422 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The introduction of a scientific method into pomological descrip- 

 tions commences with Duhamel's famous " Traite des Arbres 

 Fruitiers," which was published in 1768. This versatile writer, an ana- 

 logue of our own John Evelyn, published an enormous number of 

 practical books on commercial processes, from clay pipes to Turkey 

 carpets. He was, however, a trained botanist, and with the help of 

 some keen fruit-growers, Denainvilliers, Le Berriays, and others, 

 he produced a book which set a new standard of accuracy. The 

 discussion in the preface of the characters which are sufficiently con- 

 stant to be available as recognition marks is extremely good. He also 

 realized that all the tree characters must be included in any accurate 

 description. His illustrator was happily well supervised, and we 

 therefore have fruits with their own leaves in true character, a feature 

 rare in illustrations of fruits, where, for example, one leaf often serves 

 for all the pears. 



In the history of pomological literature, therefore, Duhamel 

 stands prominent between the old and the new, and his influence 

 may be traced in many of the books which followed. It will 

 be convenient here to mention the many editions of his work, or 

 rather of works to which his name was affixed. The first edition 

 was the "Traite des Arbres Fruitiers," as mentioned above, 2 vols., 

 Paris, 1768. A new edition in 3 vols. 8vo. was published in Paris 

 in 1782, and a pirated edition at Brussels in the same year. A 

 coloured edition, extracted from the great Traite des Arbres et 

 Arbustes," was then prepared by Mirbel, Poiret, and other famous 

 botanists. This also bears the old title, but is described as a " nouvelle 

 edition " and is without date. It contains 150 plates from the designs 

 of Redoute and Bessa. This may be called the first coloured edition. 

 The second coloured edition was entitled " Nouveau Traite des Arbres 

 Fruitiers " ; it has 154 plates, and is edited by the same authors. 

 As, however, neither of these editions is dated, it may be that 

 their order should be reversed. The next edition (third coloured) 

 was a sumptuous series of six volumes, containing 418 plates of great 

 excellence. This was published by the house of Levrault, of Paris 

 and Strasbourg, 1 807-1 835. It should be stated that the plates are 

 numbered up to 329, but the total is made up by dupUcated numbers. 

 The last edition was practically a new work and is entitled " Pomologie 

 Fran^aise," edited by A. Poiteau, 4 vols, in foHo, Paris, 1838-1846, 

 433 coloured plates. 



These various editions of Duhamel's work have been dealt with 

 at some length, as they are somewhat confusing at first, and further- 

 more they represent in the later editions the finest and most complete 

 works that can be found upon this subject. 



Among the remarkable French works of the eighteenth century, 

 it is impossible to overlook the " Histoire Naturelle des Fraisiers " 

 of Antoine Duchesne, which was published in 1766. As a monograph 

 treating garden varieties of fruits with botanical exactitude, this 

 little work stands alone for its period. On the historical and cultural 



