20 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



From the Mass. Agricultural Repository for June, 1824. 



■Some further notice of some of the valuable vari- 

 eties of new Pears sent last year by Mr. Knii^ht 

 to Mr. Lowell. 



We would commence by saying, that all the 

 original trees are alive, and in good order, ex- 

 cept the Hardenpont de rrintems,(by the French 

 Gardeners called, Buorre Ranee)— There are 

 also living about eighty grafts from them, and 

 a great number of buds. Mr. Lowell will 

 cheerfully furnish buds of all the varieties, as 

 soon as they are (it, during the present season. 

 It must occur to every one that as the trees are 

 small be cannot answer all the demands of the 

 public, but regardless of the speedy growth of 

 the trees, he will give all that can be spared 

 without injury to them. 



Of the Buerre Ranee, or Hardenpont de Prin- 

 lems there are many grafts growing in the 

 gardens of several gentlemen in the vicinity, 

 for the grafts from the trees survived though 

 the parent stock died, a case not uncommca. 



Of No. V. in the catalogue of Mr. Knight's 

 pears as printed in the Massachusetts Agricul- 

 tural Repository of June 1823, the following 

 description is given in the Transactions of the 

 London Horticultural Society accompanied with 

 a beautiful coloured plate of the Pear, cihib- 

 iting its form and natural size and colours. — 

 See part IV. Vol. 4 of these Transactions. 



Extract from the Journals of the London Soc tfij. 



" Specimens of the Marie Louise Pear were 

 received from Roger Wilbraham, Esq. the pro- 

 duce of a tree in his garden at Twickenham, 

 trained to a south wall which is however much 

 shaded with trees. This pear which has al- 

 ready been noticed in the Society's Transac- 

 tions', Vol. II. page 406 and Vol. HI. p.nge 120, 

 has far exceeded any e"pectations which had 



1 r-.„„j .i-:,. I,, gHiieioi form is like that 



of St. Germain, but tapering less towards the 

 stalk. The skin is of a greenish yellow, deep- 

 ening where e.xposed to the sun, or when full 

 ripe to a rich yellow, clouded with light brown 

 russet — flesh inclining to yellow — perfectly 

 melting, with abundance of sweet juice. The 

 annexed figure will convey a very perfect idea 

 of this excellent and beautiful pear. In favour- 

 able situations, however, it attains to a much 

 larger size, being sometimes five inches long, 

 and three inches wide and weighing eight 

 ounces. Its period of maturity is from the 

 middle of Octoher to the middle of November. 

 Those received from Mr. Wilbraham having 

 ripened one year, 17th of October, and some 

 which were received of Mr. Knight, not till the 

 15th of November, but these last were produc- 

 ed in the climate of Dounton [Mr. Knight's 

 seat in Shropshire in the northern part of 

 Wales] which is very inferior to that of .Mid- 

 dlesex (near London.) This is one of the nu- 

 merous seedlings which have been raised with- 

 in a few years in the Netherlands. The first 

 specimens came from Dr. Van Mons when he 

 resided at Brussels— and grafts and i)lanls were 

 obtamed from his garden there, and subsequent- 

 ly from the Count Coloma at Mecklin. It is 

 said to have been raised by the Abbe Duquesne, 

 together with the Napoleon pear already des- 

 cribed in the Transactions, page 215 of this 

 volume." 



Thus it will be perceived, that in this fruit 



we have obtained a most valuable addition to 

 our innocent luxuries. 



We shall now add the short account given in 

 the same Transactions of the JVapolion Pear, 

 and perhaps the name will give it some inter- 

 est and popularity with some persons. It m.ny 

 make it, if it shall prove a good fruit, a little 

 more marketable, and therefore more profitable 

 to our friends, who raise fruit for sale. 



"Roger Wilbraham, Esq. sent a fine speci- 

 men of the Napoleon Pear, the produce of a 

 graft received by the Society from Dr. Van 

 Mons of Brussels, The form is pyramidal, but 

 irregular, something like the Colmar. The 

 skin is green, becoming pals yellow when fully 

 ripe — flesh while, a little inclined tn pale dull 

 yellow, of pleasant consistence, melting and 

 juicy, of excellent flavour, and much sweetness. 

 The core is small, almost free from grit, and 

 the seeds which are small are inserted near Ihe 

 head. This Pear is interesting as being the first 

 of the new Flemish varieties produced in this 

 country with an authenticated name. [We pre- 

 sume this does not apply to the circumstance 

 of its bearing the name of the most extraordi- 

 nary man of the age, but that it was the first of 

 the varieties which was receiveil from an au- 

 thentic source.] So much confusion existed in 

 the manner in which both the specimens and 

 grafts were sent over by Dr. Van Mons that it 

 will be a work of considerable attention to affix 

 the original names to the produce of the trees 

 now abundant in the gardens of the members 

 of this Society, who have attended to the 

 growth o( these valuable fruits, which Ihe indus- 

 try of the Flcimsh gardeners have recently ac- 

 quired." 



It wilt be seen by this extract, that the Na- 

 poleon Pear is also excellent. They have 

 omitted in this accotmt, the season of its ripen- 

 ing, but Mr. Knight in his letter to Mr. Lowell 

 piihlished la t year, slates it to be November 

 and December, which much enhances its value. 

 When we consider the high state of Horli- 

 culture in England and the just pride in it — and 

 the natural jealousy they would (eel in havi .g 

 their near neighbours across Ihe channel sur- 

 pass them in producing new and excellent fruils, 

 we have abundant reason to believe that those 

 new Flemish varieties raised from seed are 

 highly valuable. 



The concluding remark in the notice of this 

 Pear as to the confusion of 7iaines of different 

 fruits induces us once more to beg cultivators to 

 be more attentive to this subject, and (o strive 

 as far as possible to give Ihe correct names, the 

 authorized, admitted names to every fruit tree 

 they possess. It is a matter of far greater 

 moment than genlletnen are aware of. One 

 man finds he has a fine fruit. He calls it a 

 Virgoulousp, when in truth it is a Colmar. He 

 recommends it to his friend as a Virgoulouse. 

 His friend not having tliat pear, takes grafts 

 from it, and waits five years (or its fruit, when 

 to his great mortification, and severe and irre- 

 parable loss, he finds it to be nothing hut a fruit 

 of which he had too much before, under the 

 true and correct name of Colmar. Disa[ipoint- 

 ed and vexed, he has no resource, but to gral't 

 the tree anew, and perhaps a second excellent 

 and obliging friend has unwittingly deceived 

 him a second time. It is a very serious evil 

 in Horticultiire, and demands the most strict 

 attention. Wc shall never make the advances 



we might make in this branch while we are 

 so careless about names. It is not indeed diffi- 

 cult, even (or unlearned pi^rsons, to ascertain 

 tlie facts. Let them never graft, till they have 

 seen the fruit, and snbmilted it to those who are 

 judges; or, at least, let them not take their 

 scions, except froni well infcjrmed cultivators. 



Seckle Pear. 



It may be interesting to some of our readers 

 to know what the best cultivators in Eurn[iQ 

 think of the best, if not the only superior |)ear 

 produced in America. It is admitted, we be- 

 lieve, by the French and English g.irdeners, 

 that the Seckle pear is new to them. We know 

 that General Moreau pronounced it tn be new ' 

 to the French. They consider it an .'iinei ican 

 production. That we have had no more new 

 varieties is undoubtedly owing to our inatten- 

 tion to the subject. Even this justly celehrated 

 Pear was not the produce of care hut of acci- 

 dent. We have been informed that Mr. Johoo- 

 not, of Salem, has attempted with laudable in- 

 dustry and enterprize, to raise new varieties of 

 the I'car from the seed; and that he has suc- 

 ceeded in producing one excellent variety. 

 Cultivators ought not to be discourage. I because 

 so few are found to reward their labour. Dr. 

 Van Mons of Brussels raise<l eight hundred new 

 varieties, of which only thirty were deemed 

 worthy of cultivation. But the labour is by no 

 means lost; the stocks are highly valuable, and 

 may he grafted with belter fruits. In Ibis vi- 

 cinity, we have learned that iVuit trees are the 

 most valuable products of the soil, and we 

 know instances wf.ere an acre filled with good 

 trees in a bearing stale would sell, and has been 

 sold, for 500 dollars, when the same land strip- 

 ped of the trees, would not sell (or 150 dollars. 



Transactions of the London Horticultural Societi/. 



"John Braddish, Esq. sent specimens of Ike 

 Seckle Pear, the produce of Espalier trees in 

 his garden. The fruit has already been des- 

 cribed in the Transactions of the society from 

 a drawing made in America and received from 

 Mr. Coxe of New-Jersey. It is gratifying to 

 find that the present specimens, though larger, 

 closely resemble the figure published with the 

 account, and fully juslily Ihe high character 

 given of the Pear by Dr. Hosack (of N. York) 

 in the paper alluded to. In shape it resembles 

 the Swan's egg, but is a little longer. Skin of 

 a greenish olive colour, ollen with much dull 

 or bronzed red on the side exposed to the sun — 

 flesh yellow, very fine in texture, melting, 

 juicy and sweet, with a delicate and very pott;- 

 erf'ul hersnmot perfume. It is in this perfume 

 that the Sechlc Pear differs from alt others, and 

 which has caused it to be so highly extolled in 

 America. 



"The Society having received by the kind- 

 ness of Dr. Hosack, a number of plants of Ihe 

 Seckle pear in 1819, distributed them to the 

 nurservmen around London. It is therefore 

 expected that young plants for sale are by this 

 lime plenty." 



So far say the English horticulturists. We 

 add, that it is by such interchanges of blessings ,S 

 peculiar to each country, that the enjoyments '■ 

 of all are increased, and we know of nothing 

 more delightful than such an intercourse. It 

 atones in some small degree for the evils which 

 the ambition and ill passions of men inflict on 

 each other. We take this occasion to say to 



