SOILS FOR PEAKS. 39 



strained to acknowledge, that not only what lie has 

 learned from others, but much of what he has gathered 

 from his own experience, is to be distrusted — perhaps 

 unlearned. 



In nothing is he likely to be more disappointed 

 than in the soils which analogy and theory would 

 induce him to point out as superior. So many influ- 

 ences and conditions affect the results of horticultural 

 effort, that disappointment often follows the selection 

 of what appear the finest soils. The Xewtown Pip- 

 pin, on the soil of Long Island, where it originated, 

 refuses to yield the exquisite juices and rare perfumes 

 which distinguish this king of apples ; and from the 

 same island which once sent forth sloop-loads of the 

 rarest Yergalieu Pears, scarcely a bushel of perfect 

 fruit of that variety has been gathered in one season 

 for the last fifteen years. Neither the richest soil, nor 

 the most careful cultivation, any longer produce good 

 fruit of these varieties ; while on the rugged farms 

 along the Hudson, the Xewtown Pippin preserves its 

 superiority with scarcely an attempt at cultivation 

 bestowed upon it ; and through the central and north- 

 ern counties of JS'ew York, the Yergalieu continues 

 to produce its unrivalled fruit. Most of the other 

 varieties of Pear are produced on Long Island and in 

 New Jersey in great excellence and abundance. Yari- 

 eties of pears are pronounced excellent in the vicinity 

 of Boston, which are worthless when raised in other 

 localities with equal care in cultivation. These anom- 

 alies prevent us from declaring with certainty upon 

 the fitness of any soil for all varieties of pears, when 

 that particular locality and soil have not been tested 



