GARDENma GOSSIP. 



this sort is pendulous in its growth, and its shoots inclined to canker, I hoped to raise 

 a better grower, with fruit at least equal to its parent. The seedlings bore fruit large, 

 yellow, and I think the handsomest Pears I ever saw. Instead, however, of keeping 

 till the end of December, and being buttery and delicious (for in England this is a 

 very fine Pear), they ripened in October, and were so execrable in flavor as to be 

 entirely uneatable. Again, if seedlings are raised from the Geant des Batailles Rose 

 (and we all know how desirable a Rose of the size and form of La Heine would be 

 with the color of the Geant), the seedlings in almost all cases prove inferior to the 

 parent. Perhaps out of 1000 one or two, or three, may be found pretty good, or 

 indeed very good, but no improvement on the parent — no La Heine with the dazzling 

 scarlet of the Geant. The old dame. Nature, seems to step in and say, " Gentlemen, 

 I have allowed you to go far enough in this instance ; try your hand on something 

 else." Still, we ought to persevere ; for new Roses and new Pears will now and then 

 reward the grower. They are generally the offspring of chance, and amply repay him 

 for years of toil and trouble. But then, perseverance in gardening is not toil, and 

 disappointment is not trouble ; the latter is merely an incentive to " try again." 



The time is rapidly approaching when we shall expect more from our Pear trees 

 than we do at present ; we shall not be contented simply with a good Pear, but the 

 tree must be hardy, a free grower, and, above all, inclined to form a handsome pyra- 

 mid — an ornament to our gardens, as well as useful. We must not stop till this is 

 attained. At present, the grandest tree of all Pears for a pyramid is the Vicar oj 

 WinJcJield. It is really a superb ornament, either for the lawn or kitchen garden, 

 both in spring when in bloom, and in summer when covered with its magnificent- 

 looking fruit. I allude to it only on the Quince stock ; on the Pear stock I have 

 never seen it grown so vigorously, or with such uniformity. Here its fruit is only fit 

 for the kitchen, as it is vapid and deficient in flavor. The following varieties, all 

 first rate Pears, may also occupy places either on the lawn or the dressed kitchen 

 garden, as they all form very handsome pyramids : Louise Bonne de Jersey, Zephirin 

 Gregoire, Conseiller Ranwez, Alexandrine Lambre, Bai-onne de Mello, Beurre d' 

 Aremberg, Doyenne Robin, White Doyenne, Grey Doyenne, and Beurre Hardy. To 

 those who delight in cultivating handsome pyramids, these will give much pleasure. 



There is another way of cultivating Pear trees on Quince stocks in gardens — a sort 

 of rough, old-fashioned, careless method, just the sort of gardening that suits those 

 who have neither time nor inclination to pinch, and prune, and train pyramids — 

 and that is, to make them into bushes. This, although I have called it some ugly 

 names, is with many Pears, and more particularly such as bear very large fruit, a very 

 interesting mode of culture, particularly in gardens exposed to winds. To form these 

 bushes, you have only to cut off the top of a tree, to within three feet of the ground, 

 that has been formed into as much of the pyramidal shape as it will take — for such 

 sorts as Beurre Diet, Beurre d^ximalis, Doyenne Boussock, Beurre Giffart, Beurre 

 Langelier, Duckesse d' Orleans, Winter Nelis, Nouveau Foiteau, Triomphe de Jo- 

 doigne, and many other good Pears, do not take the pyramidal form naturally 

 they form fine bushes. All they require is to keep them from becoming cro 



