TIIK PEAR I\ FRA^■CK. 



Constanlindple, the fii\est in the world. Bat there is one point in which our New- York 

 ba}- is incomparably more valuable in a mercantile point of view, which is this, that the 

 bay at Havre forms the segment of a semicircle, perfectly open to the sea and exposed to 

 a heavy swell, which, during six or eight months of the j'car, renders it unsafe for mer- 

 chantmen to ride at anchor outside the harbor. Havre is a fortified town surrounded by 

 a moat — into which the tide Hows : it is commanded by high land in the rear, which forms 

 almost an ampitheatre, rising by rather a steep ascent fiom the back of the town. This 

 constitutes a ver}'^ considerable suburb to tlie place, being covered with streets of houses, 

 intersected by villa residences dispersed over the hill side, and forming a convenient outlet 

 to the mass of meicantile inhabilants congj'egated in this, the French maiket f(jr our cot- 

 ton. There is, moi-eover, a considerali'e space extending over a Hat strip of ground, va- 

 rj'ing in bi'eadth fi'om fifty jards in some places, to a quarter of a mile in others, between 

 the town itself and the " cote," as the hill side to whicli I have alluded, is called — and this 

 flat is covered by a mass of small dwellings, principally inhabited by storekeepers, artisans 

 and working people, to which small peices of garden, or moie properly speaking, j'ards, are 

 attached. Tlie}- aie of very limited extent; but to these it is that I wish to direct atten- 

 tion. The size of them varies considerably, but a large portion of them are not more than 

 from fifteen to twenty feet square. Yet in these little places, subject though they be, to all 

 the uses of a jjoor and need}' class of a people, such as are scarcely to be found in this 

 country, thcT-e is to be seen some five or six, or more pear trees, varying in number ac- 

 cording to the size of the ground, covered with fruit — alwaj's of fair growth, and fre- 

 quently as fine as can be found anywhere. Often have T stopped to admire the appearance 

 of the trees and the abundance of the cro[), and sometimes to gossip with the old ladies, 

 who are generally to be found outside the door, pui-suing some of their manifold domestic 

 operations — the great majority of which they delight to perform in the open aii! They 

 are all, apparently, pear " fanciers," and are much pleased by the approving smile of the 

 traveller, particularly if happens to be a foreigner. And they are very communicative 

 upon the subject, answering readily any inquiry that may be addressed to them, and en- 

 lai-ging with great volubility upon the character of the fruit, the wonderful crops that 

 particular 3'ears have produced, and last, not least, upon the " politesse" of " Monsieur" 

 who has had the "complaisance" to make the inquiry! These trees are almost invari- 

 abl}' grown as standards, from six feet to ten in height, and pj'ramidal in shape — well 

 furnished with branches from the ground to the top, and forming, as they do, a constant 

 feature in all gardens, from these cottage plots, to the extensive grounds of the rich, where 

 the}' are seen to convert the straight walks into perfect avenues of pomona, it is hardly 

 po-ssible to walk five minutes, without being reminded of your presence in the land of 

 pears. 



Another thing connected with this subject, which I particulail}' remarked, was that 

 you never see an inferior variety grown there. Many, indeed most of the sorts, were old 

 favorites, but most of them deservedly' so. One of the Doyenne varieties was of very ge- 

 neral culture, and becomes to those whose circumstances oblige them to sell their fruit, a 

 source of considerable profit. Very large quantities of these pears are bought up every 

 year, for exportation to St. Petersburgh, where they fetch a high price, and the demand 

 for this market is so regular, that they are always expensive, as compared with most oth- 

 er kinds in the Havre market. 



I had several conversations, both with nurserymen and others, upon the modes of cul 

 adopted, and found it was of the simplest character. During the first three 

 the grafting of the stock, they annually lift the plants, which they consider essenti 



