It grows wild in Britain, and abundantly in France
and Germany. The Barland Pear, which was chiefly cultivated in the
seventeenth century, still retains its health and vigour, "the
identical trees in Herefordshire which then supplied excellent
liquor, continuing to do so in this, the nineteenth century."

This fruit caused the death of Drusus, a son of the Roman Emperor
Claudius, who caught in his mouth a Pear thrown into the air, and
by mischance attempted to swallow it, but the Pear was so
extremely hard that it stuck in his throat, and choked him.

Pears gathered from gardens near old monasteries were formerly
held in the highest repute for flavour, and it was noted that the trees
which bore them continued fruitful for a great number of years. The
secret cause seems to have been, not the holy water with which the
trees were formally christened, but the fact that the sagacious monks
had planted them upon a layer of stones so as to prevent the roots
from penetrating deep into the ground, and so as thus to ensure their
proper drainage.

The cellular tissue of which a Pear is composed differs from that of
the apple in containing minute stony concretions which make it, in
many varieties of the fruit, bite short and crisp; and its specific
gravity is therefore greater than that of the apple, so much so that by
taking a cube of each of equal size, that of the Pear will sink when
thrown into a vessel of water, while that of the apple will float. The
wood of the wild Pear is strong, and readily stained black, so as to
look like ebony. It is much employed by wood-engravers. Gerard
says "it serveth to be cut [421] up into many kinds of moulds; not
only such fruits as those seen in my Herbal are made of, but also
many sorts of pretty toies for coifes, breast plates, and such like;
used among our English gentlewomen."

The good old black Pear of Worcester is represented in the civic
arms, or rather in the second of the two shields belonging to the
faithful city; Argent, a fesse between three Pears, sable. The date of
this shield coincides with that of the visit of Queen Elizabeth to
Worcester.

Virgil names three kinds of Pears which he received as a present
from Cato:--

"Nec surculus idem,
Crustaneis, Syriisque pyris, gravibusque volemis."

The two first of these were Bergamots and Pounder Pears, whilst the
last-named was called _a volemus_, because large enough to fill the
hollow of the hand, (_vola_).