430 Reflections hy a Resident of the Hill Side. \_Septemher, 



For the Cincinnatus. 



"gtfhtthu Is ^ ''Stsiieut of th fill Sii^'* 



DWARF PEARS. 



Reader ! did you ever talk to a nurseryman who had a fine lot of 

 Dwarf Pears to dispose of; especially, at such time when there was a 

 fair prospect of making a sale to you ? If not, you have missed a rare 

 treat in the way of "piling on," what may be termed, a topological 

 agon?/. As we have been one of those fortunate individuals, it will 

 not, perhaps, seem out of the way that we give "our experieiice." It 

 was at a time, some years ago, when Dicarf Pears were ahead of every 

 thing else, in the fruit tree Hue, that we were approached most delicately 

 on the subject, and induced to make a purchase of some three hundred 

 trees. Our nursery friend told us of a Dwarf Pear tree, either growing 

 in Germany or France, that was one hundred years old ; and the pears 

 it had borne were outside of all bounds in recollection, or calculation 

 either! But our ideas were up, and no mistake; and it was at the 

 termination of one of these grand flourishes of our exuberent friend, 

 that we concluded to give him an order at once. 



The next thing was to engage the proper person to set them out, 

 and infuse into the young trees that luxuriant vitality at the beginning, 

 so thoroughly important, in order the enchantment should not flag ; 

 at least, for the first year on their pilgrimage of a new life. We had 

 heard many years ago of the Morus Multicaidis, and more recently of 

 the Dioscorea Batatis^ but these were visions that seemed to fade into 

 utter insignificance along side of the Dwarf Pear mania, ! But we 

 must be brief, or else our story will neither be read nor believed. 



The first year, then, only about one-sixth of our trees died outright! 

 Others looked "sort o' sick" and troubled with the yellows, or some 

 disease quite similar; whilst the balance showed any thing else but 

 uniformity. It was hard to tell, upon examination, whether they or 

 the owner looked the most '^ green.'' Some shot up their branches 

 with a desire to reach the vicinity of the Moon, whilst others run out 

 horizontally and longitudinally in every direction, making, altogether, 

 about as shaggy an appearance as could well be conceived. 



The second year no better. Third, ditto. What was to be done ? 

 At last, however, we made bold to suggest our troubles, not to a 

 "Philadelphia lawyer," but to a very eminent Philadelphia Horticul- 

 turist; and after making a most amiable reply to the various other 



