186 RevieiD of the Book of Fruits. 



left the nurserymen, in this country, in great confusion in their 

 nomenclature. To arrive at more correct conclusions, works 

 have been published, to facilitate the gentleman or the amateur, in 

 the selection of such as possess all the good properties of a fruit. 

 The first of them of any importance was that of Mr. Cox, of 

 New Jersey, — subsequently, those of Mr. Prince, and Mr. Ken- 

 rick, and lastly, the one which stands at the head of this article. 

 The works of Mr. Prince, and of Mr. Kenrick, have been com- 

 posed, in a degree, of descriptions of fruits taken from foreign 

 works, and which have not been printed in this country. They 

 have, however, contributed somewhat, to assist cultivators in the 

 selection of the best varieties. 



A complete work is yet wanting upon the subject; but our stock 

 of knowledge is yet altogether too limited, to attempt to make such 

 a one what it should be. Experience alone, — an examination of 

 every variety described, — is necessary to render a work of this 

 kind truly valuable to the American cultivator. And it will 

 necessarily be a long period, before this can be done with accu- 

 racy. In the absence of such knowledge, the little work of Mr. 

 Manning comes opportunely to our aid, and it will serve, in a 

 degree, to supply the deficiency which already exists. 



Mr. Manning is well known, as one of the best practical culti- 

 vators of fruits; and, undoubtedly, a greater variety of kinds have 

 passed under his observation, than that of any other person in this 

 country. He has labored long and assiduously, in procuring all 

 the choicest varieties from abroad, and his correspondence with 

 Mr. Thompson, and Dr. Van Mons, has enabled him to procure 

 all the new and first rate sorts. He has also procured from the 

 various nurseries of this country, all the approved kinds, with a 

 view of identifying them, and ascertaining their proper and cor- 

 rect names. To our readers Mr. Manning is well known; his 

 list of pears in the commencement of our third volume is one 

 of the most valuable papers we have ever published, as the vari- 

 eties have all produced fruit with him, from which the descrip- 

 tions and remarks were taken. Lists of other fruits were kindly 

 promised us, and they will undoubtedly appear in our next vol- 

 ume. 



To give our readers some idea of the character and objects of 

 the work, we extract a part of the prefatory remarks of the vol- 

 ume. 



"The Pomological Garden was commenced in 1S23, with the design of 

 forming a large collection of specimen trees of such varieties of foreign 

 and native fruits, as were hardy enough to endure the inclemency of a 

 northern winter. After a strict examination of the produce of these 

 trees, carefully comparing the wood, the leaf and the fruit, with the 

 figures and descriptions in the most popular works on pomology, it was 

 intended to select for permanent cultivation, those varieties which were 

 at once fitted to the climate of New England, and of high merit in them- 



