27S 



POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP. 



and cxpeiienced growers of the pear in that I opinion as to the three varieties coincides 



iieitjlilmrhoud, to commence the compen- 

 dium of results, by answering the simple 

 (juestion " u'hich do you coiisider the three 

 best pears — early, middle, and late — suppos- 

 ing yourself confined to three trees ?" 



We passed our first night under the hos- 

 pitable roof of the President of the Society, 

 at Haivthoni Grove. Col. Wilder remarked 

 that the question was dilHcult to answer, be- 

 cause it was so simple. He and many others 

 have been, for years past, collecting and pro- 

 ving hundreds of sorts from all countries, and 

 they had been so busily employed in testing, 

 that little had yet been done in forming a 

 summary of their experience. He frankly 

 coincided with us in the opinion, that among 

 the hundreds of sorts, with high sounding 

 names, received from abroad, the really 

 good ones could easily be counted by 

 tens. 



Col, Wilder has fruited this season over 

 two hundred varieties of pears in his expe- 

 rimental grounds. He answered our ques- 

 tion by naming the Bartlett, Vicar of Wink- 

 field, and Beitrre d'' jJr ember g. 



On our expressing our surprise, that he 

 should include the Vicar of Winhjield among 

 so small a collection as three trees, he re- 

 marked that his high opinion of this varie- 

 ty was based upon a thorough trial of its 

 good qualities, which were these — regular 

 and great productiveness, never blowing off 

 the tree, large, fair, unblemished fruit, and 

 its remaining a long time in use. "True," 

 he added, " the fruit is only second rate, 

 but while it is of fair quality for the table, 

 it is excellent for a long time for cooking." 

 Altogether he considered it a fruit not to 

 be dispensed with, in even so small a selec- 

 tion. 



Mr. Walker, the worthy chairman of the 

 Society's committee on fruits, we unfortu- 

 nately did not see, but we learn that his 



with Col. Wildf.r's. 



Our next visit was to Mr. Otis Johnson, 

 at Lynn. We can scarcely convey to our 

 readers our sensations of delight, at the ex- 

 traordinary perfection of this gentleman's 

 fruit-garden. He is one of the most zea- 

 lous and untiring amateurs, and we have, 

 nowhere in America, seen a garden devoted 

 mainly, as this is, to fruit trees, in higher or- 

 der, and the trees themselves more perfectly 

 managed. The pears are mostly dwarfs, 

 many of them being trained in pyramid or in 

 qucTtouiUe form, and all in the most healthy 

 and satisfactory condition. We quickly saw 

 that the knowledge of sound principles of 

 culture here evinced, would produce results 

 highly satisfactory in almost any soil or cli- 

 mate, however unfavorable naturally. 



Mr. Johnson's answer to our question was, 

 " Jiartlcft, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Beurre 

 d^ Are7?iberg." " The Louise Bonne de Jer- 

 sey,'''' he said, " is the most productive upon 

 young trees of any pear I cultivate ; and I 

 think if I could have but three, I would be 

 forced to include it ; yet I may alter my opi- 

 nion when the trees become older." 



The persons we were next most desirous 

 of questioning for results, were the cultiva- 

 tors at Salem, one of the surroundings of 

 Boston most famous for its horticultural 

 success. 



At the Pomological Garden, the quiet 

 and unpretending homestead of our late 

 friend, that excellent pomologist Robert 

 Manning, we found every thing in excellent 

 order, under the care of his sons. The 

 elder son, Mr. K. Manning, after some gar- 

 dening chat, desired us to look among the 

 numerous specimen trees in bearing, which 

 we did with satisfaction. His answer to our 

 inquiry was the following, '■'■Bartlett, Bnir- 

 re Bosc, and Winter Nelis.'" Beurre Bosc, 

 Mr. Manning could not but consider, on the 



