THE PEAR. 



443 



Seckel. Coxe. Lind. Thomp. 



Seckle. Syckle. 



SickeL Red Cheeked SeckeL 



New- York Red Cheek. 



We do not hesitate to ,^s^ 



pronounce this American 

 pear the richest and most 

 exquisitely flavoured variety 

 known. In its highly con- 

 centrated, spicy, and honied 

 flavour, it is not surpassed, 

 nor indeed equalled, by any 

 European variety. When 

 we add to this, that the 

 tree is the healthiest and 

 hardiest of all pear trees, 

 forming a fine, compact, 

 symmetrical head, and bear- 

 ing regular and abundant 

 crops in clusters at the ends 

 of the branches, it is easy 

 to see that we consider no 

 garden complete without it. SecM. 



Indeed we think it indispensable in the smallest garden. The 

 stout, short-jointed olive-coloured wood, distinguishes this 

 variety, as well as the peculiar reddish-brown colour of the 

 fruit. The soil should receive a top-dressing of manure fre- 

 quently, when the size of the pear is an object. The Seckel pear 

 originated on the farm of Mr. Seckel, about four miles from 

 Philadelphia.* 



* The precise origin of the Seckel pear is unknown. The first pomolo- 

 gists of Europe have pronounced that it is entirely distinct from any Eu- 

 ropean variety, and its afiBnity to the Rousselet, a well known German 

 pear, leads to the supposition that the seeds of the latter pear having been 

 brought here by some of the Germans settling near Philadelphia, by chance 

 produced this superior seedling. However this may be, tlie following 

 morceau of its history may be rehed on as authentic, it having been re- 

 lated by the late venerable Bishop White, whose tenacity of memory is 

 well known. About 80 years ago, when the Bishop was a lad, there was 

 a well known sportsman and cattle dealer in Philadelphia, who was fami- 

 liarly known as "Dutch Jacob." Every season, early in the autumn, on 

 returmng from his shooting excursions, Dutch Jacob regaled his neigh- 

 bours with pears of an unusually delicious flavour, the secret of whose 

 place of growth, however, he would never satisfy their curiosity by di- 

 vulging. At length, the Holland Land Company, owning a considerable 

 tract south of the city, disposed of it in parcels, and Dutch Jacob then 

 secured the ground on which his favourite pear tree stood, a fine strip of 

 land near the Delaware, Not long afi;erwards, it became the farm of Mr. 

 Seckel, who introduced this remarkable fruit to public notice, and it re- 



