1892.] FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY. 45 



first exhibition as a " confused collection of apples and pears 

 of which only a very small number were designated correctly by 

 name." And J. Henry Hill, then Chairman on Pears, speaking 

 of the same subject, says : " Those who witnessed the first exhi- 

 bition of the Society are the only ones who can fully appreciate 

 the vast improvement made in the culture of the Pear. Twenty 

 years ago few people knew of any varieties other than the ' Pound 

 Pear ' or the ' Button Pear,' as they were respectively called ; 

 and whoever was the fortunate possessor of a tree of either 

 variety was the envy of the neighborhood. Beyond a few pro- 

 fessional or amateur growers, the subject of Pear cultivation was 

 never agitated or thought of." 



I have already spoken of the five varieties of pears for which 

 premiums were awarded at the first exhibition in 1840, only three 

 of which were named. So also in the report on fruits for the 

 annual exhibition of 1841 only five varieties of pears are men- 

 tioned, viz. : The Golden Beurre, St. Michael, Brown Beurrc, 

 the Iron Pear and Pears from the famous Endicott tree planted 

 by Gov. Endicott. These were contributed by Wm. P. Endicott. 

 The other contributors were all amateurs. 



The report says, " Wm. N. Green, Esq., bound over for trial a 

 basket of the Golden Beurre of Bilboa. 



"A basket of Golden Beurre, one of Saint Michaels, and another 

 of Brown Beurre were brought from the fairy grounds of Mrs. 

 E. Salisbury. 



" B. F. Thomas, Esq., brought a fine basket of Saint Michael 

 (Pears to the Fair) though for our life we could not think what a 

 'gentleman of the green bag' has to do with a Saint. He liad 

 also good specimens of the Iron Pear, that old friend that sticks 

 by us till May if not baked before." 



Such was the condition of pear culture at the date of our in- 

 corporation. Its development began very soon after, however, 

 and as early as 1845, a large number of varieties were sliown, 

 although confined to a few individual contributors. It was about 

 this time that D. Waldo Lincoln, John Milton Earle, Samuel H. 

 Colton, John 0. Ripley, and George Jaques became specially 

 interested in pear culture. The first three gentlemen named 

 imported many foreign varieties. And Messrs. Lincoln and Col- 



