The Largest Dessert Pear

Sure enough; and so much the worse. Here is a great, overgrown, coarse, spongy fruit, with not a quarter the virtues in taste of one only half its size, of the same kind. If the " Boston folks," give premiums to such specimens, over the close, compact, well grown medium sized fruits of the same varieties, they certainly do a wrong thing. There is very little merit in such samples as these; for the same averdupois weight of fruit, in double the number of well grown pears of half the bulk of this specimen, is worth twice the money. A well grown Bartlett, weighing ten or twelve ounces, is large enough for any pear, and a Dutches d'Angouleme need not be larger than a pound, for all needful uses, and the development of its best properties. After attaining a full mid-summer size, with fair growth, the best qualities of this fruit are perfected, and no one should strive for anything beyond.

Largest Peaeh Orchard In The World

Shellcross, who resides near Middletown, Delaware, owns the largest peach orchard in the world. Last year he shipped to New York 125,000 baskets of fruit, and it is estimated that he lost, by being unable to procure labor to pick, about 25,000 baskets more. On several days he loaded from his orchard ten car loads.

Mr. Shellcross orchard reaches along the public road for more than eight miles - generally on either side - and covers an extent of upwards of 1,000 acres; on which is growing more than 100,000 trees. The land on which Mr. Shellcross trees are planted is worth $150,000.

The Largest Pear Yet

We received this morning from the garden of Dr. I. M. Ward, an enormous pear of the Duchess d'Angouleme species, which weighs 18 oz. and measures 12 inches in its smallest circumference, and 18 inches in the largest. This rather beats the one noticed the other day at the Astor House, which weighed 16 ounces, and was supposed to be the largest on record.- [Newark Daily Advertiser. 13th.

This is by no means "the largest pear yet." A specimen of this same fine variety - the Duchess of Angouleme, was raised by S. Leeds, Esq., of Boston, last year, which weighed 26 oz., and measured 15 inches in circumference - the largest way. We have an exact model of the fruit on our table, made by Mr. Glover of Fishkill Landing, N. Y., and colored to the life. Very large and fine flavored specimens of the D'Angouleme are easily produced in rich deep soil - especially when the tree is grafted on quince stock. Ed.

The Last Number For 1862

The present number is our last issue for the current year. We hope our readers will bear this in mind, and renew their subscriptions at the earliest possible moment, so that we may mature our plans for the coming year. Our club rates present great inducements for getting the Horticulturist at a low price, which should not be overlooked by our old subscribers in renewing their subscriptions. It is just as easy to send on a dozen names as one, and we think a good deal better. Let each old subscriber, therefore, do his best to send us a club. We can promise that each and all shall receive more than the worth of the subscription. These are not the times to dispense with horticultural knowledge and reading. If, in time of peace, we must not forget the arts of war, neither, in time of war, must we forget the arts of peace.