440 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICCLTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



( December 2, 18Ca. 



affect onr tree?, or an ea!<y method for the destraction of the 

 horde of insects eo slarmingly injarions to onr fruit crops, 

 shall have his name transmitted to future time as second onl; 



to those who discover methods for the alleviation and cnre of 

 diseases which aflect the human system.— llABsniiL 1'. ^YILDEK 

 (Boston Cultivator). 



DOYENNE DU COMICE PEAR. 



The specimen we have here figured was one we received from 

 Mr. Kivers, of SawbriJgewortb, and which was from a tree 

 grown in a 10-inch pot. 

 It weighed 1 lb., and 

 its flavour was as rich 

 as this excellent variety 

 usually is. Mr. Elvers 

 Eays, "This Pear, un- 

 like many others, ripens 

 kindly under glass, and 

 preserves its fall fla- 

 vour. In the hot sum- 

 mer of ISHS some trees 

 in pots in an orchard 

 house were full of flno 

 fruit ; others had a rosy 

 cheek, ripened on tho 

 trees, and were quite 

 exquisite." 



It is now some years 

 since this fine Pear 

 was first brought to tho 

 notice of the Pomo- 

 logical Society at one 

 of its meetings in St. 

 James's Hall. Since 

 that time it has made 

 its way, but slowly, into 

 cultivation, and it is re- 

 markable that it ehould 

 he so, for wo never re- 

 collect, among all the 

 specimens of the fruit 

 we have ever seen, hav- 

 ing met with one which 

 was not of the greatest 

 excellence. A corre- 

 spondent says, "As to 

 Pears, Doyenne du Co- 

 mice is emperor among 

 them ; nothing (save 

 Knight's Monarch), is 

 worthy for him even to 

 tread upon — at least of 

 his contemporaries. I 

 could eat him all day 

 long, and begin again 

 at sunset." 



Our figure is one of a specimen of unusual size, the average 



being from three inches and a quarter to three inches and a 

 half long, and two and a half to two and three-quarters wide. 



The form is long obo- 

 vate, and often eome- 

 wliat turbinate. The 

 skin is lemon yellow, 

 speckled all over with 

 pale brown russet, 

 which in some parts is 

 EO thick as to form ir- 

 regular russet patches, 

 and particularly so to- 

 wards the eye and the 

 stalk ; on the side fully 

 exposed to the sun there 

 is a pale rosy cheek. 

 Eye small, half open, 

 with short pointed seg- 

 ments. Stalk an inch 

 long, stout, fleshy at 

 the insertion, and set 

 in a rather deep and 

 narrow basin. Flesh 

 white, buttery, tender, 

 melting, rich, sugary, 

 and delicately per- 

 fumed. It is ripe in 

 the beginning and 

 throughout November; 

 but if gathered early it 

 will keep much longer. 

 This is not only a 

 fine Pear, but by far 

 the finest and most 

 excellent of all our nu- 

 merous November va- 

 rieties. Tho tree grows 

 freely on the Quince, 

 forms a very handsome 

 pyramid, and bears 

 when quite young, but 

 never so abundantly as 

 to require thinning, Uke 

 some varieties. 



This valuable Pear 

 was raised in the fruit 

 garden of the Comice 

 Horticole of Maine-et- 

 Loire, at Angers, and first fruited in 181'J. 



GROUND \TNERIES, CLOCHES, AND RENDLE3 PROTECTORS. 



PEACHES AXD NECTARINES AS CORDONS. 



In page 340, "K. F." expresses his want of experience in the 

 cultivation of these trees as cordons in ground vineries. As I j 

 am proud of mine, allow me to give an account of them. It is 

 now three years since I planted in my ground vinery two 

 double cordons, one Peach and one Nectarine tree. The latter 

 has grown more vigorously than the former, and is now 24 feet 

 long, each arm measuring 12 feet ; it is a beautiful tree, and , 

 full of blooming spurs. This condition Las been brought - 

 about by incessant summer-pinching to two and three leaves. 



This tree is iu the centre of a ground vinery 3 feet G inches 

 wide, the south side of which opens, not with hinges, but 

 swings on two bolts, one end of which is a screw, which is 

 screwed into the end bar ; and that part of the bolt on which the 

 side swings is let into the frame, and is smooth. I enclose 

 a sketch of this much-improved ground vinery. The dotted 

 lines at each end show the position of the bolts on which the 

 light swings, and thus there is a perfect command over the 

 cordon or Yme inside. A small handle is fixed on the bottom I 

 bar. This improvement adds but little to the cost; for frames 

 7 feet long and 3; feet wido I have paid 10s. each, to which 

 must he added 12s. for painting and glass, thus giving an area I 



of about 22 feet of cultivable space for cordon trees, Yiaes 

 and Strawberries or Lettuces. 



"1!. F. " says that they, "the ground vineries are dear 

 enough, and that they are huge moveable glasses." I should 

 like to show him mine, for he has evidently not seen their im- 

 proved state. 



The question now arises, Are they more convenient than 

 cloches, which poor Loudon years ago iu vain endeavoured to 

 introduce, the duty on glass quite precluding their being 

 made in England? They are now, however, manufactured at a 

 cost of Is. tjd. each, and are sold rather extensively to those 

 who are not experienced in horticultural economy, which, Uke 

 political economy, is not a light study. 



If I remember correctly, each cloche IC inches in diameter, 

 being bell-shaped, gives a circle only 14 inches in diameter — 

 153 square inches of cultivable area, or about 1 square foot. It 

 Kill thus take twenty cloches to give us 20 square feet, in 

 which to winter Lettuces, &c. Let us now compare the cloche 

 with the improved ground vinery. The cloche can ouly be 

 used for Lettuces and other winter salad plants, and requires 

 much lifting and trouble. The improved ground vinery, with 



