50 Difficulty of idcntifijing Varieties oj Fruits. 



character; and they seldom bestow a thought upon the mere avoid- 

 ance of error, when their inventive genius can be gratified with nov- 

 elty, though only in a name. 



Compared with the same set of men in England, the French nur- 

 serymen and growers of fruit appear but inipeifectly acquainted with 

 horticulture, as a science ; and they have, besides, been guilty of great 

 negligence, in sending trees to this country ; it is not too much to 

 say, that three fourths of all we have received, have come to us under 

 wrong names, though generally ordered as specimen trees. The 

 consequences of these errors have been extremely annoying and vex- 

 atious, and are quite sufficient to account for the frequent failure of 

 our own nurserymen to afford satisfaction. Innumerable instances of 

 this nature have been reported, but 1 will only mention two. Eight 

 specimen trees were ordered, each one of which was to be a distinct 

 sort, by name ; and in name, it is true, tliey were distinct ; but the 

 fruit of each, when it appeared, proved to be the old and well known 

 St. Michael. The writer of this, among many other trees from 

 France, has seven of the same worthless pear, all of which were 

 marked, when received, as distinct varieties. Propagating from trees 

 thus received, without a suspicion of their being other than genuine, 

 is it wonderful or censurable that our nurserymen should fall into 

 occasional errors? But let our experience teach us a salutary dis- 

 trust of new and high-sounding appellations; embellishments consid- 

 ered by our French friends doubly essential to fruits, which have 

 nothing else to recommend them. 



The superiority of the Englisli nurserymen, arises in a great meas- 

 ure, from the impulse imparted by their horticultural society. This 

 society was established many years since, with a view, among other 

 important objects, to correct the nomenclature of their fruits, and to 

 test their different qualities. For this purpose, an immense collection 

 has been formed, comprising all the different varieties of fruits, from 

 €very part of the world : specimen trees of each sort have been 

 planted out, and descriptions given only from an accurate examina- 

 tion of the ripe fruit. This society has been greatly instrumental in 

 diffjsing correct ideas upon this subject, and in giving to pomological 

 information a precision and method which it had not hitherto pos- 

 sessed. The associated exertions of its members, have naturally 

 ■effected much more than the solitary labors of preceding writers. 

 Mr. Robert Thompson, the head gardener of the fruit department, 

 in the garden of this society, having studied the French, the German, 

 and other languages, in order to make himself acquainted with every 

 book of merit relating to his profession ; and having, besides, the ad- 

 vantage of so vast a collection of trees, as a field of comparison and 

 research, may reasonably be supposed to have accumulated propor- 

 tionate treasures of pomological knowledge ; — to surpass, not any, 

 but all other individuals in these attainments. Now, precisely what 

 we have long wanted, is supplied to us by the Catalogues of the 



