PROCEEDINGS OF THE HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION 637 



kinds of pears. They were intended lor our Fair, and sent to us by Mr. 

 Andres Leroy, of Angiers, France. 



Mr. William S. Carpenter was delighted to see such fine specimens of 

 foreign fruit. They are not only beautiful samples of what are old, but 

 also many varieties that are new. He was quite familiar with most all of 

 tlie fruits grown in this country, and he saw here some varieties that were 

 entirely new, and which seem to possess qualities of much excellence, and 

 well worthy of our consideration. We have almost all those varieties of 

 fruit, accounts of which have been published in Engljind and France. At 

 our exhibition last week, which was said to be one of the linest tliat was 

 yet held in this country, we had many fine specimens of our own produc- 

 tion, but in this French collection he saw many that appeai'ed finer, both iu 

 color and quality. Many of our fruit growers are turning their particular 

 attention to this matter, and some have been very successful in producing- 

 many fine colored specimens, that can compare with any in size and weight. 

 lie took a deep interest in fruit culture for the last twelve years. There 

 has been a marked improvement in the same fruit; they are better grown, 

 and generally speaking better varieties are everywhere observable; we 

 are every season getting some new varieties, and we can go on cultivating 

 new species for many years yet, without coming to the end. One of the 

 means by which fruit has been improved is by increasing its size, and this 

 has been done by thinning off the fruit. He, like many others, had not 

 the courage at first to take enough ofl' tlie loaded tree, especially as a 

 loaded pear tree is one of the most beautiful things in nature, 3'et he 

 ventured on and continued thinning, and he found it to be a great advan- 

 tage, and he observed that he got the same amount of fruit, and probably" 

 more; if one-half of the fruit is taken ofi" before ripening we get as much 

 in bulk, and more than if the whole cro"^ was allowed to remain on the 

 tree. When a tree is permitted to retain its whole fruit, it ie impossible 

 to expect it to ripen whole, and a pear tree if left to itself will wear itself 

 out. There is the Bartlett and tlie Louise Bon of Jersey, which require 

 much attention in this respect; of thinning, he thought that hardly enough 

 was ever taken off in thinning, when they are about one-third grown it is 

 time to commence thinning off the fruit; it is very well in the first instance 

 to leave on a little over crop, and when we take off the second thinning to 

 leave just enough to have them properly grown. It is frequently required 

 to take off a third crop, and in this case we may not get the same weight 

 but in market we can get doulilc the price. We can take off one-third of 

 our pears before ripening, and those that remain will almost double in 

 size; and if again there is a thinning, the last crop will be still better, and 

 hold on the tree much firmer. 



It was highly gratifying to see such a fine display of foreign fruits ; we 

 had before us some of the improved varieties, never before seen in this 

 country. He had himself over one hundred of these new varieties of 

 French pears. 



We feel proud, however, of our own native seedling, the Seckel; there 

 is no pear that can equal it in this country. Mr. Clapp, of Massachusetts, 

 and Mr. Dana, have lately introduced many varieties in this country, and 



