeus arranges pears in the fourth section of his twelfth 

 class, along with apples and quinces. 



The pear-tree comprehends several varieties, ripening in 

 successive order from July to October. 



The Pears commonly propagated in England are as follow : 



1. The Little Musk Pear, commonly called the Supreme. 

 This fruit, when ripe, is of a yellow colour ; the juice is some- 

 what musky ; and, if gathered before it be too ripe, it is a 

 good pear. It ripens about the latter end of July, and conti- 

 nues good only a few days. 



2. The Chio Pear, or Little Bastard Musk Pear. This is 

 pretty much like the other, but smaller. The skin, when ripe, 

 has a few streaks of red next the sun. 



S. The Green Chissel, or Hastings Pear, is a middle- 

 sized fruit ; it always remains green, and is full of juice when 

 ripe. It ripens in the beginning of August. 



4. The Red Muscadelle is a large early pear, of great 

 beauty ; the skin is of a beautiful yellow striped with red, and 

 the flesh has a rich flavour. This sometimes produces two 

 crops in a year ; the first about the end of July, and the second 

 in September. 



5. The Little Muscat is a small pear, the skin very thin, 

 and of a yellowish colour when ripe. This fruit has a rich 



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