Mr. Editor: - The past winter has been, with the exception of two or three short spells of cold, a remarkably mild one. I have had roses in bloom until about two or three weeks since, and peach trees have been blooming all the winter; but the general blossoming for fruit is now at its height. Even pear-trees are showing some straggling flowers, which, though rather early, will, I hope, escape frost, as I have never had any killed.

I sowed last April some Purple Kohl Rabbi seed, received from the Patent Office, which succeeded well, and when nicely cooked proved very nearly, if not quite, equal to cauliflower.

The winter proved very favorable to cauliflowers, and I had an abundance of them; and the spring has been equally so to Brocoli, or very late cauliflowers, I rather think, as I now have fine heads. The Purple Cape Brocoli runs into all 6orts of monstrosities, but has never headed for me; and the cabbage lice are so fond of it and the Brussells sprouts, that I have to give up both. There seems to be something in ray soil or situation peculiarly favorable to the Aphis, for they follow my crops of all the cabbage and turnip tribe, all over my plantation, sometimes a mile from my garden. Is there no remedy for them? I have failed to find one as yet.

I do not think that the pear crop promises as much as it did last spring, probably for the very good reason that I had my trees overloaded despite of severe thinning, and this summer I suppose they feel disposed to rest a little from their labor. I can grow neither apples nor peaches here. By-the-by, do you know that I have never either seen or heard of the yellows any where about here? I have an abundance of peaches on another plantation where the land is sandy. Pears do remarkably well with me here, although my land is low, damp, clayey, and salt, being hardly more than two or three feet above spring tides, which come almost up to my garden fence.

After all that has been written against dwarf pears, I feel bound to speak a word in their favor. I have been growing spears since 1837, and started with about equal quantities of standards (or on pear roots) and dwarfs (or on quince), and .now have about as many left of the dwarfs as of the standards, - indeed, I think rather more. I have not found, therefore, the standard trees less liable to blight or other diseases than the dwarfs.

Both grow on the same laud, and were originally alternately one and the other, both ways. The disease that has killed almost all my trees has been the death of the roots, sometimes even before the tree had borne one fruit; at others after the first good crop, - the top appearing quite sound and good. I have had comparatively few cases of fire blight; and against this, trees branching from the ground were no better protected than those trimmed high. Among the varieties that I have grown, those that grow most vigorously upon quince are, first, Rousselet de Rheims, Buffaiu, or Golden Beurre, of Bilboa, (I rather think the former), the winter Bonchretien, and Doyenne Roux, or Gray Doyenne. Others may grow as well, but either I have not had them, or not had them long enough to prove. The Rousselet de Rheims is an abundant bearer; fruit of full medium quality, and in gathering from 20th June to 20th July, and in eating from say 1st July to 5th or 10th August, a season when good pears are not very abundant.

The Bartlett does quite as well with me upon the quince as upon the pear, - in fact my original tree is upon quince. Bearing early and abundantly, of course it does not grow very fast. My pear-trees are set in my vegetable garden, and vegetables are grown all around them without any injury to the trees. I prefer small or dwarf trees, simply because I can prune them myself, and without ladder or hatchet; and then, 1 can gather most of the fruit myself, and keep them separate, to taste. In spite of the millions of pear trees that are annually set, I do not believe that good pears ever will become either abundant or cheap. The trees require no excessive care, but still they require some constantly, and then it depends upon the gathering and keeping whether the fruit shall prove delicious or worthless. One cannot say to a common laborer with you, nor to a negro with us, "go and gather such and such pears," lest they should be threshed down with poles, or knocked about and bruised, and thus rendered useless for anything but cooking. The hardest work I do during the summer, is gathering pears and peaches.

Some late ripening pears are wanted among us at the South. I will give you the times of gathering of a few reputed "late:" Epine Dumas, Sept. 3; Colmar de Silly, Zephyrine Gregoire, Lewis, Lawrence, Vicompte De Spoelberch, Sept. 18; Josephine de Malines, and last, Easter Beurre, Oct. 6. The winter Bonchretien and St. Germain, sometimes keep, a few, until about Christmas, but last year neither bore good fruit. The Royal (Rousselet?) d'Hiver was gathered in November, and kept until near Christmas, but it is only a pear, and would not be touched at any time earlier. The Bezy de Bretagne has proved a most abundant bearer; fruit russeted, and of medium or small size; excellent for cooking, and the latest are crisp, juicy, and sweet. It is very superior in every respect to the Martin Sec, and much later.

When you have read thus far, I suppose you will say that it is well that there is an end to everything, and more especially to this treatise, "de omnebus rebus et quibuadam aliis." So, adieu. [Au contraire. - Ed].

Yours respectfully, Robert Chisolm.

Beaufort, S. C. February.