The Second Congress of Fruit Growers. 301 



it proved to combine a majority of such qualities, then it 

 should be considered as worthy of cultivation. 



Mr. French said his only fear now was that this pear 

 would not get into the list. If he could have but one apple, 

 it should be the Rhode Island Greening, though that variety 

 was neither so handsome nor of so good flavor as many 

 others. And so of the Buffum pear ; it had its superiors, but 

 it was well worthy of cultivation, and it Avas a variety which 

 no fruit grower should be without. 



Mr. Manning observed that even in regard to flavor the 

 BufFum pear was sometimes found to be nearly first rate. 

 Very much depended on its ripening as to this. But flavor 

 was not the only thing to be considered. Productiveness 

 was another, and not an inferior one in many cases. Gansel's 

 Bergamotte was not to be preferred to the Bufi"um if only a 

 limited number of trees could be cultivated ; for in the one 

 case you would have perhaps half a bushel of very delicious 

 fruit from each tree, and in the other two barrels of fruit, 

 nearly as perfect if properly ripened. He should have no 

 hesitation which to choose in such a state of things. 



Mr. Walker was under the impression, long ago, that the 

 Buffum could not be near so good a fruit as he had found it to 

 be within the last five or six years. When ripened under a 

 temperature of 65° or 70°, constant day and night, it attained 

 a very high degree of excellence. Some of the very best 

 judges, not knowing the perfection to which it had latterly 

 been brought, on tasting it at Salem, declared they could not 

 tell what the pear was unless it was an excellent St. Michael. 

 The fruit was very much improved by early picking, and 

 ripening in the house. 



The Buffum pear was adopted. 



The discussion upon strawberries was also interesting, and 

 we have made room for the remarks which were made upon 

 the adoption of the Boston Pine, to show the premature char- 

 acter of the reports which have been made in regard to this 

 variety, particularly that of the Committee of the Cincinnati 

 Horticultural Society, which we reviewed two years ago, 

 (Vol. XIV, p. 228.) 



