1851. THE CULTIVATOR. 209 
Improved Seed Drill. 
The accompanying cut is a representation of a seed drill, on which important improvements are said to have 
been made by Lyman Bickford and Henry Huffman, of Macedon, Wayne county, 1ST. Y. The cut givesa per¬ 
spective view of the machine, with its external gearing, &c. It is said to operate with great accuracy, being readi¬ 
ly governed as to the amount of seed sown • and is also recommended on account of its simplicity and complete¬ 
ness of construction. Particulars can be learned by addressing the persons above named. 
€§t Inrtinrltal fepartarat. 
CONDUCTED BY J. J. THOMAS, MACEDON, N. Y. 
Pyramidal Pear Trees. 
The following description, given in the Horticulturist, 
by its Editor. A. J. Downing, of the most perfect spe¬ 
cimen, perhaps, of pyramidal training in existence, can¬ 
not fail to be interesting to all those who have a keen 
eye for seeing every thing done in the most perfect man¬ 
ner, and who are not satisfied with half-way performan¬ 
ces of any kind. At the same time, the mode of prun¬ 
ing is so distinctly described as to possess much practical 
value. 
The most beautiful sight, in the way of hardy fruit 
tree culture, that greeted our eyes last season, in Europe, 
was that of the Pyramidal Pear Trees in the Jar din des 
Plantes. 
One side of this great national garden, which, with its 
parterres, schools and museums, is a vast collection of 
all that is interesting in Natural History, is a piece of 
ground of perhaps an acre, somewhat away from the 
principal walks. It is separated from the rest of the 
garden, (to which the public has the freest access,) by 
an iron railing and a gate, which is kept locked. This 
is the 11 school of pears”—-that is to say, the garden in 
which Monsieur Cappe, the head of the fruit depart¬ 
ment, has his house, and more especially his beautiful 
pear trees—-to which he has given up almost the whole 
of the area allotted to him. 
It was September when we were in this garden. We, 
were weary with a day of sight-seeing, and a long ram¬ 
ble through the other different departments of the gar¬ 
den, and though very desirous of seeing M. Cappe’s 
trees, which have become rather famous as fine speci¬ 
mens of the art of pruning, and had come provided with 
a note to him which would open the iron gate where the 
trees of knowledge stood—we had almost determined 
before we reached it, that we would he content with a 
passing glance from the outside, at what we supposed 
would present a familiar appearance to our eyes. 
But a passing glance through the iron railing soon 
made us feel that M. Cappe was not a man to be neglect¬ 
ed. And patiently we waited till one of the garcons 
had found him and delivered our note, in order that we 
might enter the now unclosed gate, and make the ac¬ 
quaintance of the master of pear trees. 
We do not wish to depreciate the magnificent pictures 
in the Louvre, but we must still be allowed to say, that 
in their way , M. Cappe’s pear trees are as well worth 
seeing as any of thes,great master-pieces of art there. 
Nobody (with a soul) would think of comparing a Pous¬ 
sin with a pear tree, yet what one of Poussin’s grand 
sylvan landscapes, (in which you can almost feel the 
tempest that sways the tops,) is to a landscape on a sign¬ 
board, M. Cappe’s pyramidal pear trees are to'the pear 
trees of common gardens, both in England and America. 
Our readers must imagine a level plot of ground, 
marked off into beds or borders, about ten feet wide, 
with a narrow alley between. In a straight line in the 
middle of these beds stand the pear trees—-about ten 
feet distant from each other. And such pear trees l so 
symmetrically shaped, forming perfect pyramids of 
foliage in the finest tapering lines from top to bottom; 
so healthy and luxuriant, with not a leaf nor branch 
wanting, and with the utmost possible vigor and beauty 
of growth, as if not “ nice art” had educated them into 
this shape, but rather they 
had grown so because it was 
their nature, and they could 
not help it; and so laden 
all over with the finest and 
fairest fruit—golden, or¬ 
ange, dark bronze red, or 
tinted with the ruddiest 
tints of autumn; in short, 
so altogether the complete 
and perfect thing as garden 
pear trees, that we strongly 
suspect that good Monsieur 
Cappe has a better under¬ 
standing with mistress Po¬ 
mona, than any of us, her 
Anglo devotees. 
We had a very interest¬ 
ing chat with M. Cappe 
about the management of 
his trees, which we shall 
give the substance of for the^ 
benefit of our readers. We"* 
may say, in the first place, 
Cappe’s Pyramidal Pear Tree. 
