342 
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Much that I have stated about Apples will be also applicable 
to Pears. The Quince takes the place of the Paradise stock, 
with the result that Bush and Pyramid Pears are produced 
instead of the timber-like trees with which we are all familiar. 
The Quince is, in a sense, intermediate between the Apple and 
the Pear, and both can be grafted upon it, so that Pears and 
Apples may be seen growing upon the same tree. It has, how¬ 
ever, greater affinity to the Pear than to the Apple, and all who 
wish to have Pears should purchase Pyramids or Cordons on 
the Quince stock. 
Pears are more truly a luxury than Apples. Our climate is 
not so well suited to them, and they are more uncertain. The 
difficulty of keeping Pears after they are ripe affects their value, 
but there are certain kinds that are less perishable than others, 
and some of the popular Pears are good bearers and sell freely. 
A good deal of judgment and skill is required in gathering 
and storing this fruit. Some varieties require to be kept in a 
warm place to ripen them, and others are apt to shrivel if 
exposed to the air and light. A proper fruit-room should be 
dark, not too dry, and of even temperature. Fruit is often 
gathered before it is fit, because of the autumn gales, but on 
Pyramid and bush trees the fruit may be allowed to hang longer. 
The gardens of our nobility and gentry have in the past 
been the schools for high culture, and we owe much to those 
who have maintained them in so public-spirited a manner. 
But of late years the greatest advance has been made by the 
growers of fruit for market. They have taught us how to 
cover the land with glass at a marvellously cheap rate, and by 
combining the culture of Grapes and Tomatos, they have added 
enormously to our supplies. Our open ports invite the foreigner 
to send us the products of sunnier skies ; but still British 
products maintain their superior character, and we may with 
the aid of cheap glass structures defy competition. 
The Grapes and Tomatos grown in London suburbs and in 
the neighbourhood of Worthing fetch the highest prices, and 
I have no doubt but that in the near future Strawberries will 
he produced under glass at a cheap rate before the French 
growers can supply them, and that means will be taken to 
prolong the season. The taste of the public has a tendency to 
become more fastidious as supplies increase; and whilst there 
