Retrospective Criticism. 155 



ble." He observes that this pear was raised from seed by Elijah 

 Cooke, of Raymond, Mc, from whom he received the grafts. Why 

 then, did he not call it Beune Cooke? 



We have nothing to say against the name itself, for the name of 

 Preble is an honor to Maine and to the nation; it has hecome a "part 

 and parcel" of our history, and I would be the last man to pUick a 

 sinijle leaf from the laurels which the Commodore gained Ity his 

 valor. But really, I do not see any good reason for attaching a 

 hero's name to a j)ear, while the real person, to whose industry in 

 the delightful and peaceful pursuits of pomology we are indebted 

 for the production of this new fruit, is passed almost silently by. I 

 move, sir, to amend, by striking out "Preble," and inserting "Cooke," 

 and call for the yeas and nays. — Very respectfully, yours, E. Holmes, 

 Winihrop, Me., March. 1842. 



Clairmont Nursery, near Baltimore, {\i- 11-) — Respected Friends: 

 In your useful and interestitiij Magazine for January last, in speak- 

 ing of some valuable fruits I cultivate, you observe I only have about 

 two hundred varieties altogether. To many people, I thought it 

 would rather convey the i<lea that the value of a nursery depended 

 on the extent or numlier of the varieties cultivated in it. This, I 

 have long thougiit, was wrong; thereby increasing the care of the 

 nurseryman, and his ditiiculty of keeping all correct, and puzzling 

 customers to make a good selection; and in order to be sure of get- 

 ting the best, they will frequently take one tree of each sort, thereby 

 increasing the nurseryman's trouble to fill the order; and when their 

 trees come into bearing, many will be of secondary quality, and 

 those that prove good they have not enough of to take to market, 

 or for their own use, and if they are apples or pears to be stored for 

 winter, it would seem to require a separate place for the product of 

 each tree. We know that all the various wants of a family can be 

 6up|)lied, both summer, f^iU, and winter, with ten to fifteen varieties 

 of apple, peach, and pear trees, and fewer of other fruits will be 

 sufficient. We possess information enouirh from our own and Eu- 

 ropean experience, to make such a selection, thereiiy rendering the 

 culture and the use of fruits less troublesome. With this view, I 

 have made it my study to collect the very best, and confine my cata- 

 logue within moderate bounds, and cultivate largely of known supe- 

 rior varieties; and those only I send to my customers who confide to 

 my selection, and in portions to suit the wants of the various seasons 

 of the year. I am aware that Lindley, Mackintosh, and other Eu- 

 ropean writers, inform us of nurserymen having three hundred va- 

 rieties of apple, and other fruits in proportion; yet, in my opin- 

 ion, this is no justification for us. I approve of nurserymen increas- 

 ing their specimen standard fruit trees to a great extent, in order to 

 test the relative value of fruits, thereby enabling them to select the 

 best, and thus restrict the cultivation of trees to a reasonable extent 

 of known best varieties. I have been planting stauflanl fruit trees 

 for about forty years, which has afforded me some useful experience, 

 and I am decidedly of the opinion that it is for the interest of every 

 j)erson who plants an orchard, to have it composed of as ^tiw varie- 

 ties as will supply fully the wants of his family summer, fall, and 

 winter, and if for market, have a full supjily to ripen in regular siK5- 



