Chronicle, and he remarks that "it requires particular management after gathering. It has a thick, tough, softly russeted skin, which appears to permit occasionally a too rapid evaporation of the juices, in consequence of which the flesh does not become melting, but actually the reverse, until it finally decays. To prevent this, it is necessary to pack the fruit away from the free action of the air." The tree grows very vigorously, with upright brown shoots, sprinkled with brown russet specks, and is very productive: the fruit all have a remarkably clean skin, free from specks. It grows freely, and bears well on the quince. Our description of the Figue de Naples (fig. 26), is as follows:— Fig. 26. Figue de Naples. Size, large, about two and a half inches in diameter, and three long: Form, oblong, slightly contracted in the middle, and very obtuse at the stem: Skin, fair, smooth, pale green, becoming lemon yellow when mature, marbled with dull red on the sunny side, and very regularly and thickly covered with small green dots and russety specks: Stem, medium length, about one inch, moderately stout, rough, dark brown, fleshy and swollen at the base, and inserted without any cavity: Eye, rather large, open, and slightly sunk in a broad, shallow, smooth basin; segments of the calyx broad, long, pointed, and quite reflexed: Flesh, yellowish, fine, melting, and very juicy: Flavor, rich, sugary, vinous and excellent, with a fine musky perfume: Core, medium size: Seeds, medium size, plump, brown. Ripe in November, and is in eating three or four weeks. 74. FORELLE. Hort. Trans., Vol. V. pl. 17. Poire Truite, } Hort. Soc. Cat., 3d. Ed. 1842. Trout Pear, of some gardens. The Forelle is, without doubt, the most beautiful pear which has ever been produced, and would deserve cultivation for its appearance only, if it were even a second rate pear. But it stands almost as high for its excellence as for its beauty. Dr. Diel, in his Pomology, speaks of the Forelle as competing with the best French varieties, and Mr. Thompson states that it "merits his eulogium in all respects." The Forelle (fig. 27), takes its name from the resemblance of its beautifully speckled skin to the Trout, and, in the French collections, it is generally called the Truite pear. When the fruit is produced in perfection, it is deeply colored with vermilion, and profusely covered with grayish russet dots, which are margined or rayed with crimson. The tree grows very rapidly, more resembling, in the color of the wood, which is of a rich violet red speckled with grayish white, an apple than a pear: young shoots woolly leaves, roundish ovate. It is very productive, and grows either upon the quince or pear stock. Mr. Manning, who described it among the many kinds. which he proved in his collection, (Vol. III. p. 49), stated that with him it had not come up to the character given it in the Pom. Mag., but we suspect he had not produced it under favorable circumstances. Our drawing is from a specimen produced in the collection of Mrs. Heard, of Watertown, in 1846, and, in beauty as well as quality, it was a first-rate fruit. Where the locality is unfavorable as a dwarf or standard, we would recommend it as deserving a wall or an espa lier. Fig. 27. Forelle. Size, large, about two inches in diameter, and three long: Form, oblong obovate, regular, rather the largest in the middle, and tapering to an obtuse point at the stem: Skin, fair, smooth, dull yellow in the shade, broadly shaded with vermilion on the sunny side, and beautifully speckled with grayish dots, which are deeply margined with crimson: Stem, rather short, about three quarters of an inch, slender, nearly straight, and obliquely inserted in a small, shallow, contracted cavity, with a swollen lip or projection on one side: Eye, medium size, partially open, moderately sunk in a small and rather abruptly depressed basin; segments of the calyx broad and closed up, little reflexed: Flesh, white, very fine grained, buttery, melting and juicy: Flavor, rich, sprightly, vinous, slightly perfumed and excellent: Core, medium size: Seeds, medium size, nearly black. Ripe in November, and frequently keeps till January. 75. ANANAS. Bon Jardinier. Poire Ananas, of French collections. The Ananas (fig. 28), is a new pear, recently introduced into our collections from the French gardens, and it proves to Fig. 28. Ananas. be a very delicious variety. Of its origin, we have no information. It is not mentioned in the last edition of the Catalogue of the Lon. Hort. Soc., and is probably not known in English collections. It first fruited in 1844 or '45, and our drawing is from a specimen produced in the collection of Col. Wilder last autumn. The tree is a very vigorous grower, making stout and strong annual shoots, of a rather light olive shade, with very large grayish specks. It thrives well upon the quince, producing abundant crops. This is not the Ananas d'Eté of the Hort. Soc. Catalogue, but an entirely distinct variety, ripening later, and a much richer pear. It is well worthy a place in every select collection. Size, large, two and a half inches broad, and three inches long: Form, pyramidal, slightly angular, large at the crown, and regularly tapering to the stem: Skin, fair, smooth, thin, orange yellow when mature, little russeted on the shaded side, slightly tinged with red next the sun, little clouded with green, and covered with russet specks: Stem, rather short, about half an inch, stout, rough, brown, wrinkled, and fleshy where it adjoins the fruit, which is slightly on one side: Eye, small, closed, and rather deeply sunk in a narrow, angular basin; segments of the calyx narrow, long and pointed: Flesh, yellowish, rather coarse, melting, and very juicy: Flavor, rich, sprightly, vinous, and delicious, with a pleasant aroma : Core, small: Seeds, large, plump, pale brown. Ripe in October, and will keep some time. 76. BEZI DE LA MOTTE. Hort. Trans., Vol. V. p. 132. Bien Armudi, Beurré Blanc de Jersey, } Hort Soc. Cat., 3d. Ed. This old pear, which was first described by Quintinye, in 1685, upwards of a century and a half ago, and pronounced by him of such excellence as to be likely to take the place of the White Doyenné, is yet very little known. As late as 1830, when it was figured in the Pomological Magazine, it was quite new to English collections, and to the present day, with us, it has been confined principally to the gardens of amateur cultivators. It is, however, one of those pears which belong rather more to the orchardist than the amateur, as it is a hardy and vigorous tree, a regular and abundant bearer, |
