The Pears of New York. U. P. Hedrick
and Drink in flavor. They ripen in autumn and last almost until the sun enters Sagittarius. They are found at Wittemberg.
“Knaustbirn or Gelbe Honigbirn (Yellow Honey pear), that is, Bread Crust pear, have a broad base and are swollen and almost round, toward the stalk ending in a short, blunt, and rounded point; both in length and in breadth they sometimes exceed two inches and a half, but rarely; they are of yellow color, speckled generally around the bottom; they resemble the larger Honey in color and acidity; their pulp is rather hard but juicy, stony around the seed-receptacles. They have a flavor between that of the larger Honey and the Lion and that very pleasing. They ripen in autumn and sometimes last almost to the winter solstice. They are cultivated at Wittemberg and neighboring places.
“Klosterbirn, that is, Cloister pear, swell out with uneven belly and toward the stalk become conical; they reach three inches in length and not much less in breadth. They have a yellow color, speckled with green dots; their pulp is rather hard and somewhat stony; their taste mildly astringent and of slightly glutinous sweetness. They ripen with the Bread Crust pear and last as long. They are found in the country about Wittemberg.
“Glassbirn, that is, Glass pear, are round and slightly conical; in length they generally reach two and one-third inches, in breadth a little over two inches; their color is light green verging on yellow; their flesh is tender, juicy, astringent to the taste, sweet and winey; they ripen with the Rust a little before the beginning of autumn. There is an abundant crop of them at Eisleben and neighboring towns. They last until the sun enters Sagittarius.
“Kirchbirn, that is, Church pear, have an oblong oval shape but end in a cone rather than an oval. They reach two inches in length, in width somewhat exceed an inch and a half. Their color is on one side yellowish-green, on the other, where they have received the sun, reddish. Their pulp is hard, rather juicy, slightly sour to the taste, and very astringent. They ripen at the end of summer and last for a long time. Of these too there is an abundant crop at Eisleben.
“Quittenbirn, that is, Quince pear, like the Cloister pear, swell out with uneven belly, and toward the stalk end in a short point, like the conical Cotonea, but protuberant ones are also found, whence the name was given them. In breadth as well as length they exceed two inches and a third. They have a green color, a hard, juicy pulp, rather winey and astringent to the taste. They ripen at the beginning of autumn and last till the winter. They are found at Eisleben.
“Parissbirn, that is, Parisiana, are round at the lower end and taper to a point at the upper end. Their length is two and a half inches, their width not over two inches, or rarely more. Their color on one side is yellow, but on the other, where they have felt the sun, purple. Their pulp is juicy, their taste pleasantly astringent. They ripen with those before mentioned, lasting into the winter. There is an abundant crop of them in the country about Eisleben.
“Weybersterbenbirn, that is, Women’s Death pear, would be round, except that toward the stalk they end in a short, blunt point. They generally exceed two inches in breadth as well as in length. They have a yellow color, saffron towards the base, speckled with purple dots. Their pulp is hard and rather stony, with juice slightly sour to the taste and very astringent, like the Church pear, with which also they ripen. They last into the winter. They are cultivated in the country about Eisleben.
“Kölbirn, that is, Cabbage pear, are large, almost round, tapering to a cone, three inches in length and one-half to one-third of an inch less in breadth. They have a pale green color, one side slightly reddish and speckled with dots. Their pulp is rather hard, juicy, somewhat sour and very astringent to the taste, like the Women’s Death pear, with which also they ripen, and they last as long. They are cultivated at Eisleben.
“Hölpenerbirn, that is, Hollow pear, are large, big-bellied, uneven, and conical; in length they sometimes exceed two and a half inches, in width almost equal their length. Their color is green; they have a juicy pulp, winey in taste, slightly acid, and more astringent than the Brassicana. They ripen at the beginning of autumn, and last long into the winter. There is a large crop of them in the country about Eisleben.
“Safftbirn, that is, Sap pear, are like the Hollow pear but a little smaller and less uneven, of a greenish-yellow color; their pulp is solid and when cut sheds a copious juice, when chewed passes almost wholly into juice and very little dry substance remains; when the juice is swallowed, it is cool to the taste, somewhat acid, winey, and astringent. They ripen at the beginning of autumn and last for a long time. They are found at Wittemberg.
“Eierlingebirn, that is, Little-egg pear, have received their name from their oval shape; in shape and size they are midway between the Drink and the Egg pear; their color is yellow, speckled with reddish dots on a dark background. They have hard, juicy pulp, acid to the taste, winey, and astringent. They ripen at the beginning of autumn and last for a long time. They grow at Wittemberg.
“Kruselbirn, that is, Curling pear, in shape resemble a top which boys throw upon the ground wound up with a string to make it spin. In length they reach three inches, in width two and a half. Their color is pale green, speckled with many green dots or spots; their pulp is solid, juicy, very astringent to the taste, somewhat acid and pleasant. They last until the sun has passed Aquarius or Pisces. They abound in Meissen.
“Bratbirn gross, also called Fregelbirn, that is, pears for roasting, are about the largest of all, for sometimes they weigh a mina (about 15.2 ounces) and a half; they are of globular shape, sometimes conical, and frequently irregular; of a color midway between pale green and red, redder on one side. They have a pulp with pleasant juice, astringent, partaking somewhat of acid. They grow in Meissen, especially at Leisnig and Koldit.
“Grauchenbirn, that is, Gray pear, have received their name from their color, since they are ash-colored and at the same time greenish. They are small and of globular shape, measuring an inch in breadth as well as in length; in appearance are in no way different from some of the wild pears; in taste are soft, mild, sweet, with a pleasantly astringent quality; they last till after the winter solstice. They grow in the country about Meissen and Leipzig.
“Gelbrotebirn, that is, Yellow-red pear, have an oblong pyramidal shape, generally reaching a length of three inches, and a width of two inches. Their color on one side is yellow, on the other saffron and purple; their pulp is soft, astringent to the taste, pleasant, slightly acid, and watery. They ripen at the beginning of autumn, and last till the winter solstice. They grow at Hildesheim in Saxony.
“Grünlingebirn, that is, Green pear, are quite large, since sometimes they exceed three inches in length, two inches in breadth; they have an oblong pyramidal shape, a green color, a juicy pulp, sharply astringent to the taste. They ripen at the beginning of autumn, and last till after the solstice. There is a large crop of them at Hildesheim.
“Wasserbirn, that is, Water pear, rival Green pear in size, they have a shape big-bellied in the middle and taper to a point at both ends, sharper and more oblong toward the stem, but shorter and blunter near the base. Their color on one side is pale, speckled with dots, on the other reddish, pale on the edges. They have juicy pulp, watery and rather pleasant to the taste. They become ripe with the Green pear but do not last so long. They grow at Hildesheim.
“Kegelbirn, that is, Cone pear, have the shape of a pine cone, and from a rather broad base end in a point; their length is three inches, their width two; their color on one side green, on the other reddish. Their pulp is juicy, harsh to the taste. Their maturity falls at the beginning of autumn, from which time they may last till the winter solstice. They are produced at Hildesheim.”
THE PEAR IN ENGLAND
Much as America owes England for fruit, farm, and garden crops, she is but little indebted to her for pears. Varieties of pears have come to the New World almost wholly from Belgium and France, not more than three or four major sorts of English origin being among those now commonly grown in America. But even