uV'olcs and Gleanings. 39 



The following are the letters of Dr. Kirtland and Mr. Montague : — 



" East Rockport P. O., Ohio, April 26, 1S69. 



" Dear Sir : The history of the Kirtland is briefly this : In the year 1818 I 

 resided in the town of Durham, Conn. My brother, Henry T. Kirtland, a resi- 

 dent of Poland, Ohio, visited me at my residence in the autumn of that year, and 

 while there collected the seeds of a peck of Seckel pears, presented mc by the 

 late George Hoadley, Esq. These seeds my brother brought to Ohio at the 

 close of that season, and sowed thdm in his garden in Poland. 



*' In the year 1823 I removed to Ohio, and located in the last-named village, 

 <nd found that perhaps two dozen of young pear trees had been produced from 

 chose seeds. Under good cultivation, in new soil, some of them had attained 

 to the height of five and six feet. One half of these trees were presented me by 

 my brother, and were very carefully transferred to my own grounds, and as care- 

 fully cultivated by my own hands. Several of them produced a few fruits in the 

 course of the next two or three years ; and the fruit of one, now known as the 

 Kirtland, was at once recognized as delicious and valuable, and far superior to 

 that of any other of these seedlings, most of which were subsequently employed 

 as stocks ; but no graft or inoculate was ever inserted on this favorite tree. 



" Its reputation rapidly extended in that locality, and scions were freely dis- 

 tributed to numerous applicants, The public soon designated it as the ' Kirtland 

 Pear' — a seedling produced by Henry P. Kirtland, though the tree w-as now 

 growing in the grounds of Dr. J. P. Kirtland. I sent some specimens of the 

 fruit to the first State Fair of New York, at Buffalo ; but they did not arrive 

 until the last day of the fair, and too late for entry among the fruits. David 

 Thomas sent me word that ' it was one of the best pears he had ever eaten.' 



" At a subsequent New York State Fair, held perhaps at SjTacuse, I again 

 forwarded specimens, together with a drawing, and description of its origin. The 

 sketch, description, &c., appeared in one of the New York reports. 



" The original tree died some twenty years since. 



" Second-hand rumors and statements on any subject are very unreliable ; but 

 after having seen with my own eyes the development of this pear from its very 

 embryo, and cultivating, cherishing, and introducing it to public notice, I can say. 

 as did Le Baune, in his introduction to The Campaign in Russia, ' / write that 

 which I have seen.^ 



" There can be no mistake in regard to the origin of the Kirtland pear. 



" I know nothing of the Hadley pear. The following hint may, perhaps, solve 

 the mystery which involves the subject : — 



•' Between the years 1823 and 1830, a Mr. Hunt, proprietor of the town of 

 Huntsburg, Geauga County, Ohio, a citizen of, I think, Northampton, Mass., 

 spent several days with me at my residence in Poland, and about the period this 

 pear was attracting its earliest notice. He was an intelligent amateur pomolo- 

 gist, and while on his visits was ardently engaged in searching for new and val- 

 uable fruits in the numerous seedling orchards then fruiting in this new country. 

 I well recollect, at one of his departures, one half of his portmanteau was stuffed 

 with his clothing, and the other was equally filled and balanced with scions and 

 cuttings thus collected, and destined for New England. 



" That he took cuttings from my young pear tree I cannot recollect ; but as he 

 was making seedling fruits a speciality, and the reputation of the Kirtland was 

 very high in that locality at that period, it is reasonable to suppose that he se- 

 cured a supply, from which the Hadley tree {as a i-oot graft) may have sprung. 



" This fruit is of little value when left to ripen on the tree, but picked early, 

 and matured in doors, it becomes one of the most delicious. 



" With great respect yours, J. P. Kirtland?'' 



" Belchertown, Mass., November, 22, iS6g. 



" Messrs. Editors : I notice in the November number of your Journal a 

 communication from R. M. concerning the ' Kirtland and Hadley Pears,' which 



