t will keepe them long, but they will be dry and withered, and
will loose their best rellish.

{SN: Of Wardens.}
Now for the gathering, keeping, ordering, and preseruing of Wardens,
they are in all sorts and in all respects to be vsed as you doe vse your
Peares, onely you are to consider that they are a fruit of a much
stronger constitution, haue a much thicker skinne, and will endure much
harder season: neither ought you to seeke to ripen them in hast, or
before the ordinary time of their owne nature, and therefore to them you
shall vse neither straw, ferne, nor hay, but onely dry boards to lay
them vpon, and no otherwise.

{SN: Of Medlars and Seruices.}
For your Medlars, you shall gather them about the midst of October,
after such time as the frost hath nipt and bitten them, for before they
will not be ready, or loosen from the stalke, and then they will be
nothing ripe, but as hard as stones, for they neuer ripen vpon the tree,
therefore as soone as you haue gathered them, you shall packe them into
some close vessell, and couer them all ouer, and round about, with
thicke woollen cloathes, and about the cloathes good store of hay, and
some other waight of boards, or such like vpon them, all which must
bring them into an extreame heate, without which they will neuer ripen
kindely, because their ripenesse is indeed perfect rottennesse: and
after they haue layne thus, at least a fornight, you shall then looke
vpon them, and turning them ouer, such as you finde ripe you shall take
away, the rest you shall let remaine still, for they will not ripen all
at once, and those which are halfe ripe you shall also remoue into a
third place, least if you should keepe them together, they should
beginne to grow mouldy before the other were ready; and in the selfe
same manner as you vse your Medlars, so you shall vse your Seruices, and
they will ripen most kindely: or if you please to sticke them betwixt
large clouen stickes, and to sprinckle a little olde beare vpon them,
and so set them in a close roome, they will ripen as kindely as any
other way whatsoeuer.

{SN: Of Quinces.}
Now for Quinces, they are a fruit which by no meanes you may place neare
any other kinde of fruit, because their sent is so strong and peircing,
that it will enter into any fruit, and cleane take way his naturall
rellish: the time of their gathering is euer in October, and the meetest
place to lay them in is where they may haue most ayre, so they may lye