AIJOUT FRUITS, FLOWEBS AXD FARMING. 323 



ORIGIN OF SOME VARIETIES OF FRUIT. 



THE history of our line fruits has many curious points of 

 interest to the zealous poraologist. It is made up of 

 skill, felicitous blunders, discoveries, and profitable acci- 

 dents. 



The Flemish pears, with which so large a portion of the 

 calendar of new pears is filled, were the products of scienti- 

 fic cilbrts. In like manner, many of the finest fruits ori- 

 ginated by Knight, were by a scientific, although a different, 

 process. On the other hand it would be difficult to find 

 fruits superior to those in the making of which only Nature 

 had a hand. 



The Duchesse cPAngouleme, a pear without a rival, in its 

 season, was found in 1815, growing wild in a hedge, near 

 Angers, in the department of Maine et Loire, France. 



The Washington, one of our finest native pears, was 

 likewise discovered in a thorn hedge, at Naainan's creek, 

 Delaware, by Gen. Robertson. He was removing a fence 

 on his farm about forty-five years ago ; he found the young 

 tree nearly grown. 



The Lewis is a native of Massachusetts. Mr. Downer, of 

 Dorchester, a critical judge of fruits, was acquainted with 

 the original tree ten years before he thought it worth a 

 place in his garden. He visited it three times, and wis 

 each time disinclined to cultivate it ; it was not until he haJ 

 seen a tree taken from it, growing in cultivated ground, 

 that he adopted it. It now ranks among the finest native 

 pears. 



Dearborn's Seedling was discovered by General Dearborn 

 in a cluster of syringas and rose bushes, forming a part of a 

 border to an avenue. Pears seem to have great fondness 

 ti>r hedges, borders, etc. The discoverer attempted to 

 remove the tree, then, apparently, about five years old, to 

 "his nursery for a stock; but digging two feet deep, and 

 finding no root but the tap root, he feared that deplanting 



