THE MAGAZINE

ART. I.

OF

HORTICULTURE.

DECEMBER, 1845.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Results of experiments in the cultivation of the Pear Tree in the Southern States; with some remarks on the diacious character of the Strawberry. By ROB'T CHISHOLM, Esq, Secretary of the Beaufort Agricultural Society, Beaufort, S. C.

As I have, this summer, for the first time, gathered fruit from pear trees I imported from Europe a few years since, I have thought that the results of my experiments, as obtained thus far, might be interesting to you, and encourage those who have begun already to cultivate this fruit to continue, and induce others to begin at once.

My situation is on what is called a sea island, where fine long cotton is grown, near this place, in sight of the ocean, across St. Helena Sound. The land, on which are my trees, is low, being very near and very little above high tide mark, cold clay, and originally very poor when I planted the trees. I dug holes in the clay about two and a half to three feet across, and about eighteen to twenty-four inches deep, into which my trees were set at the proper depth, and then filled in with one part of black mould and partially decomposed oyster shells, taken from small mounds near ancient Indian wigwams, and two parts of mould from under trees in the woods or forest; (live oak furnishes the best mould that I can get.) I had one St. Germain weighing one pound and one ounce; several weighing one pound, and a little more and less; one Bergamotte de Soulers or Solers, weighing nearly three quarters of a pound, the only one I have weighed, and without any selection whatever, as it is the only one I

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Cultivation of the Pear Tree

have before me and not selected; the others would probably average nearly half a pound. The BonChrétiens d'hiver I have not weighed, but nearly as large; Virgouleuse, (true French,) Crassane and Epargne, about the same sizes; Epine d'Été, Muscat Robert, Rousselet de Rheims, Grosse Marquise, Martin Sec, Imperial, and a few others that I did not have the names of. The St. Germains, Virgouleuse, Winter BonChrétien, and Bergamotte, have been pronounced very fine pears, and I would willingly compound never to eat better fruit on condition of never having worse. The Epargne was mealy and tasteless, probably in consequence of having been allowed to ripen on the tree. The Summer Thorn was musky, but not particularly sweet. The Muscat Robert was much better, but of the others, except the Crassane, which was not very sweet but a little astringent, I could form no decided opinion, as they did not come to perfection. Of the Messire Jean, I had a number upon the trees, but they were all cracked, and I did not have one that was either ripe or good; probably the soil was too clayey for them. The Summer Thorn, Muscat Robert, and Epargne, were ripe just as peaches were going out of season, the beginning of August. The BonChrétien, St. Germain, Bergamotte de Soulers, and Virgouleuse, are all picked and full ripe now, but this has been an early season for fruits.

I hope next summer to have about thirty or more varieties in bearing, when I can again inform you of their qualities, &c., better. I have imported also apple trees which bear very fine fruit, but I cannot give any very exact account of them, as I visit my garden and plantation but once a week, and then have a plenty to attend to. I have not had one mealy or insipid one. The trees thus far are very healthy.

I find my trees much more clean, healthy looking and vigorous, than pear trees growing in this place, where the soil is high, dry and sandy. I forgot to mention above that my trees are well manured every autumn with stable or cow-pen compost, spread on the surface, and allowed to remain there, and the land is well manured and cultivated in vegetables. I weighed one pomegranate, (not as large apparently as some I gathered later), and it weighed two pounds five ounces; and I think I have some that will weigh more when gathered.

Seeing that the question about strawberry plants being perfect or imperfect, is still unsettled in the public mind, I was forcibly struck with the strong confirmation of Mr. Longworth's assertion by Mr. Keen, in the cultivation of the strawberry, as quoted by Loudon in his Encyclopedia of Gardening, edition of 1822, page 822, § 1476, var. the Hautboy. As the truth is doubtless your object, you will render a service to the growers of this delightful fruit, by publishing what Keen says on the subject, though it militates against your opinion. I have never seen either a male or perfect flower on any plant of your seedling, which I have been cultivating since about the time that Mr. Longworth's statement was first published in the Cultivator, and a friend, to whom I sent some of the plants last year or the year before, remarked to me last week in Charleston, that he had never seen so unproductive a variety of strawberry. I did not send him any other plants, nor did I apprise him of the fact that, for a good crop from them, it was necessary to have some other variety with male flowers in the immediate neighborhood of these plants.

I forgot to mention that I saw somewhere last winter, in Liebig, I think, that salt litter in the winter is beneficial to strawberry plants, and I attribute part of my success in raising strawberries to the saltness, as well as the moisture and clayey texture of my soil.

Beaufort, S. C., Nov. 1, 1845.

We are highly grateful to receive the communication of our correspondent, detailing his experiments with the cultivation of the pear tree, because the success which has followed his efforts, will tend to induce others to introduce this most valuable fruit into the gardens of the Southern States, where till lately it was thought by many the pear would not succeed, In the south of France, the pear in most places grows well, and produces fine fruit, and we see no reason why similar success should not follow in the southern portion of our own country, with a similar climate, and a good soil. The experiment of Mr. Chisholm shows that success will attend every judicious and well-directed effort. We shall wait with much interest the results of another year's experiments,

which, we trust, our correspondent will not omit to send us, agreeably to his intimations.

In regard to the strawberry, we should have no objection to publish the article by Mr. Keen, were it not familiar to many of our readers, and that it refers wholly to the Hautbois strawberry, a variety which is universally acknowledged as diœcious. If, however, we find an opportunity, we will give Mr. Keen's remarks in a future number. We do not think that one word can be found in any thing Mr. Keen ever wrote in relation to strawberries, about the diœcious character of any other variety than the Hautbois, though our friend, Mr. Longworth, continually insists upon the male and female plants of Keen's Seedling.

It has always been our greatest wish to see the strawberry extensively cultivated, and we believe all will give us the credit for this, after the many years devoted to their culture, and the production of two seedlings which are of such acknowledged merit. Our views upon the unsettled question, of sterile and fertile plants, have already been given, on several occasions, and in regard to our Seedling, more particularly at p. 293. We there stated, that from some cause, whatever it might be, in certain soils and seasons, it would not produce fruit unless placed near some staminate variety, and we always advised the planting of such in near proximity; being convinced that a large and certain crop of fruit would be the result. It is in this view that we look upon the Boston Pine as quite invaluable, as this variety and the Seedling produced an immense crop side by side, and at least five hundred feet from any other strawberry.-Ed.

ART. II. Some remarks on the most favorable climate for the Apple Culture in America, with observations on some erroneous descriptions of fruits, in The Fruit and Fruit Trees of America, and a notice of several native apples, originated in Ohio. By T. S. HUMRICKHOUSE, Coshocton, Ohio.

THE gratification, with which Downing's new work, "The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America," has been received by

horticulturists generally in the United States, is not a little impaired, upon intimate perusal, by the many heresies in theory, and mistakes in matter of fact, which it is found to contain. To this category, the following, from page 69 of the book, appears to me to belong.

"The great natural centre of the apple culture in America, is between Massachusetts Bay and the Delaware River, where the Newtown Pippin, the Spitzemberg, the Swaar, the Baldwin, and the Yellow BelleFleur, have originated, and are grown in the greatest perfection. The apples raised on the very fertile bottoms of the Western States, are very large and beautiful, but, as yet, owing to the excessive luxuriance of growth, are far inferior in flavor to those of the same quality, raised on the strong, gravelly, or sandy loams of this" (his own)" section of country."

Now, the region defined is no more the "centre of the apple culture" than is Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, or the Territories; nor are the varieties named grown there in any greater perfection than in some, if not all, of the States referred to. It seems to me, that our author has admitted his conclusions too easily, and without sufficiently considering the grounds, if he has any grounds at all, which have led him to adopt them. There are but two ways, that I can discern, by which he could know the facts, so authoritatively advanced, to be true his own actual observation, or the actual observation of others, communicated to him by them. And, if his conclusions have been arrived at in either of these ways, it is certainly due to the public to apprise them of it, so that all may know his data before proceeding to adopt them,-the rather, as so many are found ready to adopt what they find printed, without inquiry.

On this subject, I must give the testimony of my experience, so far as it goes, and I confess it to be limited, against this theory. But, I am the more confident, because, all who

Spitzemberg-Is not the true spelling Spitzenburgh? I think it is so in Thatcher and all the old works and catalogues. Downing, in his description of the fruits, spells it so: but in the remarks quoted above he has it Spitzemberg, and so Thompson. Where the same name is spelled differently in the same work, it is not contributing much to uniformity. Perhaps he was puzzled to know which is right, and so has it both ways. He should have decided upon one or the other.-T. S. H.