THE PEAR. 
443 
Seckel. Coxe. Lind. Thomp. 
Seckle. Syckle. 
SickeL Red Cheeked Seckel. 
New- York Red Cheek. 
We do not hesitate to 
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. 
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 affinity 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, the following 
morceau of its history may be relied 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 
returning 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 afterwards, it became the farm of Mr. 
Seckel, who introduced this remarkable fruit to public notice, and if re- 
