PLATE LX. 
4. WINTER THORN. 
[Syn : Epine d'Hiver ; Epine Rose d'Hiver ; Epine ovale .] 
A very old variety whose history has been lost. 
Description. —Fruit: medium size, obovate. Skin : smooth, of a fine green colour, becoming 
yellowish as it attains maturity, and irregularly covered with grayish brown dots. Eye : small and 
open, set in an even and considerable depression. Stalk : an inch long, fleshy at the base, inserted 
without depression. Flesh : whitish, firm, sometimes gritty, but with a sweet and pleasant juice; 
when grown on the quince stock, on a dry soil and warm situation, it becomes tender, melting and 
buttery, with an agreeable musky flavour. 
An excellent stewing pear, in season from November to January. It becomes edible in 
favourable situations, but is not to be depended upon as a dessert pear. 
The tree is healthy, but not vigorous in growth. It succeeds well on either the pear or 
quince stock, but should be grown only on the pear stock for culinary purposes. 
