REPORT OF THE COM.MrTTEE ON" FRUITS. 99 



tioii of old varieties, and the still greater number of cases where 

 man}' of the features of old varieties are reproduce'!, the question 

 is suggested whether nature has so far exhausted her types that she is 

 able to afford us only repetitions, or, at best, variations of them. 



The prize collections at the annual exhibition were composed as 

 follows : Bartlett, 14 dishes ; Beurre d'Anjou, Sheldon, and Louise 

 Bonne of Jersey, 12 each ; Beurre Bosc, Seckel, Urbaniste, and 

 Duchesse d'Angouleme, 10 each; Howell, Beurre Superfin, Belle 

 Lucrative, and Lawrence, 8 each ; Onondaga, or Swan's Orange, 

 and Beurre Hardy, 7 each ; Doyenne du Cornice, Merriam, and Marie 

 Louise, 6 each ; Beurre Clairgeau, Winter Nelis, and Doyenne Bous- 

 sock, 5 each ; Andrews and Flemish Beauty, 4 each ; Dana's Hovey, 

 3; Paradise d'Automne. Beurre Langlier, and Glout Morceau, 2 each ; 

 and Adams, Moore's Pound, Pratt, Souvenii- du Congres, Clapp's 

 Favorite, Mount Vernon, Beurre Diel, Passe Colmar, Easter Beurre, 

 Wellington, Golden Beurre, General Totleben, Buft'um, an I Presi- 

 dent, 1 each. Of the general character of the display of this fruit 

 we can only say that it was acknowledged by all who saw it to be 

 the best, as well as the most extensive, ever made b}'' this Society. 

 No less than twelve collections of twenty varieties each were 

 placed upon the tables ; auil that which took the first prize — Hovey 

 & Co.'s — was pre-eminently worthy of it. It could hardly have 

 been anticipateil, when these halls were first occupied, that in only 

 eight years the spacious upper hall would be wholly filled with 

 pears and grapes, as was the case this .year. The effect of the 

 favorable seison was strikingly shown in the improvement of 

 varieties which have generally failed in recent years. Among these 

 may be especially mentioned the Flemish Beauty, of which many 

 fine dishes were shown ; one, from Mr. H. A. Gane, being of such 

 excellence as was rarely seen in the palmy days of this variety. 



The exhibitions of fall and winter pears — October 11th and No- 

 vember 8th — were unusually extensive and excellent. At the for- 

 mer, the Beurre Diels exhibited by James Wood, and the Urban- 

 istes from C. W. Chamberlain, were of remarkable excellence ; and 

 at the latter the Beurre d'Anjous from J. H. Fenno, and the 

 Winter Nelis from J. L. Bird, which took the first and second 

 prizes for single dishes, were the finest we have ever seen of their 

 kinds. Man}' other remarkably fine dishes, at these and the annual 

 exhibitions, might be particularized, but it would occupy too much 

 space. 



