212 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Jan. 21, 1831. 



©©sasiiWiJii^iisii®sr3(» 



T. G. Fessenden, Esq. . 



Dear Sir — As there has existed more confusion 

 and inaccuracy in regard to the nomenclature and 

 identity of the Epargne, Jargonelle, and H'indsor 

 or Cuisse Madame pears than any others,^ I submit 

 the following extracts from the ' Pomologkal Man- 

 ual' now piiblishing, in reference thereto, and 

 hope they may prove satisfactory to our Pomologists 

 generally. 



and very agreeable : the seeds are black, and fre- : refer without doubt to the present fruit. It ir 

 nuently abortive. This pear is one of the most; there remarked, tliat the name of the JarijonelL 



beautiful and one of the best that is .to be met 

 with at the period of its maturity, which is at the 

 end of July to the tenth of 'August. The tree 

 is vigorous, and may be propagated on both the 

 pear and quince.' 



I also add the following descri_ tion from the 

 Pomological Magazine. 



'Tree of a strao-trling, creeping habit; wood | ed, the kind to which the name belongs will 

 yellowish green in the shade, reddish when exposed; one of the most ancient in cultivation. 



pear is derived, according to Manage and Ducha' 

 from Jargon, anciently Gergon, in Italian Gerg"d 

 in Spanish Gericonea all corruptions of Grcecuj 

 whence Merlet infers that the Jargonelle was thi 

 Pi)rum Tarentinum of Cato and Columella, thi 

 jYumidianum Groecmn of Pliny, and the -Graulur, 

 of Maerobius. If this conjecture be well found 



b, 



The translation of the new edition of Didiamel ' j^jyes rather large, woolly when young, ovate,; This fruit has great affinity to the A urate, bu- 



has been completed and nearly the whole is now I acuminate, finely and doubly serrated 

 printed off, so that the work wiil be very speedily ' 

 presented to the public. 



Verv respectfully, 



WM. PRINCE. 



Linnsan Botani'^ Garden, ) 

 January 11, 1831. j 





petioles on! is rather larger, more oblong, and pyriform ; itu 

 the youno- shoots about an inch long ; stipules lin- twentytwo lines in height, and eighteen in diam 

 ear- flowers early, very large ; fruit large, oblong, ' eter ; the skin is i)erfectly yellow on the shadi 

 with a lono- stalk, generally a little bent; eye side, and a beautiful red next the sun ; the flesh i 

 open, with long projecting segments of the calyx ; delicate, white, half-breaking, and of slight musk; 



EPARGNE. Pr. cat. Z)dh. Roz. Dig. d' Agric. 

 Jard. fruit. B(>/Jard. For. Coxe. 

 Jargonelle. Pom. lyag. Lond. Ilort. cat., and of 



most EngUsii gardens erroneously. 

 Espargne, or ^int Sanson. Quin. 

 Espargne. Reserve pear, or St Sanson. Evel. 

 Lad}fs thixK 



Grosse Cuisse madame 'i of the French 



Beau/resent. Roz. syn. f authors and 

 Saild Samson. Roz. syn. C catalogues. 

 Sui'it Lambert, J 



poire dcs tables des Pmices, 

 Real Jargonelle. Fes. New. Araer. Gard. 

 This pear, which is extensively cultivated in 

 this vicinity and in various sections of the union, 

 is most generally known by the titles of Jargonelle, 

 Cuisse madame, and Lady's thigh, it having been 

 received from England under the name of Jargon- 

 elle, and from Fraace under those of Epargne, 

 Cuisse madame, and Grosse Cuisse madame. As 

 I can perceive no good reason why we should 

 adopt the blunders of the Enghsii, even if they 

 have received countenance from being copied into 

 some of their works deemed in other cases to be 

 authority, and as both Miller and Forsyth reject 

 the error referred to, it is to be regretted that a 

 publication having so many claims to superiority 

 as the Pomological Magazine should have continu- 

 ed it ; for although long usage may be sometimes 

 allowed to form an apology for adopting a title 

 erroneous in its origin, such course can only be 

 admitted when it may be done without- confusion ; 

 but in the present case there is a genuine Jargon- 

 elle, so called by all the French authors since the 

 middle of the 17th Century, and supposed to be 

 one of the most ancient varieties in cultivation ; 

 and the only means of preventing confusion is to 

 correct the error at once. 



The following description is from Duhamel, an 

 author celebrated for his great accuracy, and ac- 

 cords w-ith my own observations. 



'This fruit is of very oblong form, being three 

 to three and a half inches in height, and twenty- 

 two to twentyfour lines in diameter at its largest 

 part, which is at about two thirds its length, meas- 

 uring from the base ; the eye is placed in a slight 

 cavity, which is surrounded by several projections ; 

 the stem is two inches in length, or thereabouts, 

 and the fruit has often some prominence or swell- 

 ings at its insertion ; the skin is greenish and 

 somewhat marbled with fawn-color mingled with 

 red next to the sun ; the flesh is white, and melt- 

 ing with a slight acidity of flavor, which is rich 



skin o-reenish yellow on the shaded side, with a flavor ; the seeds are small and blackish brovra 

 tino-e of brownish red when exposed ; flesh yel- , and the fruit ripens at the begininng of Septerm 

 lowish white, very juicy and melting, with a pecu- 1 ber. The French writers do not deem it ver 

 liarly rich agreeable flavor ; round the core it is ' vv'orthy of culture, and indeed it is so very infe 

 rather gritty, and more so if grafted on the quince;' rior to the preceiling, and rots so soon at th*( 

 it is the queen of autumn pears and unequalled in | core, that its beauty may be considered its princb 



flavor by any of its season.' 



pal recommendation. The growth of the tree ii 



In the orchards in the vicinity of New York, we ; not as vigorous as the preceding kind; but tit 

 have no pear tree whose growth is more strong young shoots have the same propensity to curvM 



and vigorous than this, and its crops are exceed 

 ingly abundant. It is deemed by those who supply 

 the markets with fruit, to be one of the kinds best 

 calculated for that purpose, and such appears to be 

 its character wherever cultivated ; and from its 

 being one of the oldest pears, it forms a sorrowful 

 com'ment on the principle of exhaustion of the 

 variety by age. In Fessenden's American Gar- 

 dener, it is stated to be a great and constant bear- 

 er, and to come in between the smaller fruits of 

 the garden, such as the strawberry and raspberry, 

 and the peach. It is also very justly remarked in 



that work, that the fruit generally seen in market ^^^^ g,g„,^ which is about fifteen lines in Icngtl 

 is a caricature of that raised by the cultivator for 

 his own use, it being in the former case gathered 

 unripe and artificially ripened, by being spread in yellowish green on the shaded side, and browi 



and benil over, which renders the young tree( 

 irregular and ill-formed in their appearance 



WINDSOR. Pr. cat. Mil. For. Lang, Fonl 

 Knoop. pom. 

 Cuisse Madame. Quin. Evel. Duh. Roz., aa 

 all French writers and catalogues, and als- 

 of Forsytli and Coxe. 

 Lady's thigh. Evel. 



This pear is oblong, its height being thirty liner 

 and its diameter twentytwo ; the eye is smal 

 inserted nearly even with the base of the fruit 



is somewhat furrowed at the extremity whiol 

 unites it to the fruit ; the skin is delicate, shinini 



' ish red next the sun ; the flesh 



iilf-meltina 



great masses. 



It is a singular circumstance that Miller does ' jj„j ,.g,ijgi. b,,ttery, somewhat coarse, abounding 

 not refer at all to the Epargne pear, although he j^ sweet juice, which has a partially musk flavoi 

 evidently had the same fruit in view when describ- (j^g f,.yj( ,.ipe„s ^i the end of July ; the tree grow 

 ing his ' Cuisse madame or Lady's thigh, in Eng- yg,.y vigorously when grafted on the pear, bu 

 land, commonly called Jargonelle ;' but he quotes j^gg „ot jj, go well on the quince. 

 Tourn. and Duhamel erroneously when applying r^Ms is deemed to bo a fruit of only scconda , 

 their titles to his description. The whole chain quality. It soon turns soft, and in a few day 

 of error and transposition seems to have arisen ^f^^^ maturity becomes mealy. Many person 



from its not being understood by Miller that the 

 Epargne of the French was the Jargonelle of the 

 Enjjlish. 



JARGONELLE. Quin. Evel. Duh. Roz. Die. 



d'Agric. Jard. fruit. Bon jard. For. 



Summer Jargonelle. Evel. 



Jargonelle, called Cuisse Madame in England. 

 Mil. 



Cuisse madame, of many English and American 

 collections. 



French Jargonelle. 



Much difficulty has arisen from an erroneou.i title 

 being applied, in England, to this fruit, under 

 which it has been, in many cases, sent to this 

 country. It will he seen by the authors quoted 

 above, that it has been regularly known and de- 

 scribed by the name adopted since the middle of 

 the 17th century, and its origin is traced much 

 farther back by some writers. The remarks on 

 that head, at page 108, of the Pomological Mag- 

 azine, although applied to the preceding variety, 



cultivate it for market, but of how much greatt< 

 advantage would it he to themselves and the pull 

 lie, if they would reject inferior fruits and culti 

 vate only the choicest for that purpose, whi6l| 

 woulil command a very enhanced price, 

 thereby amply repay them. 



Forsyth describes this under two heads, ttl 

 Windsor, and Cuisse Madame. The Frene 

 writers state that the stem of the fruit is no' 

 strongly attached to the tree, and that in conse 

 qnence the least wind l-dows it ofl^, and Cox« " 

 adopts these and other remarks, which shows h(' 

 had reference to the same fruit, and indeed luj' 

 appears to have generally been guided by Roziei I 

 in his descriptions of pears. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



SILK. 



Mr Fessenden — 1 observe in the New Engla 

 Farmer of the 7th inst. two communications 

 the culture of silk ; one of which is from 



