NEW EMCJtAND FARMER. 



PMished by JoHS B. Russf.li,, at JV». 52 JVorlh Market Street, (at the Agricultural Warehouse). — Thomas G. Fessendek, JEfA'tor. 



VOL. YIII. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, JULY '2, 1830. 



No. 50. 



i©sas(i^Kra<©^aa©srs» 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



ORIGIN OF THE BARTLETT PEAR. 



Mr Russell. — Wlieu tlie Bartlett pear was first 

 iutroduced to public notice, there were various 

 opinions respecting its origin. Many persons be- 

 lieved it to l)e a native variety, accidentally raised 

 from seed ; while others considered it a foreign 

 fruit, the name of which (as is too frequently the 

 case) was lost. During several years, 1 have se- 

 dulously endeavored to trace the derivation of 

 this justi)' celebrated pear. I examined all my 

 own varieties, ])rocured specimens of most of the 

 foreign pear trees in the jmblic nurserie;^, and 

 grafts from many private collections, but was in- 

 able to identify the Bartlett with any other fruit of 

 authentic name. About two years since, I was 

 struck with its resemblance to the description of 

 Williams^ Bon Chretien, — a pear raised from seed 

 in England about thirtyfivc years since, — I was 

 convinced, that if not a native seedling, it would 

 eventually be identified with this fruit. — Williams' 

 Bon Chretien is described as follows in the 7th 

 Edition of Forsyth : 



' Williams' Bon Chretien. — This is a seedling 

 (pear from Williams' Nursery atTurnham ijrreen,) 

 originally from Berkshire. It resembles i sum- 

 mer Bon Chretien, but is more juicy ; it is a great 

 M bearer and ripens in (August on walls) September. 

 , ' This pear will bo a valuable acquisition to the 

 market gardeners, as it immediately succeeds the 

 Windsor pcai'. It is of a large irregular pyra'iiid- 

 d shape • the eye not sunk, of a pale green color, 

 spotted with darker green and russet brown, turn- 

 ing yellowish, and faintly tinged with red next the 

 siiu when fully ripe ; the flesh whitish, tender, and 

 ftill of sweet and perfumed juice.' 



The reader will at once perceive the near re- 

 semblance of the two fruits. In the spring of 

 iS'29, I iirocured a small tree of Williams' Bon 

 fiiretien, in order, by comparing the leaf and 

 fTiowth, to test the justness of my opinion. This 

 jioe however did not survive the removal, and in 

 the spring of the present year, I obtained two of 

 the s^iaie variety, one from William Prince of 

 Flushing, who received it from the tate Mr Brad- 

 infK, the other from Buel & Wilson of Albany, 

 !)y whom it was imported from the London Horti- 

 cultural Society. As soon a.s the leaves expanded, 

 1 ]icrceived those two were alike, that they pos- 

 sessed all the richness and beauty of foliage which 

 distinguishes the Bartlett, and were so perfectly 

 tiiriilar to it in every respect, that no person would 

 jicsitate to recognise them as the same. The 

 transactions of the London Horticultural Society, 

 Vol, 2d Page 2-50, contain a figure and description 

 cf Williams' Bon Chretien, which I liere copy. 



' Account of a JVew Pear, called Williams' Bon 

 Chretien ; in a Ldter to Joseph Sabine, Esq. Secre- 

 tary. By William Hooker, Esq. F. H. S.' 



' Dear Sir — I beg leave to lay before the Horti- 

 cidtural Society, an account which I have obtain- 

 ed, at your request, of a variety of Pear; speci- 

 niins of which were communicated to the Society 

 III August last, by Mr Richard Williams of Turn- 

 'lam Green, and much approved.' 



f ' This Pear, which has been called by Mr Aito.n, I three years, they will find that Hio best of all our 

 (in his Epitome of the Hortus Kcwensis,) Wi7- sumjner pear.s, and Williams' Bon Chretien, are 

 \ Horns' Don Chretien, appears to liavc sprung from I the same. R. M. 



seed, in the garden of Mr Wheeler, a schoolmas- 1 Salem, June, 1830. 

 ter at Alderinaston in Berkshire, about twenty 

 years ago, and was suffered to remain, in order to 

 prove the value of its fruit. Subsequently grafts 

 have been extensively dispersed, and many trees 

 are now in Mr Williams' nursery and other gar- 

 dens around London. I have added the follow- 

 ing description. 



'The trees of this variety are of vigorous growth, 

 and fertile habit; their branches remarkably erect 

 and straight, until bent by the weight of fruit. 

 Leaves broad, deep green, very sliarply serrated. 

 Fruit of an irregular pyramidal and somewhat 



EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 



Extract "f a tjcttor from an emiiioiit llorticultiiriat at Albany 

 to Iho Editor of the .New EnjIaiiJ Fanner. 



Our pears, apples a'lid quinces, and even the 

 double fiowering almond, suffer severely this sea- 

 son, from what I consider the poison of some un- 

 known insect. The injury is in proportion to the 

 ihriftincss of growth ; the pear suffering most, 

 and the others in the order iiametl.* I have been 

 obliged to head dowji almost literally many peara 

 to prevent the total death of the tree. We iiave 



, . - „ ,, . , I had rain daily in June for four days. The hard- 

 truncated form ; large, being from 3 to 4 J inches . " . „...„, i„..i_ „,„ i, ,,,,„;„„, . i,,., 

 , „ . , . . , - , .her crops, except on wet lanils, are luxuriant ; Dut 

 in length, and 2 to 3 inches in wk ti at the wi- ., . r i,v,i, „„ i„,i;.,„ „^..v. ^v„i „;n»o 

 , '^ ' , , , m, X, ■ • . the more tender kinds, as Indian corn anu vines, 

 lest part near the head. 1 lie L.ye is inserted on | 



lours, and there is yet no indication of its 

 stopping. The earth is filled with water, and I 

 appreheml our intervales will be flooded, to the 

 great detriment of our farmers. 



, . , ,, . ,arc very unpromising. It has rained constantly 



the summit, and never sunk in a hollow cavity, as ! „ „. ■ 



1 1 ■■ . n .-., .- vA, ; for 24 ho 



in the other varieties called Bon Chretiens. The 



Stalk is very gross or fleshy, about three fourths 



of an inch in length. The Color of the fruit is 



pale green, spotted over with a mixture of darker 



green and russet brown, becoming yellowish, and 



faintly tinged with red on the side next the sun 



when fully ripe. The Flesh is whitish, very tender 



and delicate, abounding with juice, which is sweet, 



REMARKS ON VEGETABLES. 



nasturtium. 



The blossoms of Nasturtium have been observ- 



,, „ , T.- • /, , , I ed to emit electric sparks towards evening, which 



and agreeablv perfumed. Ripens in .4i/o-us< when i ^ • , , .i i i, c .i n „._•„..„ 



° -' ,, , ^ , ," . . was first noticed bv the daughter of the illustrious 



trained to a west wall, but on standard trees jt is 



from three weeks to a month later. 



' This Pear I would recommend to the notice of 

 the Horticultural Society as superior to any of its 

 seasoR with which I am at^quainted. It immedi- 

 ately succeeds the Jargonelle, and is earlier than, 

 &s well as much superior to, the Doyenne or JFhitc 

 Beurree, and resembles in flavor the Summer Musk- 

 ed Bon Chretien. Its merits over the latter vari- 

 ety are, that on standard trees, as well as when 

 trained, it seldom fails to produce fruit in abun- 

 dance. 



' The drawing which accompanies this, was 

 taken from specimens which ripened on a west 

 wall, and may be considered an average size ; but I 

 I have seen fruit of this variety weighing from ten 

 to twelve ounces. 



I remain. Dear Sir, 



most respectfully and sincerely yours, 



.Vof. 30, 1816. William Hooker.' 



Linnoeus, who could not credit the account until 

 he had seen the phenomenon. It is seen most 

 diFtinctly witli the eye partly closed. 



The flowers, as well as the young leaves, are used 

 in salads, ije.ng of a warm, spicy, ngrceabje taste, 

 and an excellent antiscorbutic. The nasturtium 

 blossom is servicable in a weakness, or pain of the 

 stomach, proceeding from cold and flatulences. 



ONION. 



Pliny recoinniRiids onions to be kept in corn or 

 chaft", and informs us, that the Romans made 

 poultices of onions and barleymeal, for those who 

 iiad watery eyes. He says, onions clear the sight 

 by the tears they draw i they used thtm to cure 

 the sting of serpents and other reptiles, and the 

 juice was given to those who suddenly became 

 speechless. 



The many domestic purposes to which this 

 strong scented vegetable is applied at the present 

 time, are known to every one : its nature is to 

 Being told that Mr James Carter of Boston ' attenuate thick viscid juices ; consequently, a plen- 

 liad procured trees from England for .Mr Brewer, tifiil use of it in cold phlegmatic constitutions must 

 the former owner of the Bartlett Estate, in Rox- : prove beneficial. Many people shun onions on 

 bury, I called on him. He informed me that he ; account of the strong disagreeable smell they com.. 

 was in London, about 25 years ago, and had pur. jmunicate to the breath : this may be remedied by 

 chased a number of Pear Trees for Mr Brewer : eating walnuts, or a few raw parsley leaves, im- 

 and as his object was to obtain what was then rare , mediately after, which will effectu.illy overcome 

 and valuable, there can be no doubt that the tree the scent, and cause them to set more easy on the 

 now called the Bartlett was in this collection. In .stomach. 



my own mind I am fully convinced. Those gen- 

 tlemen who may entertain a different opinion, will 

 not easily account for the appearance, in this 

 country and in England, of two pears so nearly 

 resembling each other in the wood, the leaf, the 

 fruit, and the time of ripening. 



I would recommend, to such as are less con- 

 fident than myself, to insert buds of both jiears in 



GARLIC. 



Every part of the garlic, but more especially 

 the root, has an acrimonious and almost caustic 

 taste ; it abounds in sharp subtile particles, which 

 render its odor so jiowerful and penetrating, th.-it, 

 if it be applied to the feet, its scent is soon discover- 

 ed in the breath, and when taken internally, its 

 mell is communicated through the pores of the 



the bearing branches of the same tree. — In two or I skin, even to the fingers. Hence in cold and 



