PEAR, a fruit-bearing tree (Pyres communis) belonging to the rose family and very closely allied to the apple (q.v.), culti vated since ancient time for its juicy pome fruit. The pear differs from the apple in its more erect manner of growth, smooth, shin ing, very finely-toothed leaves, pure white (rarely pink) flowers, the granular flesh of the ripe fruit, and also in the shape of the fruit, which tapers toward the inner end and has no depression around the stem. In both the pear and the apple the edible part of the fruit is formed from the greatly enlarged end of the flower ing stem. This encloses within its flesh the five somewhat horny seed-containing vessels (carpels) constituting the "core," which is really the true fruit.
The main distinction is the presence 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. Culti vated pears, whose number is enormous, are without doubt de rived from one or two wild species widely distributed throughout Europe and western Asia.
The cultivation of the pear extends to the remotest antiquity. Traces of it have been found in the Swiss lake-dwellings; it is mentioned in the oldest Greek writings, and was cultivated by the Romans. The word "pear" or its equivalent occurs in all the Celtic languages, while in Slavonic and other dialects different appellations, but still referring to the same thing, are found—a diversity and multiplicity of nomenclature which led Alphonse de Candolle to infer a very ancient cultivation of the tree from the shores of the Caspian to those of the Atlantic.
should be fertilized with a view to combine, in the seedlings which result from the union, the desirable qualities of the parents. The dwarf and pyramid trees, more usually planted in gardens, are obtained by grafting on the quince stock, the Portugal quince being the best.
In selecting young pear trees for walls or espaliers, some prefer plants one year old from the graft, but trees two or three years trained are equally good. The trees should be planted im mediately before or after the fall of the leaf. The wall trees re quire to be planted from 25 to 3o ft. apart when on free stocks, and from 15 to 20 ft. when dwarfed. Where the trees are trained as pyramids or columns they may stand 8 or io ft. apart, but standards in orchards should be allowed at least 3o ft., and dwarf bush trees half that distance.
In the formation of the trees the same plan may be adopted as in the apple. For the pear orchard a warm situation is very desirable, with a soil deep, substantial, and thoroughly drained. It is useless attempting to grow pears in low-lying districts sub ject to spring frosts: although the trees will thrive and flower, frosts often cause such havoc in these districts that a crop of fruit is rarely produced. Any good free loam is suitable, but a calcareous loam is the best. Pear trees worked on the quince should have the stock covered up to its junction with the graft. This is effected by raising up a small mound of rich compost around it, a contrivance which induces the graft to emit roots into the surface soil, and also keeps the stock from becoming hard or bark-bound. The fruit of the pear is produced on spurs, which appear on shoots more than one year old. The mode most com monly adopted of training wall pear trees is the horizontal. For the slender twiggy sorts the fan form is to be preferred, while for strong growers the half-fan or the horizontal is more suitable.