Notes and Gleanings. oqi 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



Beurre Clairgeau Pear. — Take it for all in all, the Beurre Clairgeau, 

 though not first-class in all respects, is a pear which ought to have a place in 

 every garden which io not of the most limited extent. It combines in itself so 

 many of the qualifications that go to make a good fruit, that, wherever there is 

 room, it ought to find a place. Its size is of the largest, and its color the bright- 

 est ; its form is most graceful ; and its quality, in certain situations, is excellent. 

 For the dessert it has few rivals ; and, as its season extends from the beginning 

 of November till January, it is invaluable for keeping up a supply. The tree is 

 of remarkable fertility, and of moderate size. It does not produce a very vigorous 

 growth, and is, consequently, well adapted either for bush-culture or for pyramids. 

 To have the fruit in the finest possible condition, it ought to be grown in one of 

 these forms. We have seen dwarf bushes laden with fruit of immense size, 

 where proper attention has been paid to thinning, and exposure to the sun's rays, 

 and particularly so when it was so near the soil as to benefit from the radiation. 

 On espaliers, or against an east or west wall, we have also seen it produced in 

 high condition. When grown upon quince, the tree succeeds better if double 

 worked. 



This beautiful pear originated at Nantes, about the year 1838, in the garden of 

 Pierre Clairgeau, a gardener in the Rue de la Bastille of that city. It first fruited 

 in 1848 ; and that same year he exhibited it, on the 22d of October, at the Horti- 

 cultural Society of Loire-Inferieur. It is believed to have been produced from 

 a cross between the Brown Buerre and Duchesse d'Angouleme. The original 

 tree was purchased by M. De Jonghe of Brussels, and formed part of his col- 

 lection at St. Gilles in the suburbs of that city. — Adapted from the Florist. 



Labels for Trees. — At a recent meeting of the Institute of Technology, 

 held in Boston, Hon. M. P. Wilder made a statement relative to a new method 

 of labelHng trees, accidentally discovered by him. In the use of zinc labels, 

 which were the most durable in character, an indelible ink was used ; but, not 

 having the ink at hand on one occasion, he wrote upon the zinc with a lead pen- 

 cil. This writing, although it could be rubbed off when first made, grew more 

 distinct and durable with age, and, after several years, could not be erased, except 

 by scraping. 



Cypripedium Insigxe. — It is scarcely possible to overestimate the merits 

 of this old winter-blooming orchid for decorative purposes. In December, I in- 

 troduced into my sitting-room, which is not one of the warmest, a plant just on 

 the point of expanding its chaste slipper-like flowers ; and it has far exceeded my 

 expectations regarding its suitability as a decorative plant for such purposes. 

 The blossoms are scentless, and this is the only drawback to the plant ; for, in 

 every other respect, it is all that can be desired. 



