NOVEMBER. 
325 
term to Pears that ripen from the end of July till the end of August; 
but we require some terms to denote the seasons of Pears more satis¬ 
factory and more definite than those hitherto employed ; with your 
assistance, and that of your correspondents let us endeavour to form 
terms to divide the seasons as applied to' Pears: tliis, I think, will be 
better than giving particular months as their seasons of ripening, for the 
range is often very wide—more so than usual this season. Cannot we, 
therefore, call those that ripen in July and August, Summer Pears; 
those ripening in September, Early Autumn Pears ; those for October 
and November, Autumn Pears ; those in season in December, and 
January, Winter Pears ; those that ripen after January, and they are 
then remarkably precarious as to their ripening, Spring Pears ? I fear 
this first attempt at cla<5sifying Pears, as regards their periods of 
ripening, is not very satisfactory ; but I look to our friends for assistance, 
for the terms “early” and “ late” do not appear quite up to the wants 
of the present day. 
While on the subject of Pears, I may perhaps be allowed a few words 
on the variations that often take place in their seasons of ripening from 
the change of climate. Varieties that in the warmer parts cf France 
can be preserved in perfection till late in spring often ripen here in 
December ; and again, varieties that are Summer Pears (to employ 
my term) in France and Belgium, become here, after two or three 
seasons. Early Autumn, or Autumn Pears. The fruit of Beurre Superfin, 
one of the most delicious Pears known, when first introduced, some six 
or seven years since, ripened on the trees early in September; latterly, 
they have kept well till November. The Poire Peche, which I intro¬ 
duced about the same time, ripened at first in August on the trees, but 
latterly (and even the past warm season), it has not ripened till the 
middle of September, when Beurre d’Amanlis, Williams’s Bon 
Chretien, and others were in season ; it is a most juicy, sugary Pear, 
very handsome, and a most abundant bearer. As an August Pear I 
at first thought highly of it; but not proving so early as I at first anti¬ 
cipated, and finding no peculiar aroma, which its name of “ Peach 
Pear ” would lead one to expect, 1 have not lately cultivated it to the 
extent I used to do; perhaps, though, its raiser (the lateMajor 
Esperen) might have given it the name from its resemblance to a Peach 
in size and form, for when fully ripe and well grown it is a very hand¬ 
some Pear. The Beurre Giffart, a most delicious Summer Pear, 
which generally ripens in August just after Citron des Carmes, was not 
fully ripe this season till quite the end of the month. There is, indeed, 
no end to the vagaries of Pears, which perhaps are more interesting to 
witness than to read about. 
Thos. Rivers. 
HIPPEASTRUMS. 
It really appears matter for surprise, if not of extreme regret, that 
this noble and showy division of the order Amaryllidaceee should so 
seldom be met with in the plant houses and conservatories of the 
