270 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND 
first recommended by Abercrombie. 1 Pineries continued to 
exercise gardeners’ skill and patience until rapid communica¬ 
tion enabled pines to be brought from the West Indies far more 
cheaply than it was possible to grow them, and then other 
uses were soon found for the old pine-pits. 
A fine work on fruit-trees, with well-drawn and coloured 
plates, by Brookshaw, Pomona Britannica, 1817, is principally 
taken from the fruit grown in the royal gardens at Hampton 
Court. In this book, besides some varieties which were then 
quite new, there are drawings of many of the old favourites. 
The “ Catherine Pear ” is figured and described as ripening 
in August, " sweet and juicy, with a degree of musky flavour : 
but at best is considered as a common pear.” “ The old 
Newington Peach,” “ Duke Cherry,” “ Norfolk Beefin Apple,” 
“ Red Streak Pippin,” and many others are still favourites, 
and of Tradescant’s Cherry, Brookshaw writes : “ I am doubt¬ 
ful whether we have a better black cherry than this, and yet 
it is so very scarce, and so little known, that it would be the 
most difficult task to find it. It is a cherry that was raised 
by Sir John Tradescant, gardener to King Charles I., different 
in shape from any other black cherry; and its flavour is un¬ 
like that of any other cherry ; it ripens about 20th June.” 
The history such as this of many fruits and vegetables has been 
handed down by Phillips, 2 who was the author of several 
valuable works on the subject. Another gardener who turned 
his attention chiefly to fruit-trees was William Forsyth (1737- 
1804), who succeeded Miller as Curator of the Chelsea garden, 
and was afterwards appointed Royal gardener at Kensington. 
His works on fruit-trees and the best methods of training and 
pruning went through many editions. He is said to have 
done more for the improvement of fruit culture than any other 
gardener, although Knight disagreed with him on some of his 
methods of treating trees. Thomas Andrew Knight, President 
of the Horticultural Society, was himself an improver of fruit, 
especially of apples. He produced the Grange Apple in 1802, 
a cross between the golden and the orange pippin. George 
1 The Fruit, Flower, and Kitchen Garden, by Patrick Neill, 1840. 
2 Pomarium Britannicum , 1820 ; History of Cultivated Vegetables, 1822 ; 
Sylva Florifera, 1823 ; Flora Historica, 1824, etc. All by Henry Phillips. 
