There is convincing archeological evidence from the excavation of the ancient lake dwellers in Switzerland that the European pear, Pyrus communis L., was known by that civilization. It is believed that the pear was known by prehistoric man, but there is no agreement on whether the apple came first or the pear. The ancient pear tree of Europe was fundamentally different from the Asian pear tree, Prunus pyrifolia.English records show that in 1629 "stones of pears were sent by the Massachusetts Company to New England" colonists to plant and grow into trees at Plymouth, MA.On March 30, 1763 the famous American, George Mason, made an entry into his extensive orchard journal: "grafted 10 black pear of Worchester from Collo... these are a large course (coarse) fruit for baking" and old French pear variety.Fort Frederica at Saint Simons Island, Georgia, was established by the English colonists in 1733, at the same
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