SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
67 
with suitable manures; for a plant can no moregrow and 
bear healthy fruit without its appropriate food, than an ox 
or a horse can be expected to thrive without a sufficiency 
of corn and fodder. deem it unnecessary to enter into 
minutia on this point, as the valuable almanac of Mr. 
Affleck (accesssible to all) contains such explicit and prac- 
tical directions in all that regards fruit growing, that any- 
thing I could say would be superfluous. 
I will pass by the smaller fruits, the strawberry and the 
raspberry, so easily and successfully cultivated in the 
South, and take up the Pear. 
This fruit I have grown in perfection for many years— 
even Northern and European varieties with me have 
borne large fruit, and higher flavor, than in their native 
localities. This fruit should never be allowed to ripen 
upon the tree. The flavor is greatly improved by taking 
off the specimens when hard on the tree, and ripening 
them in the fruit room, I use for this purpose an inside 
cellar— dark, but well ventilated, and having double walls. 
The fi-uit shoidd be suspended by strings from the joists, 
and not placed upon shelves. In case of dampness, a few 
lumps of lime placed upon the floor will absorb it. 
Another difficulty: The largest and heaviestpears are apt 
to drop from the tree, especially during a period of drouth. 
This 1 have obviated, by placing barrels filled with soap 
suds over the roots of the tree, and allowing the liquid to 
escape by drops from a small orifice near the bottom of 
the barrel. The soap suds and a handful of Guano thrown 
in, will increase the size of the fruit, and keep the tree in 
good health during our hottest months. In regard to 
gathering the fruit, I would observe that this is best learned 
by experiment. If taken off too early, the specimens will 
shrink and wither ; if too late, they are more apt to rot, 
from the fact that as the fruit approaches maturity it is 
more liable to be stung by insects, and all such speci- 
mens will rot before they ripen. As a general rule, it 
will answer to ascertain the date of ripening of the differ- 
varieties at the North, and in this latitude gather them six 
weeks to two months earlier. 
PEARS — EARLY VARIETIES. 
Madeleine. — This pear is of French origin — bears well 
with me, on both quince and standard— is the earliest 
pear to ripen in Europe and the North — ripens here on 
the 15th May in the cellar, and is in eating a week — not a 
specimen has rotted— flesh juicy and melting— quality 
very good, 
Dmjenne d'Ete. — "With me a higher flavored pear than 
the Madeleine — should be gathered so soon as specimens 
begin to turn from green to yellow, and be ripened in the 
house — ripe last of May. This pear is of French origin 
and recently introduced. 
Bloodgood. — One of the best of early pears — a slow 
grower on quince — should be double worked — ripens here 
early in June, and quality best. 
Rostieze>-. — An early pear of German origin — on quince 
H rapid grower, and bears heavily — though small in size, 
no early pear surpasses it in flavor — ripens with me in the 
cellar on the first of June. 
Buerre Giffard.— One of the new European pears intro- 
duced by Mr. Affleck — from the few specimens I had this 
year from grafts in standard, it gives promise of the high- 
est excellence —ripens in June, about the 10th. 
Tyson. — A new Pennsylvania pear of great merit— 
ripens with me in the latter part of June. 
Griffith's Seedling. — A native pear which originated in 
the grounds of the late John T. Griffith — though small in 
size, it fully equals the flavor of any of the early exotic 
sorts — ripe first week in June. 
I have ripened a number of other early varieties des- 
cribed in the works on pomology, but deem the foregoing 
the most desirable for this region of our State. 
PEARS — SUMMER VARIETIES. 
Julienne. — This pear I think a most desirable variety, 
either for the orchardist or for general cultivation— grows 
and bears better on quince than on standard — comes early 
into bearing — my dwarfs, now eight years old, have borne 
fruit several years past — had this year to trim out, leaving 
about 300 specimens on each tree — will ripen in the house 
a month before they are ripe upon the tree — in eating dur- 
ing all July and early part of August— changes in the 
fruit celler from green to a beautiful lemon yellov — skin 
waxy, shining, and looking as if varnished — flesh melting, 
buttery, and delicately flavored. As the Julienne has 
been condemned by the congress of fruit-growers at the 
North as unworthy of cultivation, I requested a number of 
gentlemen in this county, who are good judges of fruit, to 
give me their opinions as to its merits— all pronounced it 
a pear of the highest excellence here, and some few as the 
best pear they had ever eaten. North or South. 
Bartlett. — Grows well on either quince or standard — a 
profitable pear to the orchardist in the South — has the 
desirable quality of ripening in the cellar long before ma- 
turity upon the tree — in this locality is in eating from the 
middle of July to the 20th of August— -in quality ranks 
best. 
Beurrc Diet. — Succeeds here on either quince or stand- 
ard — an abundant bearer — had to thin out my dwarfs to 
150 specimens to a tree — the fruit attains a much larger 
size here than at the North, some of ray specimens weigh- 
ing one and a half pounds, and few less than one pound — 
ripens finely in the cellar, changing from green to a rich 
orange color — flesh rich, sugary and melting — quality best 
— ripe in July and August, 
Duchesse d' Angouleme. — This noble pear, of French ori- 
gin, in our rich, warm soil and burning climate, attains 
its highest perfection — grows finely on quince, and comes 
early into bearing. Its large size, excellent flavor and 
fine keeping qualities, will make it most desirable for mar- 
ket culture — flesh buttery, vei’y juicy, with a rich, agree- 
able flavor — ripe from the middle of July to the 15th Sep- 
tember. I have taken this pear from trees toward the end 
of July, together with Beurre Diels, Barletts, Beurre Bil- 
boas and others, and carried them by steam from Natchez 
to New York, where they opened sound, and most of 
them ripe on the 14th of August. Although not esteemed 
as a desert pear at the North, with u^ there are few better 
or more desirable pears for general cultivation. As you 
have tasted this fruit, Mr. Editor, be so good as to give your 
opinion of its quality. 
[A finer, richer, more luscious pear we have never eaten' 
than those of the above variety from the luxurious orchard 
of our friend, the writer of the above. They grow to great 
size, are delightfully flavored and possess the rare quality 
of perfectly dissolving in the mouth. A better pear for 
table could hardly be cultivated. — Ed. Natchez Courier. 
No, 4. 
Golden Beurre of Bilboa. — This pear does well upon 
both quince and standard — my standard tree has borne 
heavy crops for ten years past — fruit large, buttery, melt- 
ing, and having a rich vinous flavor — in eating last of 
July and early in August. 
Beurre d' Amalis . — On standard — fruit very large — not 
unlike the Beurre Diel in size and shape— flesh melting 
and buttery, but inferior in flavor to the Diel, having 
sometimes a slight astringency — in eating during August, 
and ripens finely in the cellar. 
Beurre Bose. — Double worked on quince— this pear is 
one that does not grow freely upon quince — by first graft- 
ing on the quince a free growing sort, as the Julienne or 
D’Angouleme, and then grafting the wood of the latter 
with the Bose, it grows rapidly— it is a tardy bearer on 
