No. 124.] 86 



various parts of the country, have proved not only large in the berry, 

 but equal, if not superior in flavor, to any ever produced, as a gene- 

 ral crop, by the cultivators of England. 



The size, color and flavor of our apples^ after repeated trials in 

 England, have been acknowledged to be superior to any imported 

 into that country. 



Our pears have not as yet undergone such a trial in the foreign 

 market, that would warrant tt.e subscriber to speak with equal confi- 

 dence as to their respective merits in the opinions of the cultivators of 

 England; but he entertains no dobut that they will bear comparison 

 with the best specimens in Europe; and that they will, when the cul- 

 tivators in our own country shall raise pears for exportation^ and shall 

 have made themselves well acquainted with the best varieties adapted 

 for that purpose, and shall have also ascertained their time of ripen- 

 ing, and all other particulars, including the best method of packing, 

 ior making the cultivation of the pear a staple article of commercp. ; 

 then, and not until then, will the pear be cultivated in the best man- 

 ner, or the skill and enterprise of our horticulturists be fully devel- 

 oped. From this view of the subject it appears to the writer neces- 

 sary that the cultivator should be put into possession of all the prac- 

 tical information which the fruit growers in the country are possessed 

 of, viz: 



1st. With the best soil and situation for the successful cultivation 

 of the pear as it regards quality and quantity. 



2(1. That he should ascertain the varieties that ripen at such peri- 

 ods as are best suited for a foreign, voyage^ and would be best adap- 

 ted to the markets of certain ports, as also their flavor, color, gene- 

 ral appearance, and their particular adaptation to the wants and tastes 

 of the people of the country to which they may be exported. 



3d. The cultivators should also be in possession of the best in- 

 formation, from practical experience, as to the time the various sorts 

 should be gathered, and the time they will ripen, in a temperature 

 of 45, 50, 55, 60, and 65 degrees of heat, to enable him to export 

 his fruit successfully to a foreign market, and also to bring his fruit 

 into the home market to the greatest advantage. To be in possession 

 of the effect of the degrees of heat on the ripening of pears, would 

 enable the cultivator and fruiterer to execute an order for this deli- 

 cious fruit, in varieties from one to ten sorts, if suitable notice is 

 given, and thereby gratify those who consider the dessert as an im- 

 portant part of a good dinner ; and it is believed that the time is not 

 hr distant, when the dessert will be considered, if not the most 

 important, at least one of the gratifying parts of a good dinner that 

 cannot very well be dispensed with. To accomplish this most desirable 

 object, I would respectfully suggest that a suitable premium should 

 be awarded by the American Institute, in the year 1845, for the best 

 communication on the propagation of pear trees, stating soil, situa- 

 tion, the best varieties, the size of the fruit, its season, and the best 

 method of ripening it ; as also the number of days after the fruit is 

 gathered and kept under various degrees of heat, until the fruit is 

 matured and in its greatest degree of perfection. 



