463 Pomological Gossip. 



ateSj the slight acidity relieving it from the predominant 

 sweetness of the latter. 

 Hartford, Ct, Aiig. 1853. 



We are glad to receive the above account of Langdon's 

 Seedling plum. In September, 1844, during our absence in 

 Europe, when Mr. P. B. Hovey had charge of the Magazine, 

 Mr. J. A. Taintor sent us a quantity of these plums, with 

 scions for budding, and a brief notice of it will be found in 

 our volume for that year, (X, p. 349.) The opinion of Mr. 

 P. B. Hovey was that " it is much better than the majority of 

 blue plums, and worthy of cultivation." Trees raised in our 

 collection from the buds sent by Mr. Taintor, from some 

 cause or other, have not yet borne any fruit, and we are, 

 therefore, unable to give any other account than that above 

 referred to. "We believe it, however, to be a very fine vari- 

 ety. — Ed. 



Art. V. Pomological Gossip. 



SiiENKS, HosEN Shenck, OR Shenck's August Pear. — 

 Messrs. Thorp, Smith, Hanchett & Co. recently sent us speci- 

 mens of the pear known under the above names, which we 

 found to be exceedingly fine, and well deserving the atten- 

 tion of cultivators as an early variety. Dr. Brinckle, of Phil- 

 adelphia, recently brought it to notice as a new American 

 variety, under the name of Hosen Shenck; and although 

 we were tolerably well acquainted with the Shenks pear, 

 described by the late Mr. R. Manning some years since, and 

 cultivated by him more than a dozen years ago, we supposed 

 this to be a different fruit. From a letter, however, received 

 from young Mr. Manning, with specimens of the fruit, we 

 find them to be identical; and in our next we shall give a 

 copy of the correspondence between Mr. J. B. Garber and 

 Mr. Manning, relative to this variety, as also a copy of the 

 letter of Messrs. Thorp, Smith & Co., giving an account of 

 its origin. In the mean time we may say that, though it has 



