Januaiy 4, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUEK AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



kinds for the guidance of amateurs, to wliom a long list is 

 often puzzling and of very little service. — Edwakd Luckhukst. 



OLD PEABS WITH NEW NAMES. 

 '' In your last number I was pleased to see au article from 

 *' T. R." on " Old Pears and New Names," and that he has 

 been able to fix the name of the Glastonbury Pear, which I 

 hope will be retained, if it is sent out by the trade, as I beUeve 

 it is stm mentioned in the French catalogues. In this neigh- 

 bourhood it is first-class in every respect, both from pyramids 

 and the wall, and where it succeeds should be extensively 

 planted, as out of many varieties it is the best that I have 

 grown. I have no doubt the Pear sent out the last two years 

 by Mr. Sampson, of the Yeovil Nurseries, under the name of 

 the Benedictine, stated to be a seedling and raised at Glaston- 

 bury, is the long-forgotten Esperione. To prove the correct- 

 ness of " T. B.'s" remark, "the great change brought on 

 some Pears by the soft mild cUmate of the west of England," 

 and the necessity of trying many sorts before you plant many 

 trees of one kind, I wiU state that with me Louise Bonne of 

 Jersey, which appears to be a great favourite, is almost worth- 

 less, and does not even deserve that limited space which Mr. 

 Bivers, iu his " Miniature Fruit Garden," recommends. — I. A. P. 



EsPEKiNE, of Van Mons (Esperione, Rivers ? Grosse Louise 

 •dii, Nord, Decaisne). First to second size. First quaUty. Ripe 

 November 6th, 1870, at Merriott, Somerset. ' Form obtuse 

 pj-riform, drawn-in near the top, much bossed, irregular iu 

 outline, and knobbed at the summit. Stalk strong, about an 

 inch long, somewhat curved, and set a Uttle obliquely, some- 

 times suuk or mserted level with the surface. Eye large and 

 lialf closed, set in a wide and rather shallow basin. Skin very 

 thin, greyish yellow, covered with small greenish dots, and 

 spotted and netted with cinnamon-coloured russet, which 

 becomes on the sunny side of a pale rose tint. Flesh wliito, 

 rather fine, and somewhat melting. Juice very abundant, 

 refreshing, sugary and vinous, with a nice deUcate perfume. 



The above description was made from fruit produced here iu 

 1870, and the following description was made from fruit pre- 

 sented to me by Mr. Sampson, of Houudstone, near Yeovil, in 

 November, 1871 , and No. 2 is a sectional figure of one of the fruits. 



Benedictine, Sampson {Doctor, of the Glastonbury gardens). 

 First size. First quality. November. Pyriform, rather re- 

 gular but somewhat one-sided, even and smooth on the sur- 

 face. Skin very thin, yellow, suffused or nearly covered with 

 Ijright cinnamon-coloured russet, which is brightest on the 

 sunny side, pitted with brownish dots, and strewn with brownish 

 specks in the shade. Stalk about 1 inch long, set in a narrow 

 knobbed cavity by the side of a fleshy lip. Eye half closed, 

 and set in an uneven, knobbed, and rather deep basin. Flesh 

 white, fine, excessively melting, and somewhat gritty at the 

 core. Juice very abundant, acidulated and aromatic, with a 

 nice slight astringency and piquant flavour. A beautiful and 

 delicious fruit, with somewhat of the appearance of Marie 

 Louise, and much of the flavour and quahty of that sort. 



As above, I have given a true and faithful description of the 

 fruit sent to me under the name of the Benedictine by Mr. 

 Sampson who said that he obtained his grafts from a Mr. 

 Lovel, of Glastonbury, and that the original tree grows in a 

 garden, which had at some time belonged to the religious order 

 caUed Benedictines. How old the tree is I have not been able 

 to ascertain ; its age would help to determine whether or not 

 it is or could be referred to the Esperiue, which was raised by 

 Van Mons between the year 1820 and 1830, and was dedicated 

 by him to Major Esperen. The fruit was figured by Bivort, 

 in his " Album de Pomologie," in 18-19, and later by M. De- 

 •caisne, of Paris, inliis beautiful work the " Jardin Fruitier," in 

 1865. M. Jules Liron d'Airoles iu his " Notice Pomologique," 

 both figures and describes it. Neither M. Bivort's, M. De- 

 caisne's, nor M. Liron d'Airoles' figures or descriptions agree 

 with those of the Benedictine as made by me, nor do the fruit 

 presented to me by Mr. Sampson under that name resemble 

 the fruit of the Esperiue produced here in 1870, and of which 

 I had about half a bushel, so that I had a fair view of the 

 sort, and I made my figure from a medium-sized one. Mr. 

 Rivers, at page 503, thinks the Glastonbury Pear the same 

 }is the " Esperione." I suppose he means the Esporme? as 

 I do not know a Pear caUed Esperione, nor can I find the 

 name in any book or catalogue, not even in Mr. Rivers's own 

 catalogues from 1843 to 1871, although it may be in them and 

 has escaped my notice. I, therefore, from what Mr. Rivers lias 



written, and from what I know of the two Pears, must with- 

 hold my decision until both sorts begin to show their leaves, a 

 thing that wUl very soon decide whether the two sorts are the 

 same or not. 



As to the Brockworth Park, I have compared its wood 

 and leaves with many sorts, but have as yet been unable to 

 identify it, neither do I know another Pear like it iu form 

 and size, although the fruits I saw exhibited at the Inter- 

 national Fruit Show in October were, no doubt, produced 

 under advantageous circumstances. I doubted the Pear being 

 a new one at the time it was sent out, and expressed myself 

 so ; yet I have not yet been able to identify it with any other. 

 I bought it when it was offered for sale, and have multiplied it 

 considerably ; and I may state, as it takes well upon the 

 Quince, a few years will sufiice to show whether I and others 

 have paid our guineas for something that is something else. 

 — John Scott. 



P.S. — The Brockworth Park was certainly amongst the finest 

 if not the finest, of the specimens of Pears shown on October 

 4th. As most of our own pomologists and some of the best 

 continental ones were at the Show, it is surprising that none 

 of them recognised the Brockworth under its proper name, if 

 it has another. The basket and splendid Pears were con- 

 spicuous enough. 



[There is clearly some confusion or misapprehension iu 

 regard to the Pear referred to in the above communications 

 and the " Esperiue." On the 16th of November, 1865, we 

 received from Mr. Porch, of Edgarley, a very handsome Pear 

 with a communication, from which the following is an extract : 

 — " Making inquiries from the oldest inhabitants concerning 

 the tree, I can learn but very httle. From the situation one 

 would fancy the tree must have been a wild one, as it is grow- 

 ing in a hedge, north aspect, surrounded by Elms. From its 

 great age I cannot find out whether it has been grafted." Be- 

 lieving it to be a new variety, we named it in our notes " Ed- 

 garley Foundling," and made the following drawing and de- 

 scription of it : — 



Edgabley FonsDLiNG. — This handsome Pear was sent by 

 J. A. Porch, Esq., of -Edgarley, Glastonbury. The fruit is 

 very narrow towards the stalk, which is slender and woody. 

 The eye is bold, stout, and open. Skin entirely covered with 

 warm, pale brown russet, which has numerous rough scales of 

 russet on its surface ; it is also speckled with grey and green 

 dots, particularly on the shaded side. Flesh white, firm, but 

 smooth and fine-grained, very buttery and melting, with a fine 

 brisk, sweet, and very rich flavour, and delicate perfume. 

 Ripe in the middle of November. 



On the 18th of October, 1864, we received from Mr. Rivers, 

 of Sawbridgeworth, a fruit of the Esperine Pear, of which the 

 following are a drawing and description : — 



EsPEBiNE. — A handsome fruit, even and regularly shaped. 

 Skin smooth, of a beautiful golden yellow colour, with streaks 

 and a very pale crimson cheek on the side next the sun ; and 

 round the crown, there are also some sprinklings of thin 

 cinnamon russet here and there. Eye quite open, set in a 

 considerable depression. Flesh coarse-grained, crisp, juicy, 

 sweet, and half-melting, but without any merit. A second- 

 rate Pear, ripe in the middle of October. 



Can it be possible that these two Pears are the same ? Much 

 of the e\-ideuce for or against their identity will rest on the 

 age of the tree at Edgarley. The Esperine Pear, which was 

 raised by Van Mons at Louvain in 1823, does not appear to 

 have been one of those sent by him to the Horticultural Society 

 of London, and distributed at any period ; nor is it mentioned 

 in any of the editions of the " Catalogue" up to 1842 as being 

 in the collection at Chiswick. It has never appeared in any 

 nurseryman's catalogue in this country, with the exception of 

 Mr. Eivers's, and there for the first time only in 1855 and 

 again in 1859, and there does not appear to be any evidence of 

 its having been distributed among us. These facts and the age 

 of the tree are against the probability of the Edgarley Pear 

 being identical with the Esperine. 



So far we should have had no difficulty in the matter, and 

 would have been disposed to pronounce them distinct, had we 

 not received on the 7th of November last, from Mr. Sampson, 

 of Yeovil, a fruit of Benedictine Pear, which is said to be 

 identical with the Edgarley, but which appears to us to be 

 distinct from what we have seen of that variety. The figure 

 and description we made at the time, are as follows : — 



Benedictine. — This handsome Pear very much resembles 

 Brown Beurre in form and colour. The eye is open, the stalk 

 short and stout, and the flesh is very juicy, but also very 



