By the way im not sure at all the jesuit pear aka mission pear is one pear at all. My suspicion is originally they were seedlings much like i grew seedling apples and bad types were grafted to the better types. Mission figs are now considered one type of fig but how many catholic missions grew much fruit? There may be one type of fruit still well known but that is not all the types they grew. The jesuits were no doubt like me fruit experimenters and certainly did plant seeds. You might laugh but the catholic priests in my area frequently still do grow experimental fruits. Nearby my area they grow many types of small plums like ive not seen and cannot easily identify. Find it hard to believe ? Consider that anyone with time and money and love of fruits or vegetables or grains who wants to make the world a better a place eventually strives to cultivate fruits and experiment for the good of everyone and not just themself. Think about Thomas Jefferson and his eleborate orchard. This link contains many individuals like this Question the History of a pear or know some history? Post it here!. One thing well known about pears is they can easily live hundreds of years Napoleon’s army planted pear trees fact or fiction?. The pears of old were not always high quality but some were and the others kept people alive. As a child my mother told me of the jesuits. She was a teacher, worked at a library, daughter of a farmer etc. And she grew up and observed all farmers in her area such as my grandpa grew their own types of fruit they used for their own table fruits on their small empires. The jesuit priests there is no doubt in my mind were doing what people do which is manipulating our environment to better serve humanities needs.
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