JANUARY. 
17 
river which is called by that name in the parish of St. Germain.” I think 
that this Pear is the Elshonhaft of the Scotch, called so from its being some¬ 
what shaped like the handle of a shoemaker’s awl. However that may be, 
Miller describes it well, and observes truly—“ That it is good when planted in 
dry warm soil; but on moist soil the juice is very apt to be harsh and austere.” 
These remarks may be applied also to all sorts of Pears, and especially the 
Chaumontel, which was considered one of the best in Miller’s day, and he 
called it “ the Wilding of Chaumontel.” He likewise makes some curious 
remarks respecting the premature ripening of this fruit. He states that 
“ about thirty years past it was seldom fit to eat before February, and has 
continued good till the middle of April; but now this Pear is coming ripe in 
November; and when it is planted on a warm soil, and against a good-aspected 
wall, it is in eating in the middle of October.” Connected with this, he 
further mentions that some French writers speak of “ Pears ripening about a 
month or six weeks later, about fifty years ago, than they do now.” If this be 
correct, and they still continue to advance, winter Pears will in time become, 
summer ones. This, however, is only idle talk ; for Hitt, who wrote a good 
plain treatise on fruit trees about the middle of last century, states that the 
Chaumontel keeps until spring. I am reminded of it, however, by my previous 
remarks in these pages respecting retarding or keeping Pears, by letting some 
of the crop hang longer on the trees. At present, the 12th of November, I 
have some very large Marie Louise Pears upon a tree against a wall with a 
south aspect, while the rest of the crop from the same tree is finished. There 
are also some other kinds on the same wall, amongst which is the Beurre Lan- 
gelier. This kind ripens with the Napoleon, which it resembles in flavour and 
colour, except a slight tinge of yellow and red on the sunny side, and is more 
tapering towards the stalk than Napoleon, whose smooth green hue, like that 
of the Green Yair and Sucree Vert, is never affected by hot sunshine. 
I may note that the Green Yair is an old favourite north of the Tweed, 
but it is mealy and worthless in the south, while the Sucree V%rt, or Green 
Sugar, maintains sweetness ; but as regards this, a good judge expects to find 
rich aromatic juice, and more lasting flavour on the palate than mere sweet¬ 
ness. It would be well if judges of fruit were to attend more to this important 
point. However, there is “ no accounting for taste and frequently is this 
exemplified in those who are to judge of fruit at horticultural shows. 
J. Wighton. 
[We suspect our friend Mr. Wighton is wrong in identifying the Chaumontel with the 
Elshonhaft of Scotland; the latter is more like the Bishop’s Thumb. We have received the 
Chaumuntel from Scotland under the name of Grey Achan, which is adopted as a synonyme 
of that variety in “ The Fruit Manual.”— Ed. F. & P.] 
PICEA NOBILIS. 
Certainly this is not second to any other variety in this beautiful, orna¬ 
mental, and useful family. The colour and habit are good, and perfectly hardy 
everywhere in Britain. As a proof of the latter, in the late two trying winters 
there were some seedlings that came up late in the autumn, just expanding 
their first little bunch of foliage, which stood fully exposed wholly to all the 
vicissitudes of the weather throughout the winter, and were not in the least 
injured, seared, or discoloured, neither was any plant here of this variety. 
One noble plant has produced its fine cones for several years, the first two 
years without male catkins, when the cones were abortive of seed. Of course, 
since it has produced both, there have been seeds and plants raised from it. 
