Prickly pear

“ Specimens of the Prickly Pear have been known to grow after lying on a dry floor, in a closed room, for six months and they have blossomed when left in this condition for some time.
These plants, which are more or less succulent, are usually protected from the ravages of animal life by a formidable array of spines and prickles. Those who have carelessly handled our common Prickly Pear can attest to the intensely irritating character of its defensive armor. Thus does nature provide for the care of its otherwise defenseless forms. ”

“ From time to time the suggestions of the North are strangely compelling. Thus, when the heavy flower-cones of the horse-chestnut stand out boldly next to the snow-white circles of the elder-tree, with a grove of oaks as a background, it is with something akin to a shock that the succeeding clumps of paraiso and eucalyptus-trees, and the fleshly leaves of the aloe and prickly-pear bring the traveller back to reality and the land of warm sunshine. ”

“ Another superstition, current for centuries, accepted by Cato and Varro, and handed on with abiding faith almost to modern times was, as stated by Barnaby Googe, a farmer and writer subject of Queen Elizabeth, [11] “if you graffe your peare upon a Mulbery, you shall have red Peares.” Stories of promiscuous grafting abound in the old books. Another is that if an apple be grafted on the pear, the fruit is a “pearmain.”
After Pliny follows a dreary and impenetrable period of 1500 years, in which time but few new facts regarding the evolution of the pear come to light in what is now Italy. ”

“ The main distinction is the occurrence in the tissue of the fruit, or beneath the rind, of clusters of cells filled with hard woody deposit in the case of the pear, constituting the “grit,” while in the apple no such formation of woody cells takes place. The appearance of the tree—the bark, the foliage, the flowers—is, however, usually quite characteristic in the two species Cultivated pears, whose number is enormous, are without doubt derived from one or two wild species widely distributed throughout Europe and western Asia, and sometimes forming part of the natural vegetation of the forests. ”

“ The late summer season when the sun shone so temptingly on the round red pears, and the old woman over whose garden wall they grew counted her profits at a skilling for two, fell in with our time for practising marksmanship, just as the spring brought its marbles and September its nutting tramps. [Pg 187] Then if it befell that a good shot and the law of gravitation operated simultaneously to dislodge the biggest and juiciest pear, and it dropped in our path—surely destiny was to blame, not we. Findings is keepings, and there is no law against picking up a pear in the street. ”

“ While not large, the fruits are of sufficient size to meet the demands of a good dessert pear. The shape is a perfect turbinate, truncated at the base of the fruit, usually very symmetrical, and the fruits run uniform in shape. In color, the pears are distinctive in their russeted skin, with a handsome ruddy cheek. The accompanying color-plate does not do justice to the fruit in illustrating size, shape, or color. The flesh is melting and juicy, and deserves, more than that of almost any other pear, the adjective luscious. The flavor is sweet, vinous, and highly perfumed. ”

“ They may always be known by their great size, squat pyriform shape, and uneven knobby surfaces. Well grown, the pears have other virtues than size, as the flesh is buttery and melting with a rich and delicious flavor; but poorly grown, and on unfavorable soils, the flesh is granular, coarse-grained, but half-melting and nearly devoid of the rich [155] ness that characterizes the fruits in happier situations. Size shrinks also when poorly grown, so that one may say that a small pear of this variety is seldom fit for dessert and too insipid for a good product in cookery. ”

“ Fruit medium, globular-ovate, bossed; skin rough, dark yellowish-green, lightly marbled with gray and bright fawn; flesh citrine, fine, very melting and juicy, with a saccharine, sprightly flavor and delicate perfume; very good; Jan. to Mar.
Ruhschiebler. 1. Löschnig Mostbirnen 96, fig. 1913.
An Austrian perry pear. Fruit small to medium, globular-turbinate, yellow-green, with large and small russet dots; flesh coarse, juicy, with a strong acid taste; good for transportation ”

“ They are tall and slender, forming what is called an imperfect pyramid. Standard pear trees, like these, give a good shade, and the long, slender branches are well clothed with leaves of a bright, glossy green. This rich color lasts late into the autumn, and it is then varied with yellow, and often with red and black, spots; so that pear-leaves are not to be despised in gathering autumn-leaf treasures. The pear is not so useful a fruit as the apple, nor so showy in color; but it has a more delicate and spicy flavor, and often is of an immense size. ”

“ In considering particularly the different shapes, sizes, colors, flavors, and odors of the pear, who will not adore the wisdom of the creator. Pears are found round, long ‘goderonnees’ [3] pointed, blunt, small, and large. Gold, silver, vermillion, and satin green are found among the pears. Sugar, honey, cinnamon, clove, flavor them. They smell of musk, amber, and chive. In short, so excellent are the fruits that an orchard would not be worth while in a place where pear trees do not thrive. ”

“ Pears are more varied in size, shape, texture, and flavor of flesh than others of the hardy tree-fruits, and in length of season exceed all others excepting the apple. Varieties of pears, possibly, have the charm of individuality more marked than varieties of its orchard associates. The trees, where environment permits their culture, are not difficult to grow, and attain greater size, produce larger crops, and live longer than any other hardy fruit. Why, then, is the pear not more popular in America? ”

“ The common pear is a well-known garden fruit, derived from an English stock, the wild pear tree (Pyrus communis) , which grows in hedges and thickets in Somersetshire and Sussex. It would be an endless task to describe the different known varieties of the cultivated pear. Some of these are very large, and others extremely small: some have a rich and luscious flavour, and others, as the iron pear, are so hard and disagreeable to the taste, as to be absolutely unfit to eat. Pears are chiefly used in desserts ”

“ None are known in America, and unless the Pound of Parkinson is the Pound of today, not a half dozen are found in current lists in England. Parkinson’s Catherine, Winter Bon Chretien, Windsor, Bergamot, possibly the Pound, and his Gergonell, the Jargonelle of today, are about all the names that would be recognized by modern pear-growers. The pear shows [37] far fewer familiar names at the end of three centuries than Parkinson lists of apples, plums, cherries, or even the peach in Europe. Dropping old varieties can only be interpreted as improvement in the pear. ”

“ In the orchard behind the house were numerous other pear-trees. There were no restrictions on those or on the early apples or plums; but every year grandmother half jokingly told us not to go to those two trees in the walled inclosure, and she never went there herself.
I must confess, however, that we young folks knew pretty well how those pears tasted. The Eastern Belle bore a large, long pear that turned yellow when ripe and had a fine rosy cheek on one side. The Indian Queen was a thick-bodied pear with specks under the skin, a deep-sunk nose and a long stem. ”

“ The pears are very attractive in size, shape, and particularly in the bright lemon-yellow color, with a flaming cheek to the sun, the whole pear being characteristically marked with small, russet dots set in a pinkish circle. Of all summer pears the fruits of this one seem least inclined to rot at the center, and usually keep longer and ship better, although the skin is tender and bruises easily. The flesh is buttery, moderately juicy, sweet and rich, with a faint, pleasant perfume. ”

“ This is a doubtful conjecture, though without doubt the variety is of very ancient origin. Fruit small, globular-obtuse, yellowish-green, dull brown where exposed to the sun and profusely speckled with gray russet; flesh greenish-white, tender, melting, somewhat gritty at the core, juicy, and of a rich flavor; a dessert pear of first quality; Oct. Tree vigorous, prolific, forms a handsome standard and succeeds on either quince or pear. ”

“ An old pear which originated in Gloucestershire, Eng., previous to the year 1805 and which is widely known as a remarkably fine perry pear much grown in Herefordshire. It is early, tender of flesh, and “if it drops ripe from the tree it bursts from the fall, whence probably the name.” Fruit medium to below, turbinate, dull greenish-yellow on the shaded side and dull brownish-red next the sun, covered with rough, russet dots; calyx open; stem slender; flesh white, with a brisk, sweet flavor. ”

“ On the Pacific slope, in the hardy-fruit regions, the pear reaches its highest development in the New World. Oriental pears, or varieties having Oriental blood, as Kieffer and Le Conte, are grown in every part of America where the culture of hardy fruits is attempted.
Liability to loss by pests is a great detriment to the popularity of the pear in America. The insect pests of pears are numerous. Codling-moths attack the fruit wherever the pear is grown in America, and can be kept down only by expensive arsenical sprays. ”

“ The mountain pear is found growing only on barren heights, or on the sides of steep precipices; it grows on a tall, fluted-like stalk, that has the appearance of a well-wrought, fluted, slender pillar, full of strong, sharp prickles. The fruit is of the size of a pippin, its skin is of a beautiful crimson colour; when this pear is cut open, it presents an innumerable quantity of fine black seeds, which are covered with a juicy pulp of the same colour as the skin, its taste is much like that of a strawberry ”

“ The fruits are nearly perfect if scab-free and properly matured. To make sure of perfect maturity, the pears must be picked as soon as they attain full size and be permitted to ripen under cover. So treated, a bright-cheeked Flemish Beauty is as handsome as any pear, and is almost unapproachable in quality; the flavor is nicely balanced between sweetness and sourness, very rich, and has a pleasing muskiness. Blight and scab condemn tree and fruit for commercial orchards, but a lover of good pears should combat these troubles for the sake of the choice fruits. ”

“ In England, where the pear is sometimes considered wild, there is always the doubt that it may not really be so, but the produce of some seed of a cultivated tree deposited by birds or otherwise, which has degenerated into the wild spine-bearing tree knovin as Pyrus communis. ”

“ To me it is rather the apple that is masculine, while the pear is extravagantly and deliciously feminine. In its exquisitely golden-toned skin, which yet is of such firm texture, in the melting sweetness of its flesh, in its vaguely penetrating fragrance, in its subtle and ravishing and various curves, even, if you will, in the tantalising uncertainty as to the state of its heart, the pear is surely a fruit perfectly endowed with the qualities which fit it to be regarded as conventionally a feminine symbol. ”

“ A drink called perry is made from pears in much the same way that cider is made from apples. It was considered an antidote to mushroom [Pg 170] poisoning by the Romans, and in England it is still taken, “after a surfeit of that vegetable,” according to Loudon. The pear tree is a native of nearly all the elevated regions of Europe and Western Asia. Like the apple tree it was introduced into Britain by the Romans, and it is widely naturalized in the United States.
Mountain Ash, or Rowan Tree Pyrus americana
A slender tree, or tall shrub, 20 to 30 feet high. ”

“ Why Lucy Duke is neglected is hard to see. Tree and fruit are highly praised, Charles Downing thought the pear “not quite so fine as a first-class Seckel, but I must aver it is not far behind.” The pear has a rich, juicy, spicy, melting flesh that makes it one of the best. In form, the fruits resemble those of Bartlett, which is probably one of the parents; they are of but medium size, but are of a beautiful golden-russet color, which makes them as handsome as the handsomest. The skin is thick and the pears stand shipping well. ”

“ Both fruit and tree commend it. The fruits are usually large; are handsome in appearance; and the flesh and flavor are exceptionally fine. Thus, the flesh, while a little granular at the core, is melting, juicy, and richly aromatic,—as truly luscious as in any other pear. Unfortunately the fruits do not keep well, having a tendency to soften at the core as maturity advances. When poorly [136] grown or not properly ripened, the pears are sometimes a little astringent, and there is always a smack of astringency. ”

“ Fruit roundish, yellowish-green, borne on a stalk as long or longer than the fruit, acid or becoming sweetish at full maturity.
This pear is a native of eastern Europe and Asia Minor and is often found in France as an escape from the orchard. The tree, which sometimes attains a height of fifty feet, is said to be a handsome ornamental. The [73] species is sometimes under cultivation in France for the fruits which make very good perry, and when bletted, as is the medlar, are suitable for dessert. ”

“ No part of the tree is exempt from destruction by the malign bacterium that causes blight of the pear. Root, trunk, branch, leaf, flower, and fruit are all attacked, turn black and wither under the disease. Few plant diseases produce more disastrous results. The pear competes with the apple in importance in Europe where blight is unknown. In America it is a poor fourth to the apple, peach, and plum, and takes fourth place instead of second because of the ravages of blight. About the most important discovery to be made in pomology is a race of blight-resistant pears. ”