62 TRANSACTIOxNS. &c. 



Report ox Pears. 



Committee. — William Workman, of Worcester, Chairman ; J. 

 C. Moore, of Charlton, Emory Bannister, C. H. Hill, and C. C. 

 Coleman, of Worcester. 



The "Committee, to whom was assigned the duty of examining the 

 Pears, presented at the annual exhibition of our Society, beg leave 

 to submit the following Report. 



They can safely assert, in the outset, that the show of pears on 

 our tables, this year, for beauty and excellence of quality, was deci- 

 dedly superior to that of any previous year. The number of speci- 

 mens may have been greater before, l)ut, in size and fairness, in the 

 selection of choice varieties, and in goodness of flavor, we are sure 

 they have never before been equalled. 



There were 97 different contributors of pears, and the number of 

 dishes amounted to seven hundred. 



The old worthless varieties, which fifteen years ago were the only, 

 or nearly all, the pears grown in this County, have disappeared from 

 our tables, and our show, large as it was, with an occasional excep- 

 tion, was made up of fruits of the richest and most luscious quali- 

 ties now cultivated in the country. 



A retrospect of fifteen years will carry us back to the time when 

 the skill exercised in this region, and the practice in the cultivation 

 of fruit trees, was probably but little in advance of the conceptions 

 of Old Dumbiedykes, when he advised his nephe-w ''if he had a leis- 

 ure hour," to improve it by "sticking in a tree ;" when the tree was 

 stuck, it was generally left to take care of itself A new era is in 

 progress in this respect. Fruits are becoming a great staple for cul- 

 . tivation among us ; skill has been rapidly acquired by our cultiva- 

 tors, both large and small, and the business has been pursued with 

 so much energy and success, as to produce results, far exceeding the 

 expectations of the most sanguine amateur. 



A very large proportion of the interest now felt, and of the success 

 already attained in the production of the finer fruits among us, may, 

 without presumption, be attributed to the operations and influence 

 of our Horticultural Society. Progressing at the same rate, not ma- 



