of all the dwarfs. It is about twelve inches high, yields abundantly, is of fine quality, and appears to be highly prized wherever it has been cultivated. Most of the seed of Beck's Gem and McLean's Little Gem has been obtained by seedsmen from abroad; while that of Tom Thumb has been principally of American growth.

McLean's Advancer is another fine new pea. It belongs to the class known as “Wrinkled Marrows," and possesses the excellent qualities for which those peas are so justly prized. Of the large peas it has proved to be decidedly one of the earliest and best, and is recommended for cultivation.

Few peas have been more widely disseminated, and few are more esteemed, than the Champion of England. As an intermediate variety, or for the general crop, it has few if any superiors. Another fine pea, less generally known or cultivated, is the Paradise Marrow, sometimes known as the Champion of Paris. It is very prolific ; long-continued in its yield; and the peas harden so slowly, that its season of use is prolonged much beyond the average. To this we would add the British Queen and the Eugénie, both of which, in a trial-growth, proved hardy and prolific, and were nearly as tender and sugary as the Champion of England.

Drew's New Dwarf is another intermediate variety worthy of trial; but, to secure its greatest perfection, the sowing should be made quite early in the season, and the seeds dropped singly, nine or ten inches apart, in rows two feet asunder. The plant makes a bushy growth, and is quite dwarf, attaining a height of twelve or fifteen inches.

One of the best of the very late peas is the Competitor. It is of large size, sweet and tender, and remarkable for the length of time the plants continue in bearing. In an experimental growth of this variety, pods were first plucked July 20; and from this time the plants continued to yield abundantly till the last of August, or for a period of more than five weeks.

These varieties will give a good succession for the season, and we think will not disappoint the cultivator, either with regard to quality or productiveness.

It may be proper to add, that, as most of our new peas are received from abroad, the descriptions found upon our catalogues must at first, necessarily, be based on foreign representations. Now, as the pea rarely, if ever,

in our climate, reaches that degree of perfection it attains in many parts of Europe, each newly-introduced variety may be expected to fall somewhat below the foreign standard. Extravagant statements with regard to earliness, productiveness, or quality, should, therefore, be received with some caution. There may be varieties seven days earlier than Carter's First Crop or the Dan O'Rourke; and there may be those that yield from thirty to forty pods to a plant, or that will produce pods containing on the average from ten to twelve peas each: but, if any such exist, we are obliged to confess they have not as yet come under our notice. Fearing Burr, Jun.

HINGHAM, MASS.

BEURRE FROMENTEL.

THIS pear was produced some years ago from a scedling by M. Fontaine de Ghélin, near Mons, Belgium; to whom, also, we are indebted for many new varieties. It is the general opinion of those who have tasted it, that it is the most delicious of pears.

The fruit is large, exactly pyriform; the stem short; the calyx slightly depressed; the skin is glossy, very delicate, of a beautiful yellow at maturity, and almost entirely free from spots; the pulp is whitish, mellow, and of a fine flavor; the juice abundant, and very sweet. It ripens from the end of October to the middle of November.

In regard to thriftiness and fruitfulness, this tree leaves nothing to be desired.

It has been asked why the name Butter has been applied to this pear. If any one will consider the color and the nature of the pulp, an answer to this question will be found.

It would be almost impossible to give a complete catalogue of the numberless varieties of pears, so many new ones are constantly making their appearance, some excellent, others mediocre or entirely worthless. A pear which may be excellent under favorable conditions of growth, under other circumstances deteriorates rapidly. Whoever wishes to raise good pears must plant those varieties only which will retain their qualities

in the climate and soil in which they are to grow. Time and experience are the only safe guides for the fruit-grower.

We might fill a volume were we to indicate the precise varieties of pears adapted to such and such a soil, situation, &c.; but that is not our present object. The experimenter in pear-growing must decide these points for himself; and it is not necessary that one should have any great amount of experience to understand that a pear which would be delicious grown in the south, or even centre, of France, for instance, would lose greatly in flavor, if not become entirely worthless, in the north, or in Belgium; and vice versa. And this is true in every country, in pear-culture.

On the subject of names, we will say only this, that we have seen a committee of horticulturists, very skilful on other subjects, unable to agree on the correct name of some variety of pear, although many specimens had been submitted to them for examination. We would say, then, to the amateur fruit-grower, trust not to names, but select those varieties only (having been careful to taste the fruit before buying) which grew in a soil and climate similar to that in which your own garden is situated.

L'Illustration Horticole.

Elais Guineensis. The oil palm of Western Africa, an ornamental species, which has been known for considerably more than a century. It is the tree from the fruit of which is obtained the palm-oil of commerce, annually imported into this country to the value of about £1,750,000. The tree grows from twenty to thirty feet high, and has a stem from twelve to sixteen inches in diameter, and naked for one-third or two-thirds of its height, though deeply marked with the scars resulting from the old leafstalks dropping off; and above this point it bristles with their remains, terminating in a crown of pinnate leaves, from twelve to twenty in number, and varying from ten to fifteen feet in length. The species also occurs in Tropical America, whither it is supposed to have been introduced, but at what date isuncertain. — Ibid.

RED SPIDER.

RED SPIDER is, perhaps, the most destructive of all the insects which the horticulturist has to combat. Being small, and confining its first attacks to the under side of the leaves, it is not easy of recognition in its early stages of development: but, in a very short time, foliage attacked by it assumes a sickly, yellowish appearance on the upper surface, and the parts immediately over the spots where the insect is at work become dotted with a number of minute whitish specks if the leaves are those of the peach or fig tree; but, if they are those of the vine, the specks are of a yellowish hue. These specks or dots increase in size until the whole leaf acquires a yellow and mature appearance; and, its powers of exhalation and inhalation being destroyed, it falls off. The small specks or dots on the upper surface of the leaves are the best evidence of the presence of red spider; and, if the under side of such leaves be examined, there will be observed between the principal nerves a number of minute specks or dots. These, on being touched with the point of a pin, will be seen to move about at a rapid rate; and, if observed with the aid of a lens, they will be found to be in constant motion, busy on that part of the leaf, which they have, for greater security, enveloped in a network of the finest threads conceivable. If measures be not taken to check the spread of the insect on its first appearance, it will rapidly wrap the leaf in a fine network, and will not cease its work of destruction until the juices of the leaf have been so completely exhausted, that it becomes totally incapable of performing any of its functions, and falls off.

It is well to remember that the leaf of a vine or other plant may have every appearance of being attacked by red spider, and yet that the insect may not be present; for the upper surface of a partly-scorched leaf has much the same aspect as one suffering from red spider; but, instead of specks or dots, scorched leaves usually exhibit blotches: besides, in addition to the dots on the upper surface, there are others corresponding to them on the under surface; and when there are both, and those on the under side move when touched, it is certain that the leaves are not scorched, but infested with red spider.

Though the insect is termed the red spider, scarcely one upon a leaf will be found of that color; most of them being of a gray, inclining to at reddish-brown, and having whitish heads and legs. The color and size of the insects vary in the case of different plants; for on some they are much brighter in color and larger than on others.

The red spider attacks a great variety of plants, but chiefly those which have large glossy leaves, and require a large supply of water; and yet it does not exclusively confine itself to the smooth-leaved plants, but is as partial to the egg-plant as to the violet or strawberry. It appears to be constant in nothing but in showing the same tokens of its presence; and in this respect it varies but slightly, if at all. Not being an entomologist, I must leave a full description of the insect to those more qualified for the task. And here I may observe, that a text-book on insects injurious to garden-crops, published at a moderate price, would be a boon to many, who, like myself, are willing to learn, and yet cannot obtain a work on the subject, except at a cost totally disproportionate to their means.

Of red spider I am only acquainted with two kinds or species. First, The small and very active one that attacks vines, melons, and most cultivated plants grown under glass or in warm situations out doors. Second, A comparatively large one, which I have found only on the gooseberry and ivy. I have known the latter attack gooseberry-bushes with such severity as to make them look as if they had been scorched. This is very commonly the case on light, gravelly soils.

Red spider destroys the vitality of the leaves, checks growth, and, when its attacks are severe, altogether arrests it. It prevents the flowers expanding, or attaining their perfection, as well as the swelling and maturation of the fruit; and impairs the well-doing of the plant. It likewise, by stopping growth, limits the action of the roots, converting a vigorous plant into one which is sickly.

Predisposing causes innumerable have been assigned for its attacks; but the principal appear to be a dry atmosphere and a high temperature, with too little air at night. Some entertain the opinion, that no plant would be attacked by insects if it were healthy; but I have not yet seen a plant, however healthy to all appearance, that did not become infested with some insect. The green aphis is equally partial to a strong shoot of the rose as