old hard green pears

We have an old farm that dates back to the early 1800's, that has one old pear tree that each year has 100's of pears. The pears are hard as rock unless wrapped in paper and put away for some time, even when you watch them very close, most will rot rather than rippen.

Two questions one what type of tree may this be and is there a better way of dealing with the rotting problem

thanks

 

I have never had a pear tree, but I have heard that with pears you have to pick them before they are ripe and allow them to ripen off the tree. I think what you have experienced is fairly normal.

 

You probably have an ancient variety with fruit meant for cooking.

 

Pears are different from apples in that they are normally ripened off the tree. Rotting pears might be a sign that they weren't picked early enough.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4435_harvest-store-pears.html

 

What probably throws people is that popular 'Bartlett' is a European pear that can be eaten from the tree. Asian pears are also eaten tree-ripened.

Otherwise, some pear trees seen around appear to be unselected seedlings perhaps close to original wild species. Some of these may have been planted originally as rootstocks, outlived the orchard varieties grafted onto them. If yours has quite small fruits it may not, in fact be very suitable for eating under any circumstances.

If large-fruited or seeming with certainty to be an orchard cultivar for other reasons then reviewing and changing your storage procedure would seem to be the answer.