100 Notes of a Visit, (^'c. 



lawn in front, and an orchard in the rear, A small part of it 

 is devoted to the growth of ornamental trees and shrubs. In 

 passing through the garden, Mr. Thorpe crossed a straw- 

 berry, and, as we followed, we inquired the variety; he 

 stated it was Hovey's Seedling: but, upon examining the foli- 

 age, we found there was not a plant of the inie kind in the 

 bed : they appeared to be the Methven, This at once oc- 

 curred to us as the cause of all the complaints which are 

 made about the productiveness, quality, size, &c., of our seed- 

 ling in Western New York ; and we are satisfied that a ma- 

 jority of the plants, grown under the name of Hovey's Seed- 

 ling there, are either the Methven, the spurious variety of 

 Mr. Downing, or some other worthless kind. 



Albany, September llth. — Having a few leisure hours 

 after our arrival here, before the train was to leave for 

 Boston, we improved the opportunity to call on our friends. 

 Dr. Wendell and Mr. Wilson. 



Residence of Dr. H. Wendell, Academy Park. — In the ab- 

 sence of Dr. Wendell, who was on a horticultural tour to the 

 west, as delegate of the New York State Society, we merely 

 took a hasty walk through his grounds comprising two or 

 three acres. Dr. Wendell intends soon to remove all his trees 

 to an extensive place near the city, where they can have 

 ample room to grow and flourish. In anticipation of this we 

 found the premises completely stocked with young pear trees, 

 warfs, pyramids, and standards, some on the quince, and 

 some on the pear ; with upwards of thirty kinds in bearing, 

 and, among the number, a beautiful tree of the Flemish 

 Beauty, which he received from Mr. Rivers as the true Beurre 

 Spence, thus confirming the opinion which we some time 

 ago expressed, and of which we were so fully convinced, 

 that, in our description and figure of this variety in the Fruits 

 of America, we made it a synonyme. Some of our pomo- 

 logical friends were rather surprised at this, but we believe 

 Mr. Manning, as well as other experienced cultivators, are 

 now satisfied that the Flemish Beauty and the Beurre Spence 

 are one and the same. 



We saw here some remarkable specimens of the Beurre 

 Bosc, one of our finest pears ; the Inconnue Van Mons, and 

 some other new sorts, were in bearing, but the names we could 



