POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP. 



277 



on p. 112 of his Magazine for 1S44. He 

 denies that there are two kinds of blossoms 

 to his seedling, and says, " the flowers are 

 all of one kind, with both pistils and sta- 

 mens, but the latter quite short, and hidden 

 under the receptacle" This is the common 



form of all the pistillate blossoms, and 

 shows, in so far as Mr. Hovey's observations 

 are to be trusted, that at its starting point 

 and home, Hovey's seedling was, as with 

 us it now invariably is, so far as we have 

 ever seen it, a pistillate plant. 



POMOLOGICAIi GOSSIP. 



Every body knows-— we mean every body 

 that knows the difference between pears 

 and pippins — that Boston is the focus or 

 centre of what may be called ihe pear-mania. 

 At the annual shows of the Horticultural So- 

 ciety there, between two and three hundred 

 varieties of this fruit are exhibited — a larger 

 number by one-half, than are ever seen at 

 the great shows of London, Paris, or Ghent. 



It is the ambition of every fruit-grower 

 in the circle of ten miles about Boston, to 

 possess all the newest pears. Every little 

 cottage garden has its Bartlett and its 

 Beurres ; and many amateurs annually 

 import from France, Belgium and England, 

 the last novelty of the nurserymen's cata- 

 logues, at prices where guineas count as fre- 

 quently as shillings. 



Boston has thus the credit of first intro- 

 ducing to this country many fine varieties of 

 fruit at a much earlier date than they would 

 otherwise have reached us. This prece- 

 dence which she holds over New- York and 

 other cities, is not owing to any superiority 

 of climate and soil ; for it is admitted that 

 she is not remarkably fortunate in these re- 

 spects ; but to the taste, wealth, enterprise, 

 and above all the rivalry, joined to the power 

 of union, which exists among her citizens. 

 In Boston, the intelligence and spirit of the 

 citizens, always act combinedly, and thus 

 effect much — witness her Horticultural 

 Society. In New- York they always act in- 

 dividually, and thus effect little — example 

 the " Farmer's Club !" 



Now that such a vast collection of pears 

 has been accumulated in the country, we 

 naturally look to the Boston cultivators, as 

 having most thoroughly and repeatedly 

 tested them, for some results. Every year 

 the tables at the Horticultural Hall groan 

 under vast contributions of pears ; but the 

 thousands of uninitiated visitors are, besides 

 what may be gained by feasting the eyes, 

 not much the wiser. What are the results 1 

 What are really the best sorts 1 



These are the questions which the plant- 

 ing community are now beginning eagerly 

 to ask ; and they are queries, which we 

 hope the Society in question is making pre- 

 paration to answer in its future great annual 

 shows, by labelling conspicuously, " first 

 QUALITY," all those varieties which the fruit 

 committee, composed as it should be of the 

 soundest pomologists in Massachusetts, shall 

 decide to be worthy of that distinction. 



In the mean time, it has occurred to us, 

 that a beginning might be made, towards 

 some general results in pomology, by opi- 

 nions gathered from various parts of the 

 country, and laid before the readers of this 

 journal. It is only by a large contribution 

 of facts and results, from practical men, that 

 we can ever hope to attain any thing like a 

 generalization of our knowledge on this 

 subject. 



Such thoughts as these passing through 

 our mind, when we made a brief visit to 

 Boston in September last, we had the curio- 

 sity to ask half a dozen of the most zealous 



