250 
THE GAKDENING WOKLD 
December 19, 1885. 
THE PEAR CONFERENCE. 
We have received from the Secretary of the Royal 
Horticultural Society the following abridged statement 
taken from the full report of the Pear Conference 
recently held at Chiswick, and which is not yet suffi¬ 
ciently advanced for publication. This extract will, 
however, serve the purpose of disseminating useful in¬ 
formation to intending planters during the present 
season, and it is with this object that the Council have 
decided upon giving it the earliest possible publicity. 
The report has been skilfully prepared by Mr. A. F. 
Barron, and we shall look forward with interest to the 
full report whenever it is ready. 
The selection of the present season for the holding of 
a great exhibition and conference on Pears in succession 
to that on the Apples in 1883 proved to be especially 
propitious, the crops of Pears throughout the country 
being in general very abundant and good. The cold 
dry summer was not specially favourable for the growth 
and development of Pears, and in many instances the 
fruit was much smaller than usual, especially of the 
earlier varieties. The later varieties benefited greatly 
by the autumnal rains, and proved in general of a fair 
average character. 
The response to the invitation issued by the Council 
proved of the most satisfactory character, the number 
of Pears sent in for exhibition far exceeding the most 
sanguine expectations of the Committee, the exhibition 
being not only great in extent, but in all respects a truly 
representative exhibition of nearly all the varieties of 
Pears known or cultivated in this country. The total 
number of exhibitors taking part in the Conference 
numbered 166, contributions being received from thirty- 
five of the English counties, also from Scotland, Ireland, 
Wales, and the Channel Islands, the total number of 
dishes or different lots of Pears staged numbering 6,350. 
In addition, several large and meritorious collections 
were received from France, which proved of great 
interest. 
Counties. 
No. of 
Exhi¬ 
bitors. 
No. of 
Dishes. 
Bedfordshire ... 
1 
63 
Berkshire 
4 
66 
Buckinghamshire 
4 
213 
Cambridgeshire 
1 
13 
Cheshire 
2 
82 
Cumberland 
2 
2 
Derbyshire 
2 
26 
Devonshire 
5 
311 
Essex 
5 
294 
Gloucestershiie... 
*2 
157 
Hampshire 
2 
111 
Herefordshire ... 
7 
310 
Hertfordshire ... 
5 
451 
Huntingdonshire 
1 
39 
Kent 
11 
486 
Lancashire 
2 
83 
Leicestershire ... 
1 
53 
Lincolnshire ... 
4 
121 
Middlesex 
19 
638 
Monmouth 
1 
58 
Norfolk. 
4 
98 
Northamptonshire 
2 
72 
Nottinghamshire 
4 
173 
Oxfordshire 
1 
41 
Rutland. 
1 
28 
Shropshire 
1 
63 
Somersetshire ... . 
1 
69 
Staffordshire ... 
2 
58 
Suffolk. 
2 
36 
Surrey ... 
17 
622 
Sussex ... 
8 
338 
Warwickshire ... 
2 
42 
Wiltshire 
6 
176 
Worcestershire... 
5 
234 
Yorkshire 
2 
69 
Scotland 
16 
415 
Wales ... . 
6- 
103 
Ireland... 
2 
30 
Guernsey 
2 
33 
Jersey ... 
1 
74 
Total 
166 
6351 
France ... 
2 
262 
The total number of reputedly distinct varieties of 
Pears exhibited subsequent to the corrections made by 
the Committee amounts to 650. 
An audit taken of the whole of the varieties exhibited 
gives the following results as to the most favoured or 
popular varieties, Beurre Diel, although only a second- 
rate Pear, standing at the top of the list, having been 
exhibited 194 times ; Marie Louise being placed 2nd, 
155 dishes of which were shown ; and Louis Bonne of 
Jersey 3rd, 132. 
List of Fifty Peaks Exhibited the Greatest 
Number of Times. 
No. of 
Dishes. 
Beurre Diel.194 
Marie Louise .. 155 
Louise Bonneof Jersey 132 
Duchesse d’Angou- 
leme 
121 
Winter Nellis 
121 
Passe Colmar 
118 
Josephine de Malines 
113 
Bergamotte Esperen. 
112 
Beurre Ranee 
108 
Catillac 
108 
Beurre Clairgeau ... 
106 
Doyenne du Comice. 
103 
Beurre Capiaumont.. 
86 
Beurre d’Aremberg.. 
80 
Vicar of Winkfield .. 
78 
Chaumontel 
77 
Beurre Hardy 
74 
Beurre Bachelier ... 
74 
Comte de Lamy 
73 
No. of 
Dishes. 
Knight’s Monarch.. 
73 
Ne Plus Meuris ... 
73 
Beurre d’Amanlis... 
72 
Beurre Superfin ... 
70 
Pitmaston Duchess. 
69 
Uvedale’s St. Ger¬ 
main 
68 
General Todtleben.. 
67 
Counseiller de la 
Cour 
61 
Beurre Bose 
57 
Thompson’s 
56 
Napoleon. 
55 
Marie Louised’Uccle 
53 
Glou Morceau 
53 
Van Mons. Leon 
Leclerc ... 
51 
Huyslie’s Victoria.. 
50 
Gansel’s Bergamot.. 
50 
Baronne de Mello... 
50 
In regard to the nomenclature, each of the collections 
exhibited were carefully examined by the Committee, 
and corrections made where considered requisite. 
Errors of judgment may in some cases have occurred, 
due to the altered appearance the same fruits often 
assume under different conditions, &c. Some others 
may have been overlooked, or their proper labels have 
got misplaced. Every endeavour was, however, made 
to secure the most correct nomenclature possible. The 
corrections made by the Committee have in all cases 
been sent direct to the exhibitors. A pleasing feature 
noted by the Committee was the general correctness of 
the nomenclature. 
On a general examination of the whole of the col¬ 
lections exhibited, and noting the more prominent 
varieties in each, the following list has been prepared—• 
viz., 
Sixty of the most Prominent Varieties of Pears 
Exhibited at the Conference. 
Alexandre Lambre 
Bergamotte Esperen 
Beurre Alexander Lucas 
,, d’Anranlis 
,, d’Anjou 
., de 1’Assumption 
,, Baclielier 
,, Baltet, pere 
,, Bose 
,, Clairgeau 
,, Diel 
,, Hardy 
,, Ranee 
,, Spae 
,, Sterckmans 
,, Superfin 
Chaumontel 
Comte de Lamy 
Conseiller de la Cour 
Doyenne Boussoch 
,, du Comice 
Duchesse d’Angouleme 
Durondeau 
Easter Beurre 
Emile d’Heyst 
Flemish Beauty 
Fondante d’Automne 
Gansel’s Bergamot 
General Todtleben 
Glon Mor^eau 
Huyslie’s Bergamot 
Josephine de Malines 
Jersey Gratioli 
Louise Bonne of Jersey 
Madame Andre Leroy 
„ Trevye 
Marie Benoit 
,, Louise 
,, ,, d’Uccle 
Nouvelle Fulvie 
Olivier de Serres 
Passe Colmar 
,, Crassane 
Pitmaston Duchess 
Princess 
Souvenir du Congres 
Suffolk Thorn 
Thompson’s 
Urbaniste 
Van Mons. Leon Leclerc 
Williams’ Bon Chretien 
Winter Nelis 
Zephyrin Gregoire 
Stewing Pears. 
Bellissime d'Hiver 
Cadillac 
Gilles 6 Gilles 
Grosse Calebasse 
Uvedale’s St. Germain 
Verulam 
Vicar of Winkfield. 
Of modern Pears or varieties, although not new, 
which are not yet in general cultivation, the committee 
made the following selection, which are highly recom¬ 
mended for good quality, both in flavour and bearing 
properties—viz., 
Season. 
Beurre Giffard 
August 
Madame Treyve 
Summer Beurre cFAremberg. 
September 
Clapp’s Favourite ... 
> j 
Pitmaston Duchess. 
October, November 
Beurre d’Anjou . 
November 
Beurre Baltet, pere... 
Emile de Heyst 
tt 
Marie Benoist 
Nouvelle Fulvie . 
Beurre de Jonghc ... ... 
L’lnconnue (Van Mons.) ... 
January 
t t 
ft 
Duchesse de Bordeaux. 
February 
Passe Crassane 
,, March 
Olivier des Serres . 
1) 
Varieties recommended by Committee for growing 
for market purposes:— 
Season. 
Beacon . August 
Fertility . September 
Souvenir du Congres ... ,, 
Marie Louise d’Ucele ... October, November 
Durondeau or de Tongres ... ,, ,, 
Of new varieties, the Conference Pear exhibited by 
Messrs. Rivers and Son (season, October) was awarded 
a First Class Certificate. 
In the collection of varieties exhibited from France, 
and not yet proved in this country, the Committee 
recommended the following as worthy of introduc¬ 
tion:— 
Season. 
Beurre Dumont ... ... October 
Madame Andre Leroy ... November 
President Mas ... ... ... ,, 
President d’Osmanville ... ,, 
No list of the worthless varieties has been prepared, 
it being deemed sufficient in this report to notify those 
that are worthy of cultivation. 
Without entering into comparison of the merits of 
the different collections exhibited, it is important to 
notify this fact—that the cultivation of good Pears is 
not confined to any particular climate or district of the 
country. If we take the magnificent examples from M. 
Joshua Le Cornu of Jersey as the result of good and care¬ 
ful cultivation, we have their equals produced by Mr. 
Haycock and by Mr. Thomas in Kent, and closely fol¬ 
lowed by Mr. Wildsmith in Hampshire, and Mr. 
Breeze in Sussex. Many other single examples through¬ 
out the exhibition were equally meritorious. No one failed 
to remark on the excellence of the examples from Lord 
Chesterfield in Herefordshire, or those further north still 
from Mr. Dalrymple, St. Boswells, Scotland, which 
were probably the most meritorious of all. Nothing 
contributed so much to these successful results as good 
and careful cultivation. As a general rule, the best 
fruits are produced where the greatest care is bestowed. 
An important factor in the successful cultivation of the 
Pear is, as gathered from the returns, in the use of the 
Quince stock, which, from its close surface-rooting 
character, is more directly amenable to the attentions 
of the cultivator. 
A general detailed report is in course of preparation, 
but which will necessarily take some time. This will 
contain the cultural and other notes supplied by the 
various exhibitors and the selections of varieties made 
by them ; also a short descriptive catalogue of the 
whole of the varieties exhibited.— A. F. Burron, Secre¬ 
tary to the Committee. 
--- 
FUNGOLOGY. 
1 fear that this appellation of a section of natural 
science is somewhat sarcastic, as gardeners, at least, have 
never found much pleasure or amusement iii the study 
of Fungoids, or reading essays upon their forms. How 
we got on in our gardens prior to the resurrection or 
resuscitation into life of this Fungoid science, it seems 
hard to say ; the more we know or read about it the 
more we marvel that gardening exists. The great 
plagues of old Egypt seem to have been but playthings 
to the terrible Fungoid ravages, with the terrible 
Fungoid names which seem to afflict all forms of vege¬ 
tation. 
Every day seems to bring to light some new parasite 
or Fungoid epiphyte, or other mouldy old man of the 
sea, riding with blighting and terrible effect upon the 
shoulders of some once bright and healthy element in 
our vegetable life. It is not quite certain whether we 
have not reached, in vegetable life, a kind of purgato¬ 
rial stage, for all things seem to be passing through a 
species of Fungoid pilgrimage, out of which few can hope 
to come unscathed. That some of these parasites are of 
great power for evil, we have seen in the recent history of 
the Potato, the Vine, the Hollyhock, and some few other 
plants. Happily, these so far have been able to weather the 
storms of fungoid fury, and have come through the en¬ 
counters apparently little the worse ; some other fun¬ 
goid afflictions seem too trifling to merit much 
attention, and if the minds of already sufficiently troubled 
gardeners had never been called to them, they would 
probably have been content to remain none the wiser. 
Perhaps the worst forms of these fungoid attacks after 
all are found in printed essays. Certainly, these must 
prove the most profitable method of dealing with 
them. — W. M. 
