429 

 Thursday, April 12, 1860. 



Meeting this evening at 7 1-2 o'clock — Yice-Prcsidcnt 

 Henry M. Brooks in the Chair. 



Records of preceding meeting read. 



Donations were announced from the folloNving : 



To iiie Library — from the City of Boston ; Moses G. Far- 

 mer ; Connecticut Historical Society ; Philadelphia Acade- 

 my of Natural Science ; Jonas B. Clark of Swampscott ; E, 

 Putnam ; N. J. Lord ; James Upton ; Chicago Historical 

 Society ; "Wm. Stimpson of Washington, D.C.; Wm P. 

 Tucker of Bowdoin College ; Caleb Foote. 



Letters were read from Corporation of Harvard College ; 

 Trustees of the Public Library of Boston ; Trustees of the 

 New York State Library ; Smithsonian Institution ; J. De 

 Laski of Yinal Haven, Me.; S. A. Green of Boston ; New 

 Hampshire Historical Society. 



James Upton, Chairman of the Committee on Fruits, 

 read the following communication containing his notes 

 taken in the year 1856 on the ripening of sixty varieties 

 of Pears. 



The following notes of the ripening of certain varieties 

 of Pears, are submitted to the Institute on a suggestion that 

 they might be deemed worthy of preservation for future 

 reference. The dates are those on which the first and last 

 specimens were in eating. It should be distinctly borne in 

 mind that the observation was for one season only, and the 

 fruit, with but very few exceptions, from one orchard. 



Madeleine, . . July 28 to Aug. 15 



Doyenne d'ete, . . Aug. 1 " 12 



Beurre Giffard, . . "12 " 22 



Bloodgood, . . . " 15 " 22 



Muscat Robert, . . "15 " 25 



