^(^^^^: 



ljj4 DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



of Fohruarr, 28° to 24° below zero, and the ice in the rivor 18 inches thick; snow in the 

 central and northern part of the State averaged over two feet in depth. 



Lemons. — It is strange, says the Texas Gazette, that no one has entered into the produc- 

 tion of this fruit upon the coast of Texas as a regular business. Tlie production of lemons 

 alone would be a profitable employment. There is no danger of glutting the market, how- 

 ever large the product may prove. Last year there were imported into Boston, from the 

 Mediterranean alone, 4(j,000 boxes of lemons and 47,000 boxes of oranges. These are but 

 insignificant items in the total imports of the United States during that time. Upwards of 

 thirty dollars worth of lemons have been sold in a single season from a young tree in Gal- 

 veston. No trouble but that of planting is requisite. 



DtJCHESS d'Angodleme and Sheldon Pears. — The annexed is the outline of a Duchess 

 d'Angouleme Pear (Fig. 1) that grew last season in the garden of Thomas R. Thompson, in 

 Elizabethtown, New Jersey, on a standard tree taken from the nursery of Mr. William Keid. 

 It was forwarded to lis anonymously, and we consequently felt some doubt about the enor- 

 mous proportions ; but, on application to Mr. Reid, the well-known nurseryman there, we 

 received the following note : — 



EnzABETnTOWN, N. J., Nov. 28, 1855. 



J. Jay Smith, Esq. — Dear Sir: Tlie specimen of Duchess d'Angouleme Pear which you 

 refer to, the outlines sent you by Chas. Davis, Junr., of this place, grown by Thos. R. Thomp- 

 son, of Elizabethtown, is correctly described. The measurement was 15 inches longitudinal 

 circumference, by 13^ inches, as represented. This Pear was brought to my place by the 

 grower, to look at before being eaten. I had heard of this Pear before I saw this specimen, but 

 having so many fine specimens, I took no notice of it until I saw it ; I at once thought the size 

 exceeded anything I had ever seen, even putting me, as you observe, in mind of a monstrous 

 specimen I saw at some exhibition, made out of wax. It was very solid and heavy, and, to 

 all appearance, juicy and perfectly melting ; the weight is correct, having been weighed by 

 several scales in town, viz : 1 lb. 12 ozs. 



Yours, &c., Wm. Reid. 



Fig. 2, Sheldon Pear. — The Duchess is so large, that we have availed ourselves of the 

 space to figure again that growing favorite^^ the Sheldon, of which Dr. Brinckle has kindly 

 favored us with a better description than has yet appeared. 



Synonyms. — Bland, Huron, Wayne, Wisner. Size, large, two and three-fourths to three 

 inches long by three to three and one-fourth broad ; sometimes weighing sixteen ounces. 

 Form, usually roundish, obovate, sometimes obovate, inclining to pyriform, occasionally 

 truncate. Skin, green russet, becoming yellow russet, sometimes only faintly russeted, and 

 very rarely with a brownish-red cheek. Stem, variable in size, usually five-eighths of an 

 inch long by three-sixteenths thick, often one-half by one-fifth, occasionally one by one- 

 eighth, inserted sometimes obliquely, in a narrow, superficial, and, occasionally, rather deep 

 cavity. Calyx, small, segments deeply cut, usually open, sometimes closed, often partially 

 reflexed, set in a basin rather variable, usually superficial and narrow, sometimes wider and 

 deeper. Core, medium. Seed, small, brown, fi^ve-sixteenths of an inch long, nearly three- 

 sixteenths wide, and one-eighth thick. Flesh, yellowish white, buttery, melting, abounding 

 in juice, texture granular, with some grittiness about the core, extending to the stem and 

 calyx. Flavor, rich, perfumed, and somewhat vinous. Quality, "very good." Maturity, 

 October. Wood — young shoots, yellowish brown ; old wood, grayish brown. Growth, upright. 



History, &c.— The Sheldon Pear is a native of Wayne County, New York. The original 

 tree stands in the town of Hunn, on the premises of Major Sheldon, and sprang from 



