| VOL. I.] | FEBRUARY | [NO. 2. |
CLAPP’S FAVORITE.
Some of the members of the Association who received a tree of this pear in the Spring of 1873, have had the satisfaction of seeing the fruit and testing its quality. Mr. A. Morse, of Smithville, County of Lincoln, in reporting upon the trees received from the Association, speaks of this fruit as being poor. His report, which is extremely laconic, does not explain in what respect he finds it poor, nor give any account of the soil in which the tree is planted, nor the exposure to sun and air in which it is growing. Our own experience with this variety does not, by any means, confirm the opinion given by Mr. Morse. We have found the tree to be a vigorous grower, forming a very handsome head, quite hardy, and no more subject to the pear-blight than its parent, the Flemish Beauty. The trees are growing in a gravelly loam, with a clayey bottom, and sheltered on the west by an apple orchard. The fruit is large, very uniform in size, and evenly distributed through the tree; the appearance, when ripe, is very handsome, the color being a pale lemon yellow, with splashes of crimson on the sunny side, and occasional patches of russet. The flesh is very fine grained, buttery, and juicy, with a very agreeable, sweet, vinous flavor. It ripens before the Bartlett, and like all summer pears, will not last long; indeed to be enjoyed at all, must be quickly consumed. It has the fault of its parent, namely that of decaying at the core, so that while the exterior is very beautiful and firm, giving the impression of soundness and perfection, the interior may be wholly decayed. It is quite possible, that to this peculiarity Mr. Morse may have more especial reference when he pronounces it poor.
It is possible, however, to remedy this fault to a very considerable extent by gathering the fruit before it is fully ripe. The exact time when to gather it can only be ascertained by experiment. In the case of the writer’s soil and exposure, it will not do to let the fruit remain on the tree so long as to change color to any great degree; and after it has been gathered, it should be eaten before the skin has put on all its beauty in crimson and gold, else it will be found to be only the glow of internal decay. We trust that Mr. Morse will have the patience to experiment with this pear yet a little longer, and give the readers of the HORTICULTURIST the results of his further experience. The character given by Mr. Downing, who is acknowledged on all hands to be the best American authority on fruits, is that this is an extremely fine and valuable pear, ranking in quality as “very good,” which means next to “best.” The very hardy character of the tree makes it well worthy of trial in all the colder parts of the Province, where many of our very choice pear trees succumb to the rigor of the climate.
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SOME NEW FOUND FRIENDS.
In the second number of the current volume of the Canadian Entomologist is a very interesting account of the discovery of some small creatures that feed on the eggs of the Tent Caterpillars. It is very gratifying indeed to the orchardist, to learn that he has help from any quarter in the work of destroying such pests as these. During the past summer, the Forest Tent Caterpillar swept over large tracts of country in the Counties of Perth and Middlesex, stripping the leaves from the trees in the orchards, as well as from those in the forest, and doing a vast amount of injury. The question was asked at the Summer meeting in Stratford, if this pest was likely to continue in such force in years to come; if so, the out-look for fruit in those parts was gloomy enough. It was bad enough to have to look after the common Tent Caterpillar, and keep that in subjection, but such an invasion of its congener, if likely to be continuous, was fearful to contemplate. The discovery, to which reference is now made, may help to answer the question, and to illustrate the wonderful measures adopted to keep in check all undue multiplication of our insect enemies, and so to preserve the balance of power.
