PREFACE 



Quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid utile quid nons." 



Horace, Lib. I., Ep. II., 3. 



A century has nearly elapsed since any systematic British work 

 has been published on the Apple and Pear, as Vintage Fruits, 

 their varieties, cultivation and management. Marshall first published 

 his work on "Rural Economy" in 1789, and Thomas Andrew 

 Knight's treatise on " The Culture of the Apple and Pear " appeared 

 in 1797. Mr. Knight's last work, the "Pomona Herefordensis," 

 was published in 181 1, and in this soine thirty varieties of Fruit are 

 so beautifully represented, that it will ever retain its interest. Mr. 

 Knight may be said to have been the first to point out, that the real 

 value of Cider Apples and Perry Pears must be sought in the 

 richness of their juices, as shown by their density or specific gravity ; 

 but his studies, in this direction, ended here. The stirring events 

 of the time absorbed all interest, and the profits of agriculture from 

 the growth of cereals, and the production of cattle, threw the 

 Orchards into a state of neglect, from which they have yet to 

 recover. In these days the changes of commerce have again 

 brought Apple culture into consideration, and it has become a 

 matter of importance to attend more carefully to the Orchards, and 

 to bring Science to the aid of individual effort as derived from 

 practical experience. 



