PLATE XUI. 
2. BISHOP’S THUMB. 
[Syn : Bishop's Pear; Bishop's Thimble .] 
The origin of this favorite old Pear is not known. It is thought to be of Dutch origin, and 
on the continent it takes a much higher colour, than the sombre tints it presents in England, as is 
shown in the excellent representation of it in “ Le Jardin Fruitier de MusSum.” It is well figured 
in Brookshaw’s “ Pomona Britannica'd PL lxxix. 
Description. — Fruit: above middle size and oblong. Skin : yellowish green, covered with 
numerous large russety dots, and with a russety red colour on one side. Eye : small and open, with 
long reflexed segments. Stalk : one inch long, fleshy at the base and obliquely inserted ; the flesh 
of the pear often runs up one side of the stalk from a quarter to half an inch high. Flesh: greenish 
yellow, melting and juicy ; with a rich, sugary, and vinous flavour. 
An old fashioned dessert pear, in season in October and November, but it is often bought 
in the Bath Market as late as February. It is very much cultivated near London, and is a 
favourite pear in Somersetshire and the West of England. 
Tree very hardy, and bears abundantly as an ordinary standard ; or as a pyramid on the 
Ouince. 
