FEBRUARY 1, 1859. 



best Easter Benrre Pears, in dishes of si 

 panied with a schedule of particulars respecting the circumstances 

 under which the fruits were produced. The competitors were :— 

 Mr. Evans, gardener to the Venerable Archdeacon Jones, Bryn- 

 steddfod, Conway ; Mr. J. Hall, gardener to T. Lucas, Esq., 

 Lower Grove House, Koehampton ; Mr. J. Tucker, gardener to 

 JosiAH Moorman, Esq., Claphara Road ; Mr. W. Masterson, 

 gardener to K. Geeenway, Esq., Warwick; Mr. J. Cox, F.H.S., 

 gardener to W. Wells, Esq,, Redleaf, Penshui-st, Kent; Mr. 

 Catt, gardener to Colonel Cavendish, St. Lawrence House, Wel- 

 wyn, Herts. ; Mr. J. Clark, gardener to the Earl of Darnley, 

 Cobham Hall, Kent; Mr. D. Judd, gardener to the Right Hon. 

 the Earl Spencer, Althorp, Northampton ; and Mr. J. Douglas, 

 gardener to H. B. Simpson, Esq., Babworth Hall, Retford, Notts. 

 The First Prize was awarded to Mr. J. Cox ; the Second Prize 

 to Mr. J. Hall. , 



Mr. Cox described the soil of his locality, in the Southern 

 Weald of Kent (see p. 20), as a rich garden mould, two feet deep, 

 resting on a bed of yellow clay. The autumns in that part of 

 Kent are very mild and moist, the winters not very severe, but 

 the springs cold, harsh, and drying. The tree, about thirty years 

 old, is on the pear stock, and in healthy condition ; it was grafted 

 up the sides of the main stem with the Easter Beurre, and is 

 trained ^ horizontally against a south wall 12 feet high ; the mode 

 of pruning does not differ from that of ordinary horizontal training, 

 with the exception that all the fore-right shoots are broken clean 

 out wh.en very young. 



Mr. Hall's specimens were grown at Roehampton, on the south 

 side of the Thames, on a light sandy soil 1| foot deep, with 

 gravelly subsoil ; th*e surface a little inclined to the north. The 

 tree, about fourteen years old, and very healthy, is on the pear 

 stock, and trained against a west wall about fourteen feet high. 

 The border is top-dressed every year with vegetable refuse, and 

 receives large quantities of water in the growing season. Under 

 these circumstances, the fruit proved next in point of quality to 

 that exhibited by Mr. Cox. 



The conditions under which the specimens from Mr. Evans 

 were grown are detailed at p. 22. The fruit was aromatic, but 

 the flesh not so smooth, buttery, and rich, as that of the specimens 

 which obtained the awards. 



Mr. J. Tucker stated that the situation of Mr. Moorman's 

 garden at Clapham is sheltered and level ; the soil, strong mould 



