and Wales, contributed no less than 121 dishes to the tables, and thirty-eight growers voted in favor of the Duchesse being recognized as one of our standard dessert varieties.  This step looks like progress, as it is a record of facts which cannot be gainsaid, and it now remains to be seen whether the English grower, whose indomitable will has brought him to the front in the subjugation of other fruits, will be successful with the fine Duchesse d’Angouleme.  Although this remarkable pear cannot easily be mistaken, for the benefit of those who do not know it, the following description may not be out of place.  Fruit large, often very large, 31/2 inches wide and 3 inches to 4 inches high, roundish obovate, uneven, and bossed in its outline.  Skin greenish yellow, changing to pale dull yellow, covered with veins and freckles of pale brown russet, and when grown against a south wall it acquires a brown cheek.  Eye open, with erect dry segments, set in a deep irregular basin.  Stalk 1 inch long, inserted in a deep irregular cavity.  Flesh white, buttery, and melting, with a rich flavor when well ripened; otherwise rather coarse grained and gritty.

As to culture, experienced fruitists say the tree grows vigorously and well.  It bears abundantly, and succeeds either on the pear or quince stock, forming handsome pyramids, but is better on the quince.  Here, then, we have the key to the secret of success:  The cordon on the quince; roots near the surface; loam, sound, sandy, and good; and good feeding.  Aspect, a good wall facing south or west—­the latter, perhaps, the best.  Those who have not already done so, should try trees on the quince as pyramids and bushes, as this, like some other capricious pears, although the fruit be smaller, may put in better flavor than is met with in fruit from hot walls.—­The Garden.

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SUCCESSION OF FOREST GROWTHS.

The following is from an address delivered by Mr. Robert Douglas before the Association of American Nurserymen at the meeting in Chicago recently.

It is the prevailing and almost universal belief that when native forests are destroyed they will be replaced by other kinds, for the simple reason that the soil has been impoverished of the constituents required for the growth of that particular tree or trees.  This I believe to be one of the fallacies handed down from past ages, taken for granted, and never questioned.  Nowhere does the English oak grow better than where it grew when William the Conqueror found it at the time he invaded Britain.  Where do you find white pines growing better than in parts of New England where this tree has grown from time immemorial?  Where can you find young redwoods growing more thriftily than among their giant ancestors, nearly or quite as old as the Christian era?