Notes and Gleanings. 5 ^ 



doubt, the inducement to produce them, — a result which is easily effected by any 

 practical horticulturist of ordinary intelligence. The itinerant dealers to whom 

 I have alluded apply diflferent names to tlie fruit, such as " La Merveilleuse," 

 " La Belle Excellente," &c. : but they are very careful not to allow the speci- 

 mens they exhibit to be cut or tasted ; their object being to sell the trees, which, 

 in spite of fine names and powerful recommendations, is an imposition upon 

 unsophisticated purchasers. They aflfect to apologize for the objection by stat- 

 ing that they are intended as specimens, and are not for sale : whereas the 

 "genuine English " of the matter is, that they dare not allow it, for fear of ex- 

 posing the imposition they are attempting to practise. — C. B. S., in Florist and 

 Pojnologist. 



De la Madeleine Fig. — This very early fig, which is also called Angelique, 

 is one of the earliest varieties in cultivation. It is quite distinct in character and 

 general appearance, and may easily be known from all others by its beautiful 

 clear yellow fruits, and by the peculiar wavy, crumpled appearance of the leaves, 

 which are sharply serrated, slightly lobed, and somewhat bristly. It is, however, 

 strangely enough, frequently confounded with the White Marseilles, the fruits 

 of which are of a pale green, with opaline flesh ; while the De la Madeleine is 

 of a clear pale yellow, with whitish flesh tinged with rose. 



The fruit is of medium size, roundish turbinate, with a short neck. The 

 color is pale straw-yellow ; the skin rugose, thin, and cracking in several places 

 lengthwise as it ripens ; the flesh is white or pale yellow, tinged with rose, soft, 

 juicy, rich, and pleasant ; the seeds large, slightly tinged with rosy pink ; the 

 eye small and open, showing the pink tips of the seeds in the interior ; and the 

 stalk short. 



When well ripened, the fruit is of excellent quality, and slightly perfumed. 

 It is a first-bearing variety, and exceedingly well suited for pot-cultivation, in 

 which condition it will ripen ofT two or three crops in the season. Its great 

 merits, however, lie in its earliness, hardiness, and suitability for open-air culti- 

 vation. It is nearly a month earlier than the Brown Turkey ; a fact which should 

 not be lost sight of in selections of figs for out-door culture, as it is mainly owing 

 to the short duration of our summer season, not the actual lack of heat, that 

 figs so seldom answer in the open air in this country. 



Lydie Thierard Pear. — The old Crassane Pear has so long since passed 

 out of cultivation, that, probably, but few of our readers recollect it, with its 

 abundant, sprightly, vinous juice ; but those who do will need no further recom- 

 mendation of this new variety, which is said to be a very remarkable acquisition, 

 and will, it is hoped, be capable of filling the place of the old Crassane, with the 

 advantage of keeping well for a longer time on the tree. Our description is 

 from the " Revue Horticole." 



" The fruit is of bergamot-shape, measuring about two and a quarter inches 

 in height, and a little more in diameter ; stem of medium size, curved, a little 

 fleshy at the base, in a very large and very uneven depression ; calyx open, 

 small ; divisions short and rigid, in a large, deep, and regular cavity ; skin very 



