144 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. 



in his amusing travels, mentions it as being heard near Lake Superior; 

 naming it, if I recollect rightly, the whet-saw. It may possibly be known, 

 but I find nothing of it in Wilson or Bonaparte. Professor Nuttall was ac- 

 quainted with the note, but told me plainly that the bird was unknown. I 

 conjecture it may be some of the herons or bitterns ; or, possibly, from a 

 passu ge in Bonaparte's Ornithology, the Evening Grosbeak, (Fiingilla ves- 

 pertina.) He says of that bird: 'Their note is strange and peculiar; and 

 it is only at twilight that they are heard crying in a singular strain. This 

 mournful sound, uttered at such an unusual hour, strikes the traveller's ear, 

 but the bird itself is seldom seen.'" 



Mr. Gosse concludes by saying: "Accident may throw light on this, as 

 it has done on some other subjects." 



I would refer this matter to your correspondent, and to the readers in 

 general of the Magazine of Horticulture. Can any one give us some cer- 

 tain information concerning the saw-whetter, and tell us whether it be iden- 

 tical with the evening grosbeak ? I am inclined to think that the sound 

 uttered by the evening grosbeak is a different one ; and the same which has 

 been d(!scribed to me by an observing acquaintance, as resembling what 

 musicians call a slide, commencing with a low note, and sliding upwards 

 through the extent of an octave, with a peculiarly plaintive modulation. Is 

 this the note described by Bonaparte as the song of the evening grosbeak ? 

 If not, from what bird does it come, and from what species proceed the 

 mysterious sounds of the saw-icheller? — W. Flagg, Andover, Mass., 1855. 



STassiKJjusctts Ijoditulturiil Socictg. 



The following are the preliminary remarks of the Report of the Com- 

 mittee ON Fkuits, which were not in readiness when we published the 

 awards in our January number : — 



" Previous to stating the award, your Committee cannot but congratulate 

 the Society on the success attending this department. While there has 

 been no diminution in contributions, the fruits have in nearly all instances 

 been of marked superiority. The fruits are generally better grown and 

 more sizeable, showing favorably in comparison with previous years, both 

 at the Weekly and Annual Exhibition. It is evident, on all sides, that 

 increased care is being bestowed on the cultivation of fruits, particularly 

 the pear. We now have the St. Michael and other varieties — probably 

 never better grown specimens — whereas a few years since they were con- 

 sidered as scarcely worth gathering. The working of the pear on the 

 quince stock has undoubtedly had its effect upon many varieties, resulting 

 most favorably. 



It is believed the pear succeeds as well or better in this vicinity than in 

 almost any other part of our country, and will compare with the same 

 fruit grown in any region. We certainly had abundant proofs of this 



