July 24. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
the Quince ( Malum cydonia). We might enlarge our 
extracts demonstrating that they knew bow to propagate 
the Pear by cuttings, a lost art, but recently said to be 
re-discovered; however, we have quoted enough to 
justify our statement, and will at once proceed to 
examine what our earliest English herbal-writer, Dr. 
Turner, says about this fruit-tree. 
In the second part of his “ Complete Herbal,” pub¬ 
lished in 1562, he remarks, “ We have many kinds of 
garden Pears with us in England, and some kinds 
better than ever I saw in Germany for wholesomeness ; 
and some in Germany more pleasant and greater than 
ever I saw in England. I have read in no old writer so 
many kinds of Pears as I read of in Pliny, whereof I 
will show certain Latin names, and compare them with 
our English Pears and Dutch Pears as well as I can. 
Pyra superba, that is to say, Proud Pears, are little, and 
soonest ripe; and these are called in Cambridge, Mid¬ 
summer Pears. Falerna pyra have their name, saith 
Pliny, because they be full of juice. These are called, 
in some places, Watery Pears, or Moist Pears. Dolo- 
belliana are the Pears that have long footstalks. I 
remember not how they be named in England. Volerna, 
whereof Virgil makes mention in the second book of his 
Georgicks. These, because they are very heavy, as 
Virgil sheweth, and very great, as their name beto- 
keneth, for they seem to have their name of vola, that 
is, the hollow place or loof of a man’s hand, because 
they be as big as a man can grip in the palm or loof of 
his hand. These are commonly called in English, 
Wardens, if they have a binding and be red when they 
are roasted, and iudure unto March or February. It 
appearetli that they have their name of long keeping; 
for Warden, in Dutch, from whence our English came, 
is to keep. Serotina pyra are they that hang upon their 
mother until winter, and were ripe with the frost. These 
are partly our Wardens, and partly other long-during 
Pears, which are called in Dutch, Winter Birnen; and 
they may be well called in English, Winter Pears.” 
Next in order of time came Gerarde, who says—“ The 
stock, or kindred of Pears are not to be numbered; 
every country hath its peculiar fruit. Myself knows 
one curious in grafting and planting of fruits, who hath 
in one piece of ground at the point of three-score sundry 
sorts of Pears, and those exceeding good, not doubting 
but if his mind had been to seek after multitudes he 
might have gotten together the like number of those of 
worse kinds.” Johnson has altered Gerarde’s arrange¬ 
ment of the Pears he specified, and given the fol¬ 
lowing as the ancient titles, and our Pears which are 
synonymous. Whether correct or not in that respect, 
they certainly shew eight varieties then known in our 
gardens, and some of which are still surviving. 1, Pyrus 
superba, Katherine Pear; 2, Pyrus prcecocia, Jenneting 
Pear; 3, Pyrus Jaeobcea, St. James’s Pear; 4, Pyrus 
regale, Pear Royal; 5, Pyrus Palatinum, Bergamot Pear; 
6, Pyrus Sydonia, Quince Pear; 7, Pyrus episcopata, 
Bishop’s Pear; 8, Pyrus hyemale, Winter Pear. “ All 
these,” says Gerarde, “ and many more, and those most 
rare and good, are growing in the grounds of Master 
287 
I R ichard Pointer, a most cunning and curious grafter and 
: planter of all manner of rare fruits, dwelling in a small 
village near London, called Twicknam ; and also in the 
ground of an excellent grafter, and painful planter, Mr. 
Henry Banbury, of Touthill Street, near Westminster; 
and likewise in the ground of a diligent and most affec¬ 
tionate lover of plants, Mr. Warner, near Horsey-down, 
by London.” It would not avail much now to seek for 
Pear Trees, either in Tothill-street or Horsleydowu! 
Descending a few years later, we find, in some degree 
from our increased intercourse with France, but still 
more from the improvement in our garden literature, 
that we have much fuller and certain information 
relative to the varieties then known. Many of them 
are among our most common Tears now cultivated- 
Thus Parkinson, in his Paradisi in sole Paradisus 
terrestris, published in 1629, mentions among others the 
Bon Chretien, Bergamot, Green Chesill, Catherine, 
Windsor, and “the Peare of Jerusalem, which being 
baked, is as red as the Red Warden, whereof Master 
William Ward, of Essex, hath assured me, who is tire 
chief keeper of the King’s Granary at Whitehall.” 
Parkinson was certainly not a total abstinent from 
chirpy liquor, for he says, “ The Perry made of Choke 
Peares, notwithstanding the harshnesse, and evill taste, 
both of the fruit when it is greene, and also of the 
juyce when it is new made, doth yet after a few monetlis 
become as milde and pleasant as wine, and will hardly 
bee knowne by the sight or taste from it: this hath 
beene found true by often experience, and, therefore, 
wee may admire the goodnesse of God, that hath given 
such facility to so wilde fruits, altogether thought 
uselesse, to become usefull, and apply the benefit 
thereof both to the comfort of our soules and bodies.” 
EXHIBITION OF THE HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY.— July 11. 
This was the second time, during an exhibition life of 
twenty years, on which I had seen gardeners flooded- 
out. We have all of us seen gardeners “ frozen out,” 
times out of number, but it has fallen to the lot of few to 
see them, or the very best of their number, fairly over¬ 
whelmed by a deluge. Once, at the Regent’s Park, three or 
four years since, and again, on the lltli instant, I wit¬ 
nessed such a state of things, under similar circumstances, 
—floods of rain all day, as enables me to solve the ques¬ 
tion about the kind of “spring” which moves the great 
bulk of our garden, or horticultural exhibitors. It is 
neither medals, nor money, nor rivalship, which can move 
the spirit of the exhibitor, for there were enough of the 
three elements, on both occasions, to satisfy all con¬ 
science; but the “spirit” was dead within them, and 
they went about as if nothing in this world was worth 
living for but the applause of the multitude; this they 
could not hope for on such occasions, for the multitude 
dare not venture out-of-doors when it “ pours in 
torrents.” But amongst all classes there are some few 
to be found whose minds and manners are not much 
affected by good or bad luck; they are always the same, 
as we say, and we all like to meet them in their own 
element, be it garden or field, hill or dale, afloat or 
ashore. We had our share of them at the last July 
Show in the “Chiswick Gardens,” which Show, accord- 
