6 A Retrospective View of the Progress of 



been formed of them, or possess qualities which will com- 

 mend them to a place in their collections. 



The two conventions which assembled in 1848 have again 

 held a second session the past autumn ; but the proceedings 

 of neither of them have yet been published, and we have 

 therefore not been able to give a full summary of their 

 doings. The lists of fruits adopted for general cultivation 

 by each meeting have, however, been given, (pp. 466, 513.) 

 It must be gratifying to every pomologist, who feels an inter- 

 est in the subject, to know that the two conventions have 

 eventually formed a union, and that after 1851 only one 

 convention will be holden, and that only in alternate years. 

 This will effect all that the most ardent cultivator could 

 wish ', for it must be admitted that annual meetings would 

 leave so little to do, that it would scarcely repay the loss of 

 time and expense which would necessarily attend the assem- 

 bling of so large a number of gentlemen from all parts of the 

 country. The harmony which seemed to prevail at both 

 conventions, and the manifest desire for their union expressed 

 by the members of each, shows how general was the feeling 

 that ONE National Convention would be sufficient to accom- 

 plish all the objects for which they were called together. 



The cultivation of the grape, and the formation of vine- 

 borders, has been considerably discussed in our last volume, 

 and much valuable information elicited. The excellent arti- 

 cle of Mr. Leuchars, (p. 110,) and the actual experiments 

 which he has adduced in corroboration of his practice, must 

 be satisfactory to every grape-grower. Our own views have 

 been fully expressed (p. 75) in a review of Mr. Allen's trea- 

 tise ; and Mr. Hutchinson's excellent article (p. 540) further 

 confirms all we had previously advanced in relation to the 

 proper materials for the formation of borders. 



Some excellent hints on pruning have appeared in our last 

 volume ; the most complete, as well as the most general, be- 

 ing that by Mr. Robert Thompson, (p. 49,) which formed the 

 results of his tour among the French gardeners and nursery- 

 men, made by the express order of the London Horticultural 

 Society. They will bear repeated perusal by all who de- 



