206 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



rottenness quickly set in. This very season I have known some 

 of the above-named kinds sold wholesale at 3s. per pot of 

 80 lbs. net, and I have afterwards seen the very selfsame 

 Pears ticketed up at 2d. each in railway refreshment-rooms ! 

 Now as there would be at least three Pears to a pound, a profit 

 of something over a thousand per cent, has to be accounted for 

 between leaving the grower's premises and reaching the con- 

 sumer ! Surely, then, some alteration and improvement in the 

 method of distribution is urgently needed. 



The gathering of Pears at the proper time requires close 

 personal attention, and no general rule, applicable to all kinds 

 alike, can be laid down; but there is one fairly safe test when they 

 may safely be picked, viz. : by lifting the fully developed fruits 

 individually from the perpendicular (or natural) position to the 

 horizontal, and if the fruit is quite fit to gather it will part 

 easily at the stalk. If it does not part freely, it is much better 

 to wait a few days, for at this particular stage the fruit swells 

 very rapidly, and the rich, saccharine, juicy flavours are being 

 developed and perfected. Moreover, Pears gathered too early 

 never keep well, but, on the contrary, become tough and shrivelled. 

 In order to make the most of Pears, it is recommended to make 

 two or more gatherings from each tree, applying the aforesaid 

 test of ripeness at intervals of three or four days, and these deferred 

 gatherings by instalments will prolong the season of their respec- 

 tive kinds, which proves a considerable advantage. 



The matter of storing is also of primary importance, and 

 there can be no doubt that choice varieties of Pears, like choice 

 wines, should be kept in an always even and equable tempera- 

 ture, neither too damp nor too cold ; yet I have always observed 

 that when kept beyond their normal season it is at the expense 

 of their flavour. If the storage at command is of a damp and 

 very cold nature, or of fluctuating temperature, it very greatly 

 improves the fruit to place it in a closed box and remove it to 

 the warm temperature of a hothouse for a few days before it is 

 required for consumption ; especially is this the case as regards 

 the late sorts. Nests of roomy drawers for separate sorts, in a 

 moderately even and dry fruit-room, is, I think, the best storage. 



A word or two must be said about the insects to which 

 the Pear is subjec t, and my experience has been of the most 

 varied and perplexing character. 



