58 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
This letter, we must premise, was consequent upon 
our sending to him a water-coloured drawing of a Pear. 
“ From what I can judge by the sketch you sent me, 
the pear is the Bishop's Thumb. But the sketch is not 
very characteristic, and is very void of expression. 
There are several particulars which are necessary to be 
known before deciding with confidence in such a case; 
viz., the season of maturity, the texture and peculiarities 
of the flesh, whether buttery, watery, sweet, styptic, aro¬ 
matic, itc., and, also, the characters of the stalk and eye, 
which, in the drawing you sent, I am satisfied are not 
those of the specimen from which it was taken. Still, 
however, I could almost with safety say that the variety 
in question is the Bishop’s Thumb. Its description is 
as follows:— 
“Bishop’s Thumb. —Fruit large, four inclies-and-a- 
quarter long, and two inches-and-a-quarter wide at the 
broadest part, which is situated towards the eye, at about 
three-fourths of the.length of the fruit; shape, oblong, 
tapering gradually towards the stalk; skin, yellowish- 
green, covered with numerous large russetty spots, with 
a reddish brown tinge next the sun, which is marked 
with grey dots; eye, small and open, with long, reflex 
segments, and placed in a slight depression; stalk, an 
inch long, curved, obliquely attached, without depres¬ 
sion, and with a boss, or blister, on one side at its base; 
flesh, greenish-yellow, juicy and melting, fine, and ten¬ 
der, with a rich, sugary, and vinous flavour. A dessert 
pear of first-rate quality, ripe in October. The tree is a 
vigorous grower, hardy, and an abundant bearer. It 
succeeds well as a standard, and is adapted to almost all 
soils.”— MS. British Pomology. 
Now, we ask our correspondents’ serious attention to 
the passage we have printed in Italics, for if they send 
us unripe fruit to identify, they must furnish with it 
those indicatory particulars. 
NEW PLANTS. 
THEIR PORTRAITS, BIOGRAPHIES, AND CULTURE. 
Lilac-flowered Thyrsacanth (Thyrsacantlius lila- 
cinus).—Paxtons Flower Garden, ii. 77.—This genus 
October 80 . 
was founded by Nees Yon Esenbeck, to include some | 
species previously considered Justicias. In the spring, i 
the present species flowered in a stove at the garden of | 
the Horticultural Society, but from whence it was 
introduced cannot now be ascertained; therefore, for 1 
the present at least, its origin and biography are lost to j 
us. The genus will stand near Justioia, and Dr. Lind- 
ley observes that it approaches the Justicia bracteolata 
of Jaquin, which is no doubt the same as Thyrsacantlius 
Lemaireanus, but differs essentially in the barren stamens 
being subulate (awl-shaped), and not spathulate (broad 
at the upper end like a spatula), as if preparing to bear 
a piece of an anther. 
It is a “ soft-wooded plant,” requiring the same treat¬ 
ment as tropical Justicias, Eranthemums, and such-like 
Acantliads. The leaves are long and thin, downy and 
wrinkled, tapering down to a long footstalk; the flowers 
are in spikes, called thyrse-like panicles, at the end of 
the branches. The flowers are pale lilac, funnel shaped, 
inflated, with a four-lobed limb. The upper lip is erect 
and two lobed; the lower is deeply divided into three 
bent-back segments. The generic name is derived from 
thyrse, a panicle, a kind of flower-spike, and akantha, a 
spine; referring to the sharp points of the bracts, or 
flower envelopes. It belongs to the Natural Order 
Acantliads (Acanthacese), and in the system of Linnaeus 
to the first Order of the second class, Diandria Mo- 
nogynia. 
How closely this species is allied to the Justicias is 
evidenced by its being known in gardens as Justicia 
liladna ; and the difficulty of determining the genus of 
plants in this group is told by the fact that Thyrsacan- 
thus Lemaireanus is called by other botanists a Justicia, 
an Aphelandra, and a Salpingantha. B. J. 
THE ERUIT-GARDEN. 
Pruning. —We will now commence, and continue in 
detail, the promised remarks on “ Rest-pruning ,” apply¬ 
ing them to each of our fruits; and it may here be 
observed, that the order in which they will be handled 
may at once serve, also, to point to the order in which 
they may be pruned. In addition, the earliest and latest 
periods of pruning permissible to each will be stated. 
We cannot promise ourselves a consecutive course in 
this affair: other matters will, perhaps, demand atten¬ 
tion occasionally; but the subject will be resumed until 
completed in good time. 
The Red Currant : October to March .—The first 
year that the cuttings are put out, the Red Currant 
commonly produces three or four weakly-developed 
shoots, of some three or four inches in length. Two or 
three of the principal of these, placed equidistant, must 
be selected, and these may have a few of the imperfect 
points removed, in order to compel, during the succeed¬ 
ing summer, the development of several shoots, from 
which, at the succeeding rest-pruning, those for the future 
head may be selected. 
On the first formation of the head, of course much of 
the future symmetry of the bush depends; and well- 
formed bushes are ornamental as well as useful, espe¬ 
cially in small gardens, or near walks. The circular 
form is, doubtless, more convenient than any other, 
and an approximation to it is generally the practice; 
still the forms we generally find in gardens are but a 
