A'oles and Glcaninsrs 



b' 



of Glout Morceau. These trees are most interesting, from their divergence from 

 those above mentioned ; some of them have stout, robust laterals, tipped with a 

 sharp thorn, reminding one of Glediischia Jiorrida. Of these I have great hopes. 

 A row of trees raised from Grosse Calabasse next attracts notice, by the robust 

 habit of the trees, many of which, although at the utmost but six years old, have 

 formed incipient blossom buds. These trees, now two dozen in number, seem 

 to adhere to the habit of the parent sort with but slight variations. A row of 

 trees raised from the Seckel, crossed with Duchesse d'Angouleme, is interesting 

 on account of the strange mixture of habit, — for no two are alike, — some inclin- 

 ing to the weak habit of the Seckel, and others partaking of the robust habit of 

 the other parent. It is curious to observe the adhesion to race in seedlings from 

 the Doyenne d'Ete ; they seem all alike, with a dwarf habit and thornless shoots. 

 while some of the same kind, raised from flowers fertilized with Gratioli of Jer- 

 sey, are so distinct in habit, and are thorny and robust beyond belief. I have, 

 however, seen nothing more marked in its departure from the parental habit 

 than some seedlings raised from that magnificent pear Van Mons Leon le Clerc, 

 one of the largest and finest pears known : its habit is, as a rule, feeble, and it 

 seems to require a fine soil and climate. The seedlings from flowers fertilized 

 with those of Poire Prevost, and those from unfertilized flowers, are alike thorny 

 and robust. Winter Nelis has given birth to trees all rather delicate in growth, 

 and some among them little thorny bushes very unlike pear trees. In contrast 

 to these are some trees raised from Gansel's late Bergamot (of the late Mr. Wil- 

 liams). They are stout, with large spines, ?nd most distinct. 



There is something most marked and interesting in Josephine de Malines pear, 

 it is so perfectly distinct, not only in its fruit, but in its habit ; it was raised by 

 what may be called chance, in contradistinction to what was then called the sys- 

 tem of Van Mons,* by an old soldier, Major Esperen, then living at Malines, 

 and who, about the same time, raised that fine late pear, Bergamotte Esperen. 

 As far as I recollect, the old soldier prided himself on raising these two pears 

 by chance, thus beating the s)-stem of Van Mons (reminding one of George 

 Stephenson beating Paxton in cucumbers), by which no such distinct and good 

 pears had ever been produced. Several seedlings from the former sort have 

 been raised in England and in Belgium, all much resembling the parent, but, as 

 far as I yet know, all ripening earlier. The uncrossed seedlings raised from it 

 here very much resemble the parent in habit ; but two batches, one from Jose- 

 phine de Malines crossed with Beurre Diel, and another crossed with Grosse 

 Calabasse, are very remarkable for their deviations. I fear I am spinning out 

 my pear seedling yarn to a tiresome length, but I cannot help noticing some 



* The theory of Van Mons was, that pears raised from seed, after several generations became improved, 

 and inclined to give fruit when quite young, so that after a sixth or eighth generation of one variety the 

 seedhngs would commence to bear at five or six years old ; so that, by parity of reasoning, seedlings from 

 one of the latest of his seedlings, should produce from its pips trees that would bear when two or three years 

 old. Prince Albert is one of the latest of Van Mons' seedlings ; but my young trees r.iised from it, now 

 some five or seven years old, give no sign. The truth is, it was an illusion ; for I have found seedlings, 

 raised fi-om the Autumn Berg.iniot and the Brown Beurre, the oldest of our g.irden pears, come into bear- 

 ing at the same age as those raised from the seventh or eighth generation of the Van Mons pears, which 

 ought to haTe borne fruit at three years old, according to the theory of Van Mons. 

 VOL. vir. 47 



