82 



Downing's Book on Fruit Trees, ^-c. 



Vol. X. 



Downing's Book on Fruit Trees, &c. 



Some remarks on the new work of A. J. 

 Downing, on the Fruits and Fruit Trees 

 of America, by 8. B. Parsons, of the 

 Commercial Garden and Nursery, Flush- 

 ing, Long Island. 



In this excellent work which is at lennfth 

 laid before us, all must aclcnowledge that 

 the author has performed an important ser- 

 vice to the cause of Pomology in this coun- 

 try, in classifying and placing in a tangible 

 and accessible form, the nomenclatures which 

 were formerly scattered throughout various 

 works in Europe and America. With the 

 exception of some few omissions and incor- 

 rect descriptions, it seems substantially cor- 

 rect, and its comparative freedom from error 

 in this respect, can be appreciated only by 

 those who know from experience the great 

 difficulty of procuring good specimens 'of 

 fruit from a distance, and the necessarily 

 great deterioration of flavor in fruit brought 

 from various points between Boston and 

 Cincinnati. 



Many, however, of the author's opinions 

 on Vegetable Physiology, and on the culti- 

 vation of fruit, will be somewhat questioned, 

 and must be viewed merely as matters of 

 opinion. Of this character are his remarks 

 on the pruning of the foreign grape. On 

 page 221, he says that if the spurring me- 

 thod is practised, the vine will soon bear 

 only mildewed and imperfect fruit, and that 

 the older and larger the vine, the less likely 

 it is to produce a good crop. As I am not 

 aware that the author has fruited the foreign 

 vine himself to any extent, I am disposed to 

 think that his opinions are formed from those 

 of the gardeners of his vicinity, who may 

 have been comparatively successful with the 

 renewal method. Having recently erected 

 some large vineries for the more full testing 

 of all the varieties of the grape, I was very 

 particular during my recent visit to Europe, 

 in making inquiries respecting the most ap- 

 proved method of pruning; and for this pur- 

 pose visited all the vineries within my 

 reach. I do not recollect an exception to 

 the general reply, that the spurring method 

 was decidedly the best, and produced the 

 largest fruit at an earlier period in the age 

 of the vine. Where the vine is partially 

 cui down every year, as in the renewal me- 

 thod, it becomes weakened and exhausted, 

 and much of that sap which should be de- 

 voted to the fruit, is spent upon the forma- 

 tion of new wood for the next year. 



Roberts, who is deemed the only really prac- 

 tical writer on the vine, is very decided in his 

 approval of the spurring method. Our own 

 vinery has not been erected a sufficiently 



long time to enable me to speak from expe- 

 rience. I only give the result of careful in- 

 quiry. I am far from wishing to say that 

 the renewal method is decidedly wrong, or 

 that by it good fruit cannot be produced. On 

 the contrary, I know many who succeed 

 comparatively well with this mode. I am 

 only desirous that the author's opinions on 

 this head should not be taken as facts, and 

 that the spur method should not be so unre- 

 servedly condemned, when there is such an 

 array of evidence in its favour. 



Well adapted as is this work to the wants 

 of the community, it is much to be regretted 

 that our excellent friend the author, has 

 somewhat affected its usefulness in making 

 it by implication a vehicle for the praises of 

 his own very good establishment, and has 

 so nicely adapted his theories to his own 

 soil and climate. I have no objection what- 

 ever to the author's being born "in the 

 largest garden," &c., for that may be a mat- 

 ter of opinion; neither do I dislike to see 

 his deep rooted attachment to his own estab- 

 lishment, for this is perfectly natural, and all 

 men have a perfect right not only to think, 

 but to speak as loudly as they incline of 

 those things which they highly value. But 

 at the same time I cannot admit thei* right 

 to make statements respecting others which 

 are neither consistent with justice, nor in 

 accordance with facts. No one can esteem 

 the author or his useful labours more than 

 ourselves, and we sincerely regret that he 

 has allowed himself to make statements 

 without endeavouring to ascertain their cor- 

 rectness. The statements seem intended to 

 prove the inferiority of the Boston, Long 

 Island, and other seaboard nurseries, to the 

 inland nurseries, among which latter, the 

 Highland Botanic Garden holds a conspicu- 

 ous place. He first asserts that the soil and 

 clim.ate of the seaboard are bad, and that, in 

 consequence, many fruits have become worth- 

 less. That this defect has extended to the 

 young trees in the seaboard nurseries, and 

 that when taken to the interior they carry 

 their degenerate habit with them. He also 

 states that young trees from the inland nur- 

 series succeed much better in the seaboard 

 orchards, and then very skilfully leaves the 

 reader to draw the inference that it is only 

 safe to obtain trees from the inland nurse- 

 ries, and more particularly of the Highland 

 Botanic Garden. On page 555, he says, 

 " all along the seacoast tvhere the climate is 

 rude and the soil rather sandy, as upon 

 Long Island, in New Jersey, near Hartford, 

 and around Boston, many sorts of pears that 

 once flourished well, are now feeble, and the 

 fruit is often blighted." 



We do not obiect to his statement that 



