32 Revieic of the JVeio American Orchardist. 



Michael), Chaumontelle, St. Germain, Royal d'Hiver, Col- 

 mar, &c. 



Now, although we do not presume to make war with the 

 theory of Mr. Knight, which we believe to be, in a great 

 measure, substantiated by the facts which that learned and 

 ingenious physiologist has, together with contemporaries on 

 the continent, brought forward to support it ; yet, on reading 

 the above, which is intended to be inculcated in the whole 

 of the United States, we very naturally regretted that the 

 author before at once recording it as another and conclusive 

 proof of the theory of degeneration, had not more thoroughly 

 examined our oum country at large, in order to satisfy himself 

 whether the facts and circumstances that he states in rela- 

 tion to the " outcasts " are general or only local. For our own 

 part, we believe them to belong entirely to the latter class, 

 and therefore that the effects which he details (and which 

 we know, from actual inspection, to be true at Boston), arise 

 from some other cause than the decay of the variety through 

 age. In the valley of the Hudson, where we pen these re- 

 marks, most of the above fruits which are described as 

 worthless, have been cultivated for nearly, if not quite as 

 great a length of time as at Boston. Our nurseries in the 

 vicinity of New York, are among the most ancient in Ameri- 

 ca, and we believe that some of the above fruit found their 

 way into the different sections of the Union through their 

 medium. So far from rejecting such fruits as the Brown 

 Beurre, Doyenne or Virgoulouse, &c., as worthless outcasts, 

 they still deservedly hold their place here among the first 

 class of pears, and we have the present season gathered 

 Doyennes, Brown Beurres, St. Germains, &c., as fair, as 

 beautiful, as delicious, as, we doubt not, were ever seen or 

 tasted from the parent trees of these noble varieties. The 

 above kinds bear fine and abundant crops of fruit in the 

 State of New York, even in situations much farthemorth than 

 Boston. We never saw finer, nor tasted more delicious 

 Doyennes or Virgoulouses, than in the markets of Philadel- 

 phia the past season. The same maybe said with regard to 

 the city of New York. We can by no means, therefore, 

 agree with Mr. Kenrick in his opinion that the above varie- 

 ties of pears are worn out with age, at least in this country, 

 and we are inclined to believe that the deplorable state of 

 these pears in the vicinities of Boston and Providence must 

 have for its cause some other circumstances, — as some pecu- 

 liarity in the soil unfavorable to the long duration of a vari- 

 ety, or the evil effects which may gradually be produced by 

 the marine winds of those cities, which sweep with violence 

 over a considerable portion of the adjacent country. It is 

 proper to remark that Mr. K. does not mention any similar 



