XIII. 



THE TEINTON SQUASH PEAR. 



I have not been able to discover the name of this pear in 

 any old catalogue of fruits ; though the immense bulk, and 

 obvious antiquity of the trees, sufficiently prove, that it has 

 been very long cultivated in Herefordshire, and the adjoin- 

 ing county of Gloucester ; of which it is supposed to be a 

 native. The Red Squash is, however, mentioned by Evelyn 

 and Worlidge, and I suspect that the name of the Teinton 

 Squash has been subsequently given to the same pear, from 

 Teinton in Gloucestershire, where it has been much planted, 

 and where it affords perry of the greatest excellence. 



When the juice, which this pear produces, has been ripen- 

 ed in a favourable season, and has been subsequently well 

 managed, it affords a much finer liquor than any other pear; 

 but it is not very often found entirely free from the same 

 keen acid, which deducts so much from the merits of the 

 Oldfield perry, and which probably occasions both liquorg 

 to disagree with so many constitutions. The Teinton Squash 

 perry has, I believe, been often sold for Champaigne, which 

 it resembles a good deal in colour and briskness ; but I have 

 never been so fortunate as to discover any further resem- 

 blance between the two liquors. The trees of this variety 

 are in the last stage of decay. I have not had an opportu- 

 nity of ascertaining the specific gravity of the juice. 



