The Book of Pears and Plums

Excerpt

THE BOOK OF PEARS AND PLUMS

History of the Pear

The Pear is my theme, and a pleasant one it is. Only those who have planted trees, pruned them, watched their growth, plucked the fruits, enjoyed them at almost all hours, seen them on the table month after month as an appetising dish, can fully realise the value of the Pear. A good Pear-tree is like a faithful friend—treat him properly and he will not fail you. Circumstances, as for instance, a late frost, may render him incapable of helping you; he may have nothing to offer you; no doubt he is sorry, but with patience he will do you a good turn.

Pyrus (or pirus), the Latin name for Pear-tree, is the name of a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Rosaceæ. Pyrus communis, the wild pear, from which the numerous cultivated varieties have sprung, is found over a great part of Europe and Asia, within the limits of the temperate regions. Its origin is lost in obscurity. The lake-dwellers in Switzerland are said to have stored the fruits for winter use. It was probably brought by the Greeks, possibly by birds, from Asia, and after a time became a favourite with the Romans as well as the Greeks. It is mentioned by Horace, Vergil, Juvenal, and others. Pliny refers to numerous varieties, describing those with special flavours. He tells us that many of the sorts were called after the countries from which they came, such as the Syrian, the Alexandrian, the Numidian, and the Grecian. Thus he mentions pira nardina, a pear with the scent of nard; pira onynchina, a pear of the colour of the fingernail, and others. These last are evidently Greek. Forty or fifty sorts are named in Roman writers, and the Pear was appropriately dedicated to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom.

The Romans no doubt took their pear-trees northwards into Gaul and Britain. The climate of France is so well adapted to the growth of pears, that at one time it was thought all good pears must come from France. I well remember many years ago seeing a garden in this country full of pear-trees, every one of which had come from France. Happily there is no need now to go out of England for the very best varieties. A list published in 1628 by a fruit-grower of Orleans named Le Lectier (there is a new variety called by his name, and probably after him) enumerates 260 varieties. The well known Jargonelle is mentioned in that list. Our Parkinson in 1629 refers to 64 varieties only. Seventy years later we read of 138, and in 1829 of 630 varieties. John Scott, rather famous as a fruit-grower forty years ago, says in his "Orchardist" that he has above 1000 sorts worked upon the Quince Stock. He had studied pomology at the "Jardin Fruitier," the fruit garden attached to the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, and, using his opportunities, learnt all the secrets of Pear culture, and brought them from France to Merriott, near Crewkerne, in Somerset. The last edition of Dr Hogg's "Fruit Manual" (invaluable to the Pomologist), published in 1884, contains the names of 647 varieties. Not a few of these were marked as worthless by the Committee of the National Pear Conference, held at Chiswick in October 1885....