134 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
November 24. 
growth of the Quince, was proceeding on a fallacious 
foundation. We have all seen the common Red Currant 
luxuriantly growing on a warm and sandy hank, and 
producing fruit liberally and fine ; but who would think 
of grafting a Red Currant on a Black Currant stock, 
and planting it on a dry soil? 
In the present state of science, as bearing on the 
relation the root has to the branch, and on the influence 
of the latter in altering the functions of the latter, we 
do not think any man can suppose that it is in the 
power of the branch so to modify the action of the root as 
to totally change the natural habits of the stock on which 
the species or variety is grafted. However, setting aside 
scientific considerations, a more common sense view of 
the subject might almost be presumed to settle the 
question. Until, then, the public better understand, or 
better consider, this question, it will be well, for thoso 
who feel puzzled, to grow Pears on the ordinary stock. 
Be it understood, however, that wo do not hereby desire 
to condemn tho Quince; on the contrary, we think, that, 
for certain kinds, under certain circumstances, it may 
be used with much advantage; but who is he that can 
give us all the information we require to thoroughly 
settle the question? To be sure, writers affirm, with 
all apparent confidence, that this kind should be on the 
Quince, and that on the Pear; but we must confess 
that we have found great disappointment in such recom¬ 
mendations; and many are the complaints that have 
reached us from suffering amateurs, who, taking their 
cue from glowing accounts of the wonders performed by 
the Quince stock, have at once stocked their new garden 
—their first attempt at gardening, perhaps—with these 
fancy things with their highly Frenchified names. 
We hope not to incur the displeasure of those who 
have a leaning towards the delightfully-euphonious 
sounds of some of the French names given by our more 
volatile neighbours to faucy Pears; for, if the flavour 
be excellent, and the kind profitable, we should have no 
particular objection to a Pear if it had as many names 
or titles as a Spanish grandee. They certainly shew 
more taste than our Lancashire Gooseberry men, with 
their “Top Sawyer,” “ Roaring Lion,” “ Jolly Angler,” 
etc.; but John Bull is a rough fellow, and almost un¬ 
tamable. 
We must here beg to state, as our decided opinion, 
that where the treatment, from the seed-bed, or sucker, 
upwards, is what it ought to be, with our Pear, or wild stock, 
this stock will prove sufficient for every purpose, except 
for pots; and, indeed, for all other modes of culture, we 
think them superior altogether to the Quince. This we 
offer as an opinion; one, perhaps, that may not be 
pleasing to Quince-stock men. But that matters not; 
our object is truth. 
We well know, that of all tho gardens we have seen, 
and they amount to many hundreds, wo cannot call to 
mind half a score in which Pear culture was carried on 
upon a sound basis. We do not mean to impute neglect 
to any of those cultivators, though such may have 
occasionally been the case. We mean to say, that Pear 
culture seemed less understood than the culture of any 
other fruit 
Mr. Beaton, in his report of the Regent-street Meet¬ 
ing, held at the Society’s Rooms, on the 18th of October, 
says,—“ Here I tasted some of the best October Pears ; 
at least, I tried to do so, but there was no taste, that I 
could make out, at all; but, as it is some consolation 
to know that wo are not alone in a dilemma, I must 
mention, that Mr. Solomons, of Covent Garden, exhi¬ 
bited splendid-looking Pears from the South of Franco ; 
but they were not a whit better flavoured than if they 
had come from the haughs of Cromdale.” As a set-off 
against such fruit, we may observe, that the Pears at 
Oultou Park have beon highly admired by all who have 
seen them; finer crops, or higher-flavoured fruit, wero 
never grown there. It is of no use gratuitously to 
imagine that finer weather was there than elsewhere ; 
the terrible accounts of their hay harvest, and the late 
state of much of the cereals, would speedily negative 
this idea. Indeed, a summer, if such it must be called, 
was never known there so difficult to deal with. They 
began using the Delice d’Dardenport Pear, from a west 
aspect, in the early part of October. These were 
delightful, indeed ; of the most melting character, with 
a slight degree of scent, or muskiness; and the finest 
in texture of all our Pears at present. On the heels of 
these, and close, too, came Williams’ Bon Chretiennc, 
Althorp Crassanne, Fondante d'Automne, Suffolk Thorn, 
Duchesse d’Angouleme, Louis Bonne of Jersey, Marie 
Louise, and Beurree d'Amanlis. 
We must needs point to the Suffolk Thorn, a Pear 
which deserves high commendation; at least, we can 
afford to give it such, especially as it succeeds perfectly 
in Cheshire as an ordinary standard, and is of first-rate 
character; thus, in the worst of summers, it is a great 
bearer—quite melting, very juicy, flesh fine, and is much 
like the old Oansel’s Bergamot, from which, it is stated, 
the late Mr. Knight, of Downton Castle, raised it. It 
is in use from the second week in October until No¬ 
vember, and we beg to recommend it to all our friends, 
at least, those of the north. 
As to the other kinds here named, they have been 
full-sized, and their flavour excellent; the Althorp Cras¬ 
sanne, and the Williams' Bon Chrelienne, were gathered a 
long while before ripe, as they always should be, and 
were delicious. 
Returning to the matter of stocks, let us hint at the 
reasons why Pears on the freo stock so often succeed 
badly. The wild, or free stock, by nature, is inclined 
to make dee,]) roots, and deep roots are ever averse to 
a thorough ripening of the wood. And why? it may 
fairly be asked. The answer is, that deep roots imbibe 
a too-copious and constant supply of moisture, and 
that, too, at periods when a degree of mellowness, if not 
of parlial dryness, is of the utmost importance. It is of 
the utmost importance that Pears cease to grow, or, 
rather, to elongate in the young shoots, by the end of 
August; after which period, the powers of the tree 
should tend to concentration rather than dispersion. 
That this concentration, or accumulation, of the pre- 
