The chief import of these brief records of the origin and history of cultivated pears in several countries is to show the evolution of this fruit. It is hoped that the chapter will furnish inspiration for further amelioration of the pear, and that it contains facts that will be helpful in the future development of this fruit. The men, times, and places have historical and narrative interest to pomologists; but these are quite secondary to the knowledge of what the raw material was from which our pear flora has been fashioned, and the methods of domestication that were employed. This chapter is only a sketch--the briefest possible outline of how the leading types of pears came to be, and how and when they came to America. CHAPTER II SPECIES OF PEARS AND THEIR CHARACTERS The pear belongs to the great order Rosaceae, the Rose Family. There are about ninety genera in this family, the most important of all botanical groups to growers of hardy fruits, of which ten or twelve bear pome-fruits. Of the genera whose fruits are pomes, only two contain important hardy fruits, namely, Pyrus, to which belong apples, crab-apples, and pears; and Cydonia, the quince. Three other genera are of lesser importance, but must be named to show their relationship to the pear. These are Mespilus, the medlar, grown in Europe but little known in America; Chænomeles, the Japanese quince, well known as an ornamental, the fruits of which are used for conserves; and Amelanchier, the Juneberry, a common fruit in American forests. One other genus in this family has possibilities for domestication but is not yet cultivated for its fruits in America. This is Cratægus, comprising the hawthorns and thorn-apples, the fruits of which are edible and several species of which are cultivated in various parts of the world as food plants. Nearly every botanist who has attempted to classify plants has grouped the pome-fruits according to a plan of his own. There are, therefore, several classifications of genera and species of the pomes, in consequence of which the nomenclature is badly confused. A century ago the tendency was for botanists to put in the genus Pyrus the apple, pear, crab-apple, quince, medlar, sorbus, and chokeberry. The modern tendency is to segregate these fruits in distinct genera in accordance with common names. As a rule the differences which suggest a distinct common name suffice for a botanical division. The pear and apple, however, are usually kept together in Pyrus, and botanists generally agree that separation in species is sufficient, or, at most, that the separation should not be greater than in two sections of the genus. Happily, the difficulties of classification in botany trouble little or not at all in pomology, as each of the pome-fruits constitutes a distinct pomological group. The distinguishing characters of Pyrus are: