November  2,  ls9S. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
PEARS  DECAYING  AT  THE  CORE. 
The  rotting  of  Pears  at  the  “heart”  is  one  of  the  most  tantalising 
matters  affecting  their  cultivation.  The  subject  seems  to  have 
received  but  scant  attention,  the  affection  being  apparently  looked  upon 
as  a  matter  of  course  in  the  case  of  some  varieties.  Though  this  may 
be  true,  we  still  have  to  face  the  fact  of  some  of  the  fruits  of  a  tree 
ripening  perfectly,  while  others  decay  at  the  core  before  being  fit  for 
eating. 
With  other  Pear  growers,  whose  opinions  would  be  valuable,  I 
have  given  some  thought  to  the  subject,  and  formed  certain  views  of 
the  varieties  most  prone  to  the  defect  or  tendency  to  rot  at  the  “  heart  ” 
before  being  lit  for  eating.  Of  those  liable  to  speedy  decay  at  the 
centre  alter  becoming  fit  to  gather  a  few  peculiarities  may  be  noted  in 
alphabetical  order  : — 
Achan.  —  This,  supplied  for  Knight’s  Monarch,  and  planted 
against  an  east  wall  in  North  SYrnkshite,  invariably  decayed  at  the 
core,  but  the  fruit  was  good  from  a  standard  tree  in  an  exposed 
position.  In  Hertfordshire,  as  a  standard,  it  was  almost  sure  to  decay 
before  being  fit  to  eat  after  a  warm  season,  whiie  in  a  cold  and  wet  one 
the  fruit  was  excellent.  This  year  the  Pears  were  over  early  in 
October,  and  more  than  half  not  fit  to  eat,  being  either  pasty  and 
insiped  or  rotteu  at  the  “  heart.” 
Aston  Town. — In  Cheshire  I  have  found  this  high  quality  Pear  of 
first  rate  ripening  properties,  not  keeping  long,  but  always  fit  to  eat 
before  commencing  to  decay  at  the  core  ;  in  the  Vale  of  lork  atid  on 
the  new  red  sandstone  more  than  half  the  crop  rotted  at  the  core  long 
before  the  fruit  was  fit  to  eat. 
Autumn  Bergamot. — This  fruit,  possibly  the  oldest  British  Pear, 
sometimes  rots  at  the  core  in  the  north  of  England,  and  in  the  south 
the  marketed  produce  has  been  seriously  defective  duiing  the  last  few 
years,  so  much  so  that  it  was  difficult  to  find  a  really  perfect  fruit. 
Ordinary  purchasers  may  not  have  examined  carefully,  indeed  some 
prefer  a  bletted  Pear,  a  taste  we  do  not  envy,  as  under  the  higher 
powers  of  the  microscope  the  “  heart”  is  seen  to  swarm  with  bacteria, 
and  the  lower  powers  sometimes  reveal  minute  worms.  Such  Pears 
are  not  wholesome,  and  fallen  fruits  contract  microbes  from  the  soil. 
Beurre  de  V Assom.pt ion. — Against  a  south  wall  in  Hertfordshire 
this  variety  was  mealy  and  dry,  then  rotted  at  the  core  ;  in  the  open 
it  also  “went”  at  the  core,  and  was  seldom  of  any  use. 
Beurre  Bose. — :0n  a  dry  gravelly  soil,  as  a  pyramid,  the  fruit  was 
dry,  and  never  melting  in  a  dry  season,  while  after  a  wet  summer  the 
fruit  was  juicy  and  melting.  Against  a  fence  and  east  wall  in  North 
Yorkshire  it  was  large  and  good. 
Beurre  Diet. — In  North  Wales  this  Pear  was  an  excellent  keeper, 
even  until  December,  Irom  a  tree  on  a  west  wall ;  it  was  equally  good 
from  trees  on  a  west  aspected  wall  in  Yorkshire.  In  the  south  of 
England  the  fruit  rotted  at  the  core  as  early  as  October,  veiy  few  being 
fit  for  eating.  It  was  equally  bad  when  grown  on  ca'caroous  and 
siliceous  soil  almost  devoid  of  lime. 
Beurre  Gifford. — In  Herefordshire  this  Pear  does  well  on  the  old 
red  sandstone,  usually- ripening  if  taken  in  time  from  the  trte.  In 
North  Yorkshire,  as  a  pyramid,  the  fruit  for  many  )  ears  was  rottel  at 
the  “heart”  when  gathered,  and  never  eatable.  This  was  on  the  lias. 
Brown  Beurre. — Against  an  east  wall  the  trees  produced  fruit 
freely,  but  the  produce  was  seldom  of  any  use,  so  speeddy  did  it  decay 
at  the  “  hvart.”  This  was  the  characteristic  both  in  the  north  and 
south  of  England. 
Clapp's  Favourite. — Against  a  south  wall  in  North  Yorkshire 
this  variety  was  excellent  when  eaten  as  soon  as  gathered,  but  it  soon 
went  rotten  at  the  core,  though  never,  so  far  as  observed,  before 
properly  ripening.  In  the  south  it  is  mealy  from  warm  walls,  but 
of  first  quality  when  gathered  soon  enough  from  trees  In  the  open, 
though  it  soon  goes  bad  at  the  “  heart.” 
Doyenne  Boussoch. — This  very  handsome  Pear  “  goes  ”  at  the 
core,  and  is  seldom  good,  or  at  least  to  be  depended  on,  for  not  rotting 
before  fit  for  use.  It  appears  to  decay  less  quickly  when  grown  on 
the  sand  formation. 
Doyennd  du  Cornice. — Fruits  were  found  this  season  rotted  at  the 
core  iu  the  earliest  days  of  October.  The  eaily  decay  was  manifestly 
due  to  brown  rot  fungus  (Monilia  fructigena),  the  threads  or  mycelium 
being  abundant  in  the  flesh,  and  even  the  conidial  condition  of  the 
fructifying  parts  present  in  the  core  cavity.  This  parasite  was 
unquestionably  the  cause  of  the  premature  decay,  the  germs  having 
entered  by  the  eye,  and  probably  as  far  back  as  the  flowering  stage. 
Possibly  this  fungus  has  a  considerable  influence  on  Pears  rotting  at 
the  core,  and  the  matter  deserves  further  investigation. 
Durondeau , — Some  fruits  of  this  went  bad  this  season  just  before 
ripening,  and  they  also  had  the  mycelial  hyphre  of  the  fungus  just 
named  in  tt.e  flesh  next  the  core,  but  not  any  fructifying  parts  were 
discovered. 
Emile  d'Heyst. — Season  after  season  has  this  delicious  fruit  rotted 
at  the  core,  not  any  being  really  fit  for  table,  though  some  persons 
appeared  to  enjoy  the  so-called  “  bletted  ”  fruit.  No  trace  of  para¬ 
3S9 
sitic  infection  could  be  found,  though  there  were  always  present 
micro-organisms  inseparable  from  the  decay  of  organic  matter. 
Fertility. — On  a  gravelly  loam  on  oolite,  in  Huntingdonshire,  this 
Pear,  from  a  pyramid,  was  dry  and  rnedy.  From  Kent  specimens 
have  been  received  “  dry  as  wool.”  On  heavy  soil  the  fruit  is  more 
juicy,  but  often  rots  at  the  core  before  ripening  is  completed. 
Flemish  Bt auty. — This  must  be  gathered  before  it  is  thoroughly 
ripe;  then  it  has  excellent  qualities.  Otherwise  it  is  mealy  in  light 
soils,  and  on  heavy  rapidly  decays  at  the  “  heart.” 
Fondante  d' Automne — Unless  taken  in  the  “nick  of  time”  this 
delicious  Pear  soon  decays  after  gathering,  a^d  swarms  with 
bacteria.  It  is  just  as  bad  on  light  alluvial  soils  as  on  stiff  loams, 
and  best  perhaps  in  continuing  in  use  from  trees  on  calcareous  soils., 
Gansel  s  Bergamot. — From  an  old  tree  against  a  south  wall  the 
fruit  was  first-rate  in  the  vicinity  of  York  ;  but  in  the  north  of  that 
county  the  Pears  were  gritty,  and  decayed  at  the  “  heart.’’  Double 
grafted  on  the  Quince  it  was  good  as  a  cordon  iu  the  open  on  gravelly 
loam  in  the  Thames  valley,  though  several  rotted  at  the  core  before 
the  fruit  was  ripe. 
Bessie. — Off  standard  trees  in  Yorkshire  I  have  known  bushels  of 
this  Pear  finer  than  ever  seen  in  the  midland  cr  southern  counties 
always  ripen  perfectly.  In  the  more  southerly  puts  of  the  country 
heavy  crops  are  known  to  have  rotted  at  the  core  before  ripening, 
several  fruits  even  falling  from  the  trees  in  that  state.  In  the  best  of 
circumstances  the  fruit  is  soon  over;  still  there  is  a  difference  accord¬ 
ing  to  soil  and  situation. 
Jargonelle — Against  a  south  wall  the  fruit  is  mealy  and  flavour¬ 
less  in  the  south  ol  England,  and  soon  decays.  In  the  northern  parts 
of  the  country  it  ripens  satisfactorily,  even  from  a  south  wall,  if 
gathered  early.  It  is  also  good  from  pyramids,  and  from  a  north  wall 
the  fruit  is  of  first-rate  quality,  and  ripeus,  without  rotting,  in 
September. 
Jersey  Gratioli. — In  North  Yorkshire  I  have  occasionally  had  this 
Pear  very  fine  on  a  south  wall,  but  generally  more  fruit  was  wasted 
than  eaten,  because  rotten  at  the  core  beto  e  of  table  ripeness.  “It 
blets  suddenly,”  says  Mr.  Blackmore,  the  produce  of  standard  trees 
not  being  nearly  as  bad  as  that  from  walls. 
Lammas. — This  early  Pear  will  not  keep,  yet  seldom  gets  bad  at 
the  heart  before  being  fit  to  eat,  still  it  blets  sometimes  very  suddenly, 
and  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours  bushels  may  become  useless. 
Madame  Treyve. — Pyramids  of  this  variety  on  the  Quince  on  light 
soil  gave  large  fruit,  but  dry  as  a  stick,  yet  rotten  at  the  “heart,”  and 
rank  impostors.  It  was  lairly  good  on  strouger  land,  but  decayed  at 
the  core  much  too  freely. 
Marie  Louise  cl'Uccle. — As  pyramids  on.  gravelly  land  the  fruits  of 
this  were  dry  ;  attributing  this  to  the  gravelly  medium,  a  strong  soil 
was  given,  with  the  result  of  the  fruit  prematurely  decaying  iu  the 
centie. 
Nouveau  Poiteau. — This,  also  on  pyramids,  was  very  fine  looking, 
but  went  bad  before  any  fruit  was  useable. 
Bed  Doyenne.—  Though  errly  gathering  is  conducive  to  the  fruit 
of  this  variety  keeping  lairly  well,  still  is  prone  to  “go”  at  the  core, 
and  not  uncommonly  the  majority  of  the  Pears  are  uneatable. 
Sumner,  Doyenne. — Unless  githered  before  it  becomes  yellow,  the 
fruit  soon  becomes  mealy.  I  have,  however,  had  it  very  tine  from  a 
south  wall  in  North  Wales,  good  in  North  Yorkshire,  and  first-rate 
from  standards  in  Hertfordshire.  There  is  no  rotting  at  the  core, 
though  “  bletting  ”  occurs  at  a  very  early  stage  of  ripening. 
White  Doyenne. — This  is  another  ol  the  woolly  and  mealy  Pears 
when  grown  on  warm  soils  and  places,  and  on  heavy  land  rots  as  often 
as  not  at  the  core  before  of  eating  ripeness. 
Williams'  Bon  Chretien. — Again  a  poor  dry  mealy  fruit  when 
grown  against  a  wall  in  warm  s  >ils,  but  just  the  opposite  as  a  bush  or 
standard  in  the  quality  of  its  fruit.  If  gathered  before  it  becomes 
yellow  the  flavour  is  better,  juice  more  abundant,  and  “bletting” 
somewhat  retarded. 
Windsor. — This  fine  old  Pear  requires  to  be  gathered  before  it 
becomes  yellow,  and  then  no  early  Pear  excels  it  in  quality.  It 
requires  to  be  grown  in  an  alluvial  soil  or  in  a  deep  sandy  loam,  for 
on  stiff  and  cold  soils  the  tree  cankers,  and  the  fruit  rots  at  the  core. 
The  foregoing  digest  of  the  Pears  most  distinguished  for  bletting 
or  rotting  at  the  core,  as  I  have  observed  them,  are  suggestive  of 
the  characteristics  being  somewhat  influenced  by  climatic  conditions, 
and  to  a  still  greater  extent  by  soil.  This  necessarily  raises  the 
question  of  nutrition,  but  upon  this  point  the  data  scarcely  justifies 
any  general  deductious.  Lime  may  be  useful  in  some  cases,  and  in 
other  instances  silicates  would  be  more  to  the  purpose,  as  tending  to 
stiffen  the  diliquescing  potassic  constituent  and  soft  nitrogenic 
element.  Climate,  however,  is  a  factor  of  considerable  importance, 
and  then  there  is  the  character  of  the  variety  and  inherent  tendencies 
to  be  studied  and  provided  for.  Is  there  any  better  or  more  practicable 
method  of  improving  unsatisfactory  Pear  trees  than  by  cutting  them 
down  and  grafting,  if  healthy,  with  other  varieties  that  are  known  to 
succeed  under  similar  soil  and  climatal  conditions  ? — Gr.  Abbey. 
