1883.] 
PROPOSED PEAR CONGRESS. 
168 
Apples, and a fine cropper; Cornish Aromatic has 
soft flesh, and a delicate balsamic flavour; Scarlet 
Nonpariel is so good that it better befits this selection 
than the coloured one; Margil is as good as it is old, 
and the American Mother Apple is a fine flavoured 
kind that seems to be but indifferently known, though 
it certainly is one of the hardiest of all the American 
sorts. Rosemary Russet is a splendid winter dessert 
Apple, and finally there come the capital Pearmains, 
Adams’ and Mannington’s, both fine keeping kinds, 
and of the best table quality. In these selections we 
find we have swallowed up seventy-two kinds, and 
still leave myriads of very good sorts unmentioned. 
To not a few readers there will crop up sorts that 
might have been placed here and there ; but our 
selections were carefully made at the show with 
myriads of dishes before us from various parts of 
the kingdom, and average character naturally forms 
a more reliable test for selection than do mere local 
features. 
“Of Foreign Apples a remarkably fine and 
interesting collection has been sent by Mr. G. R. 
H. Star, of Port William, Nova Scotia, whose 
London agents, Messrs. Nothard & Lowe, have ad¬ 
mirably set up, and further increased the value of the 
collection by indicating those sorts which are gene¬ 
rally sent from Nova Scotia to the English market. 
These are the Ba'dwin, Rhode Island Greening, 
Cooper’s Russet, Blue Pearmain, Talman’s Sweet, 
Gravenstein, Flushing Spitzenberg, King of the 
Pippins, Willoughby, Golden Russet, King of Tom¬ 
kins County, Sweet Russet, Pomme Gris, Golden 
Pippin, Ribston Pippin, and Mammoth Russet. 
Most of these are of medium size, and several 
of them highly coloured, but all, by comparison 
with home-grown samples, are of low specific gravity. 
As regards handsome appearance, these Nova Scotian 
Apples compare most favourably with the best of 
our own, but contain much less water and sugar. 
Such varieties as the Emperor Alexander, Fall 
Pippin, Chebucto Beauty, Dutch Codlin, and Cat’s 
Head are finely represented. 
“ Another collection is that sent by Mr. Loney, gr. 
to Oscar Dickson, Esq., Gothenberg, Sweden, and 
which consists of twenty-eight dishes of Apples and 
a dozen of Pears—all the results of orchard-house 
cultivation, and superb in quality. Among the 
Apples are grand samples of Cellini, Calville Blanche, 
Red Astrachan, Rasenhiiger, a handsome crimson- 
striped flattish-round variety ; Margil, Rosen Gyllen, 
handsomely striped or streaked ; Court Pendu-Plat, 
and Winter Pearmain. Among the Pears are large 
examples of Duchesse d’Angouleme, Beurre Bachelier, 
Pitmaston Duchess, Marechal de la Cour, Marie 
Louise, Souvenir du Congres, Doyenne Boussoch, 
Huyshe’s Bergamot, Bonne d’Ezi, and Josephine de 
Malines. The whole collection reflects high credit 
on their cultivator, and adds much to the interest of 
the exhibition. 
“ It is surprising that of the many new and old, 
but not much known varieties that have been sent 
to Chiswick, only two New Varieties have been 
deemed by the committee to be worthy of First-class 
Certificates. One of the best is a seedling raised at 
Southwell, Notts, by a shoemaker, named Bramley, 
and called Bramley’s Seedling ; it is a culinary 
variety of the form of Small’s Admirable, but larger 
than that variety ordinarily comes, and is said to 
bear profusely every alternate year when the tree 
attains the age of ten or twelve years; it is not an 
early bearer, but the tree is stated to be hardy and 
robust, makes a fine orchard specimen, and produces 
cne of the finest types of market fruits. The other 
is the Grenadier, shown by Messrs. G. Bunyard & 
Co., of Maidstone; it is of the first size, somewhat 
flat round in shape, and angular or ribbed, with a 
olear yellow skin, small, closed eye, and short stalk ; 
a first-rate culinary variety, in use during October 
and November. 
“ An old variety, new to most of the visitors we 
suspect, but a good dessert sort as regards quality, 
and very pretty as to colour, is the Nanny Apple, 
a variety which as stated is peculiar to the neighbour¬ 
hood of Midhurst, Sussex, where it has been grown 
for the last century, but is said to be now fast becom¬ 
ing extinct—a contingency which it may be hoped 
its exhibition here by Mr. G. Chorley, of Midhurst, 
will prevent. It is ripe now, and does not keep well 
beyond Christmas, and the tree is a good bearer. 
Another very pretty Apple which appears in two 
Sussex collections is a variety which Mr. Ford calls 
King, and which the Messrs. Cheal, of Crawley, who 
show a handsome dish grown by R. Hoper, Esq., of 
Cowfield, Horsham, labelled as the Ramboon, Cider 
Steer, or King Apple.” 
It has been well remarked in reference to this 
interesting Apple exhibition, that a very note¬ 
worthy feature of it was its entire unselfishness. 
There was no inducement held forth in the way 
of competition or prizes, the sole object of the 
projectors and contributors being to benefit pomo¬ 
logy ; and it must be admitted that right liberally 
has the call of the former been met by the latter. 
The finest Apples in the show came from 
Kent, the garden of England, amongst which 
probably those staged by Mr. Haycock, gardener 
to R. Leigh, Esq., M.P., Barham Court, Maid¬ 
stone, were pre-eminent. His dish of Ribston 
Pippins, has rarely if ever been equalled for 
size and rich golden colouring, and the collec¬ 
tion altogether manifested the good results of 
high cultivation. Then probably no handsomer 
dish of Apples has ever been seen than that 
of the new American variety Washington, 
which we figured last year, and which had 
been grown in the orchard house of T. Moillet, 
Esq., of Hawkhurst, and was exhibited by 
Messrs. G. Bunyard & Co., of Maidstone. 
PROPOSED PEAR CONGRESS. 
AM glad to see the Apple Congress is 
such a success. We have some sixty 
sorts there in all, but we cannot compete 
in appearance with our southern friends. 
Pears would be a good subject to take up next 
season in order to settle the nomenclature, 
and to get information as to the varieties 
suitable for certain soils, &c. This is almost 
more necessary with the Pear than with the 
Apple, as the latter fruit can be used if not 
all equally good; whereas Pears having in 
nearly all cases to be eaten raw, it is very 
necessary to grow only such sorts as come 
reasonably good and ripen well.—H. J. 
Clayton, Grimston Park Gardens, Tadcaster. 
[We quite agree with Mr. Clayton as to the utility 
of a Pear Show, and hope the next season may be 
propitious, and the workers willing— Ed.] 
