Between Homer and Theophrastus nearly 600 years intervene, in all of which time traces of the pear are few and uncertain. But from Theophrastus, to whom botanists accord the title "Father of Botany," we know that orcharding had been making progress, and that the pear, among other fruits, must have been as well known and nearly as well cared for in his time, 370-286 B.C., as in this twentieth century. All the expedients we now know to assist nature to bring pears to perfection, save spraying and cross-pollination, were known to Theophrastus, although of course the evolution from the wild state as indicated by number and diversity of kinds had not progressed so far. Out of one of the books of Theophrastus, _Enquiry into Plants_, a very good treatise on the pear might be compiled and one better worth following than many of his more modern imitators. To quote Theophrastus at length is impossible, but space must be given to a summary of what he says about pears. Theophrastus distinguishes between wild and cultivated pears and says that the cultivated forms have received names. He speaks of the propagation of pears from seeds, roots, and cuttings and makes plain that plants grown from seed "lose the character of their kind and produce a degenerate kind." Grafting is described. The nature of the ground is said to regulate the distance for planting pears, and the lower slopes of hills are recommended as the best sites for pear orchards. Root-pruning, girdling the stems, and driving iron pegs in the trunk and other methods of "punishing" trees are said to hasten the bearing time. Even the necessity of cross-pollination is recognized though of course the reasons for it are not known. Thus, Theophrastus says: "Trees which are apt to shed their fruit before ripening it are almond, apple, pomegranate, pear, and, above all, fig and date-palm; and men try to find the suitable remedies for this. This is the reason for the process called 'caprification'; gall-insects come out of the wild figs which are hanging there, eat the tops of the cultivated figs, and so make them swell." The growth of the pear on various soils and in diverse situations is compared; he makes mention of a "peculiar, red and hairy worm" which infested the pear of these old Greek orchards. In Pontus, it is stated, "pears and apples are abundant in a great variety of forms and are excellent." "General diseases" are enumerated as "those of being worm-eaten, sun-scorched, and rot." Certain affections due to season and situation are mentioned, as freezing, scorching, and injury from winds.