Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/324

302] to many kinds of egg-pears.—Its peel is at first whitish-green, and turns yellow, when ripening on the floor: the pulp is mellow, sweet, and of a delicious aromatic taste. This pear is fit to be eaten in November, and remains sound till the end of January.—The tree vegetates with great luxuriance.

d. The Long Green Winter-Pear is a line fruit, with a long stalk: its green peel is marked with grey punctures, and the mellow saccharine pulp recommends itself by its strongly aromatic flavour. It is edible from December to February, and may be preserved still longer.—The tree makes a handsome figure.

e. The White Butter-Pear; and

f. The Grey Butter-Pear, are well known to amateurs, and deserve to stand in every orchard, being excellent autumnal fruits.—The former is also very useful for culinary purposes, even before it attains to maturity by lying on the floor: in a good soil, it often forms a very large tree; but the grey butter-pear is of a lower growth, though with more expanded branches.

g. The De-la-Motte, one of the most luscious autumnal pears; the tender pulp and sweet juice of which, nearly approach to that of the fruit last mentioned. It is generally large, and in a manner tumefied; of a green shade; and thickly sprinkled with huge grey spots: it ripens in October and November.—The tree is only of moderate growth and height.

h. The Savoury Pear (la Savoureuse) is of a similar size and form with the Virgouleuse; more oval than pear-shaped, with a small, smoothly-situated bloom; is covered with a thin peel of a greenish-yellow cast, finely punctured: its pulp has a buttery, pleasant taste, and ripens in November.—The tree is of a middling size.

i. The Radish-Pear, a very superior summer fruit, the juicy part of which is so rich, refreshing, and agreeably acidulated, that it excels in its kind the grey butter-pear.—But, as it easily becomes mealy, though of a muscadel-flavour, when left to ripen on the tree, it ought to be timely removed, and deposited on the floor.—The tree is remarkably fertile, and produces fruit in seasons when almost every other pear-kind has failed: hence it deserves to be reared, even in climates and situations not very favourable to orchards; as it is of vigorous growth, and attains a tolerable size.

k. The Non-pareil Bergamot, is a considerably large pear, with a green peel, containing a mellow pulp, of an incomparably aromatic taste: it becomes eatable in October and November.—The tree is one of the largest among the Bergamots.

l. The Egg-Pear: this well-known and esteemed fruit requires no description; its delicately mellow pulp yields a highly palatable sub-acid juice of a peculiar flavour, and justly claims the preference over many of the French butter-pears.

m. The Summer Thorn (Epine d'eté: Fondante musqué) is a large delicious pear, of a very penetrating musky scent and taste; oblong, pear-shaped, with a fatty, tender, green skin, marked with whitish dots: its pulp liquefies in the mouth; and the fruit ripens in the beginning of September.—The tree is exceedingly fertile, and its dependent pears appear like ropes of