INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE. 25 



then just fruited; but the two succeeding seasons 

 it was nearly worthless. The Bezi de la Motte, 

 about one year in seven, is a delicious melting pear, 

 and at other times dry and tasteless. Some stri- 

 king cases were mentioned by the late Robert Man- 

 ning of Salem. The Beurre Duval, which has a 

 high reputation in Europe, produced, the first year 

 of bearing, beautiful fruit ; but on ripening, they 

 were found tasteless and worthless. The next 

 year the same tree produced fewer pears, half the 

 size, different in shade of color, and delicious in 

 flavor. In another case the Hericart yielded fruit 

 which proved melting and high-flavored. The 

 next year it not only varied in size, shgpe, and 

 color, but was so tasteless as to be immediately 

 rejected as worthless. Again, the Calabash pear 

 produced in two seasons, oblong fruit with project- 

 ing ridges, the color being bright russet, and the 

 flesh breaking, melting, and very good. The next 

 year the fruit was more abundant, of larger size, 

 of a bright yellow color, without ridges, and the 

 flesh very insipid.* But these were unusual cases. 

 They serve to show however, the extreme caution 

 to be used, both in describing fruit, and deciding 

 upon the merits of new kinds. They also show the 

 propriety of aiming to select such as are little 

 affected by such influences, as the Madeleine and 

 Seckel, and in most localities, the Virgalieu. 



* Hovey's Magazine, vol. 8, p. 87. 



