588 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



eriCTravinos. Tlieir accordance with nature, and i 

 their faithful colouring, awaken many a vision of 

 earl}' summer, with its bud, and bloom, and fresh 

 vejTetation ; of summer evening winds, and the lus- 

 cious flavor of eherrii's, plums nnd jieaches, whose 

 fair proportions and rich colours are here presented 

 so temptingl}'; of 



'• Our clear and pleasant autumn time," 



which brin<rs its share of palatial delicacies, in the 

 shape of rich and spicy pears and apples, whose 

 beauty might well rival those ol Hcsperides. 



And, with our thoughts of these fruits, and their 

 seasons, are mingled recollections of so much quiet 

 enjoyment, in watching the progressive advance of 

 vegetation, and the change of fruit from day to 

 day, until it reaches perfection of growth and ripe- 

 ness, that we readily express our obligations to the 

 author for these engravings, and only wish there 

 were more of them. 



We very much doubt whether, in any country, 

 the culture of fruit is pursued with as much ardor, 

 or critical discernment of its distinctive qualities, as 

 in this country. 



In the vicinity of Boston, there seems almost a 

 pear-mania; which, fostered by the Horticultural 

 Society, is establishing in this country the culture 

 of many excellent varieties of that line fruit. The 

 pomolosrieal knowledge of some of the members of 

 that society is here of pr.ictical benefit ; and Cu- 

 viER, in the Parisian Halls of Comparative Anato- 

 my, scarcely described with more enthusiasm the 

 structure and habits of the subject before him, than 

 our friend, the secretary, comments in the society's 

 committee-room upon the delicacy and flavor of a 

 favorite pear. In Circinnati the mania, if it may 

 be so called, has centered upon the strawberry; 

 and the various discussions upon its characteristics 

 bid fair to equal a dispute concerning the difference 

 between ille dixit and dixit ille. Amid this gene- 

 i-al interest in fruits, these engravings will, doubt- 

 less, be welcomed and valued by all amateurs. 

 They number more than seventy, and include many 

 of the most esteemed and choicest varieties. The 

 Early Harvest is an excellent representation of one 

 of our finest early apples. The Gravenstein is 

 finely touched ; and the little Lady Jlpple has all 

 the beauty which has long made it a favorite orna- 

 ment for the table. The Baldwiii we thought ra- 

 ther too red ; but the Yellow Bellfiower is exceed- 

 ingly true to nature. Our favorite Esopus Spitzen- 

 berg is also there ; but we miss the world celebrat- 

 ed Newtown Pippin — the very best of our Long- 

 Island fruits. The Moorpark Apricot is well done, 

 and is deservedly praised. 



Among the cherries, we noticed a good portrait 

 of the Black Tartarian, and that fine sub-acid 

 cherry — Carnation. American Amber, the child of 

 this town, is well coloured, but we think is rather 

 smaller than that fruit. This is, however, a safe 

 fault, and evinces an absence of any desire to exag- 

 gerate. 



Among the plums, Jefferson is really beautiful ; 

 and our fine native plums — Columbia and Law- 

 rence's Favorite are veiy correct. Coe^s Golden 

 Drop and Smith's Orleans are also well portrayed. 

 Among the pears, we may especially notice the 



high flavored Seckel, Bix, and a life-like represen- 

 tation of Bartlett. Buffum is very good ; and 

 Fret'k of Wurtemberg is very true to life — stand- 

 ing out very boldl}- from the paper. 



Beurre d'Aremberg and Flemish Beauty are su- 

 perbly executed ; and their russet spots and dashes 

 are touched with a high degree of artistic skill. 

 The author's locality must have changed the colour 

 of the Bloodgood ; for his representation is quite 

 green. Here, in its native soil, it has a decided 

 russet. [No ; the error in colour is one of the ar- 

 tist's, and is, we believe, found on]}' in a few copies. 

 The original drawing was a fine russet yellow. Ed.] 



Among the peaches, the Royal George is colour- 

 ed with much skill ; and we should like to see more 

 engravings of this finest class of our American fruits. 



We can, perhaps, more readily appreciate the 

 excellence of these engravings, from some experi- 

 ence of our own, of the great difficulty of obtaining 

 good artists to colour them, either here or abroad. 

 To be executed well, they should be coloured en- 

 tirely by hand ; and are constantly liable to incor- 

 rectness, unless under the actual supervision of a 

 competent judge of fruits, 'i'he drawings are very 

 good ; and the arrangement of light and shadow 

 impart to them quite a tasteful appearance. We 

 think these engravings will tend to increase horti- 

 cultural taste; and we truly hope their success may 

 be such as to induce the author to give the public 

 another series, to contain other highly esteemed 

 varieties. S.JB. Parsons. Flushing, L. I., Jan., 

 1S48. 



Nevebfail, or Rawl's Jannet Apple. — Mr. 

 Downing — I see, in your December number, a set 

 of '' Rules for American Pomology;" said to be 

 adopted by the leading horticultural societies of the 

 country. If tliese rules are to govern us in naming 

 fruit, neither our Kentucky friends, nor mj'self, can 

 be gratified with regard to our favorite names for 

 the apple which stands at the head of this article. 

 For one of these rules says : — '' When two persons 

 have named, or described a new variety of fruit, 

 then the name and description first publislied, if 

 according to the rules herein indicated, shall have 

 the priority." Now, Mr. Andrew Hampton, an old 

 nurseryman, near Richmond, la., has described, in 

 the " Western Farmer and Gardener," published at 

 Cincinnati, O., forty-one varieties of apples, which 

 he had cultivated. In the 1st number of vol. iii., p. 

 14, published Nov., 1841. he has the following de- 

 scription of the apple under consideration : 



''39. Neverfail. — Midling size; form round, 

 somewhat long, lessening towards the crown ; co- 

 lour red and yellow striped ; the flesh is tender, 

 juicy and well flavored. It keeps equal with the 

 Newtown Pippin or Winesap. They are near two 

 weeks behind roramon apple trees, in the spring, 

 putting out leaves and blossoms ; not considered 

 among the best bearers ; but sometimes, when all 

 other apples have been killed by the early frosts, 

 this has been well loaded with fruit." 



As we conceive this description to be in accord- 

 ance with the rules above referred to, and as it was 

 published some six years in advance of any other, 

 in a horticultural paper of the largest circulation in 

 the west, Nevekfail is henceforth to be the name 



