DECEMBER; 
359 
In single dishes of Pears there were about twenty exhibitors . 
Generally speaking, however, the fruit was inferior to that in several 
of the large collections. Mr. Tillyard obtained the first prize for a dish 
of beautifully grown Seckels; and the second prize was awarded to 
Mr. Fowle, gardener to G. Cooke, Esq. The next best came from Mr. 
Snow, gardener to Earl de Grey, for a dish of very fine Doyenne Gris. 
Good specimens of Beurre Bose were sent by Mr. Ingram, gardener to 
J. J. Blandy, Esq. ; and very handsome and finely coloured fruit of 
the Beurre Clairgeau came from Mr. Cox, Redleaf. The only recom¬ 
mendation this new Pear can lay claim to is its beauty; even the past 
warm summer has not improved its quality; it has proved coarse 
grained and deficient in flavour. Hitton’s Seedling is likewise a 
large and showy Pear ; the fruit of this kind was over ripe, consequently 
it was dry and mealy. In the class of kitchen Pears, Mr. Snow 
gained the first prize for immense fruit averaging 1 ^ lb. each of Uve- 
dale’s St. Germain. The other kinds shown were Catillac and Winter 
Bon Chretien. 
For Pears of foreign growth, Mr. Solomon won the first prize, with a 
collection which contained large and finely coloured fruit. Mr. Hovey, 
of Boston, U.S., also showed in this interesting class ; his fruit, how¬ 
ever, was not equal to our home produce,—a fact doubtless to be 
attributed to the unfavourable season experienced this year in the 
States for Pear growing. The sorts in this collection were mostly well 
known kinds, and but few amongst them were of American origin. 
Some excellent Pine-apples were exhibited ; the best, as was 
mentioned in your hasty sketch last month, came from Mr. Spencer, 
who obtained the first prize for a fine Providence. Mr. Temple, of 
Dowlais, furnished the best Queen, weighing 6 lbs. 6 oz.; other good 
Queens were contributed by Mr. Forsyth, gardener to Baron Rothschild; 
Mr. Page; and Mr. Bray, gardener to E. Lousada, Esq., Peak House, 
near Sidmouth, who also sent a good Cayenne ; from Mr. Dods came 
a very fair Moscow Queen; and a good Black Prince from Crew Hall. 
Grapes were largely exhibited and exceedingly fine, especially 
Muscats. The best came from Mr. Drewett, gardener to Mrs. Cubitt, 
The Denbies, near Dorking. The next best came from Keele Hall, 
Staffordshire ; and fine bunches from Mr. Little, gardener to A. Darby, 
Esq., Stoke Court, Slough ; Mr. Snow also had well coloured bunches 
of this variety; likewise Mr. Frost, of Preston Hall; and Mr. Fleming 
sent fruit from Trentham from Vines which were lifted in September 
last year, and a new Vine border made. Large bunches of the White 
Tokay were also furnished by Mr. Fleming. A large loose bunch of 
the Trebiana was shown ; this variety is scarcely worthy of cultivation. 
A Grape called the Marchioness of Hastings was exhibited by Mr. 
Spary, said to be one of Mr. Mitchell’s seedlings ; it has a large loose 
bunch, the berries of which are green, and in flavour similar to that of 
the Sweetwater. Excellent bunches of Hamburgh also came from 
Messrs. Tillyard, Hill, Snow, Thomas, Allport, and Bousie. The 
latter sent good bunches of Black Prince, but not quite equal to those 
exhibited by Mr. Hill. Excellent St. Peter’s came from Mr. Allport, 
gardener to H. Ackroyd, Esq., Doddington, Nantwich. 
