436 THE PAEKS AND GARDENS 0¥ PAEIS. [Chap. XXIV. 



press, the following notes, by M. C. Baltet, of Troyes, were 

 published in the ' Eevue Horticole ': as they are so interesting, and 

 so likely to be useful to all who care for fruit-trees for their beauty, 

 they are given here — 



" A group of prolific, large-fruited varieties, such as Beurre de rAssomption, 

 Williams' Bon Chretien, Van Mariim, and others, will always be a source of 

 delight to the lover of fruit, but the artist will look for effect from' the natural 

 appearance of the trees. If he wishes for luxuriant growth, he will find it in the 

 branches of the Pear known as the Our^, Louise Bonne d'Avranches, Conseiller de 

 la Cour, and others. The Beurrd Hardy, Vauquelin, and Due de Nemours have 

 long ujffight branches, while those of the Beurr6 d'Amanlis, Bon Chretien, and 

 Triomphe de Jodoigne spread out more or less horizontally, or even curve down- 

 wards. The latter tree is the type of hardiness and vigour. Arbre courbe, 

 Nouvelle Pulvie, and Marie Louise would not be out of place as drooping trees ; 

 while to rival the pyramidal varieties of the Eobinia, the Oak, the Birch, and 

 the Elm, we may admit a group of Pear-trees which grow naturally in this 

 shape, such as Fondante du Panisel, Beurr^de Nantes, Fondantede Noel, Beurre 

 d'Angleterre, and a number of others, including Charles Ernest, a new and excel- 

 lent variety. The ' curious,' as they were called in the days of La Quintinie 

 have already borrowed from the domains of pomology such subjects as the 

 Weeping Pear, the Mount Sinai Pear, the Sage, Willow, and Almond-leaved 

 Pears, etc. ; but their fruit is insignificant. The beautiful foliage of the Sucrdede 

 Montlu9on, Delpierre, Triomphe de Jodoigne, etc., is rivalled by that of the 

 Mikado and Daimyo varieties, which are of Japanese origin, with large, thick, 

 and somewhat cottony leaves. China furnishes us with two sorts, the thick, 

 shining, and ciliated leaves of which change to amaranth red in the autumn, like 

 certain Maples and Sumachs. Amongst our own sorts, we have the German 

 Kopertscher, the Belgian Ddlices de Jodoigne, the American Philadelphia, and 

 Gile-6-Gile, which present the same character. The observer who takes notice of 

 the particular characters of each variety will know that Marie Guisse, Monseigneur 

 des Hons, and Eoyale d'Hiver are the first to show their buds in the spring, while 

 Martin sec, Madame Loriol de Barny, and Herbin seem loth to shed their leafy 

 clothing in the autumn. Bonne d'Ezfe and Doyenn^ d'Alenjon are the earliest 

 to flower, and Alexandrine Douillard, Sylvange, and Nouvelle Fulvie protect their 

 clusters of flowers with a sheltering rosette of leaves as soon as they open. If 

 we wish for Pear-trees with double flowers, we may gratify our desire with 

 Comte Lelieur and Beurrd de Naghin, with their regular corolla, or the double- 

 flowered Bergamotte and Oalebasse Oberdieck, with their drooping petals, will 

 satisfy us. Without being able to compete with the coloured barks of the Birch, 

 the Golden Ash, the i-carlet Dogberry, or the veined Maple, we may content our- 

 selves for the present with the Ash-coloured bark of the Eesi Dubost, the ochrey 

 Passe Colmar, the violet Beurrd Gifi'ard, the purple Doyennd Flon aine, the dark 

 brown Bon Chrdtien de Bruxelles, the bright-barked Fondante Thirriot, the 

 sombre Rousselet, and the yellow-green and sepia-veined and variegated varieties 

 Beurre d'HardeniJont and d'Amanlis, Verte longue, Saint-Germain, &c. Amongst 

 our ornamental shrubs we have examples which have their bark curiously split, 

 crannied, and gabled, but we can match them with Van Mons, Deux-Soeurs, 

 Angdlique Leclerc, Beurrd Lebrun, and others, the latter having a vigorous stem, 

 which looks as if it had been sprinkled with carmine. Wildin<:s will furnish us 

 with prickly varieties, and the study of local fruit has provided us with the 

 Poirier de Fosse, which, in the department of the Aube, is as large and tall as an 

 Oak." 



