STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 65 



lived. Grafting the pear tends to shorten the life and impair the 

 vigor of any variety, and since all varieties are multiplied in this 

 wa}', it becomes a question of time as to how long any variety can 

 be expected to live. Fifty or sixty years ago the St. Michael was 

 justly esteemed the best pear grown ; it is now entirely abandoned. 

 The Flemish Beauty is another excellent pear of twenty or thirty 

 years ago, but is fast going out of use. 



In 1838 Mr. Wm. Kenrick published a list of twelve old varieties 

 of pears, none of which are grown to-day; and eightj^-seven new 

 kinds, of which seventeen are now occasionalh* seen, four of these 

 still survive as valuable pears, the Bartlett, Bosc, Seckel and Duch- 

 ess. In 1839 Mr. W. R. Prince of Flushing, L. I., published a list 

 of three hundred and sixty-seven varieties of pears ; of these thir- 

 teen now survive. There have been many hundreds of new varieties 

 imported since then, of which less than twenty are retained as worth 

 cultivation ; many of these, of course, were rejected for various other 

 reasons, but man}- would still be in cultivation, if thej- were not de- 

 generated. 



Of sixty varieties of apples cultivated fifty years ago, forty now 

 remain. Among good varieties that have failed recentl}', are the 

 Early Harvest and Newtown Pippin, but the Rhode Island Greening 

 is as good now as one hundred and fifty years ago, and in England 

 the Costard has been a favorite apple since the thirteenth centur}^ 



Cherries and plums do not seem to degenerate at all ; the same 

 varieties are grown now that were well known one hundred years 

 ago, and are quite as good as ever. 



The strawberry, however, seems not to be a long-lived fruit. At 

 best it seldom exceeds thirty years in valuable condition, with the 

 single exception of the Alpine variety, which seems as good as ever. 



Of those popular now, most are new kinds, very few are over 

 twenty years old. Currants are all long-lived, and the old kinds 

 seem as good as ever." 



This affords another illustration of the importance of our work to 

 the people of the State. Every man cannot afford to spend his time 

 and energies in ascertaining the value of individual fruits. Life is 

 too bus}' and too short for this, and there is no need of it ; for from 

 year to year, as we meet together, the papers and discussions before 

 the Society ai'e very likel}' to point out the defects of varieties, as 

 well as to bring before the public the value of the new ones. In this 



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