cellular tissue was seen entering into every part, and developed in the asci, spores, sporules, and the like. Some exhibitions of the larvæ of water insects, of animalcules, through one of Oberhauser's microscopes, modified by the employment of Ross's unrivalled object-glasses, from Mr. Cole, closed the meeting.

A similar exploration has been set on foot for a future day, when other sections of Essex County will be critically examined. It is hoped that, among other objects of value, the finer native plants may become better known, and some species, scarcely ever seen, may yet grace the garden and become subjects of horticultural interest. Should any thing of value in this way occur, or this notice be deemed worthy your pages, something more of the sort may follow.

South Hingham, June, 1849.

It gives us exceeding pleasure to publish the above most interesting paper by Prof. Russell; and now that our native plants are beginning to be better appreciated, the valuable information which it contains cannot be over-estimated. Could the flora of every county of Massachusetts be as thoroughly investigated as that of Essex is likely to be, through the exertions of the Essex Institute, the locality of every beautiful and desirable plant would be well known, and amateurs would thus have the opportunity of transferring such as are the most attractive to their gardens.

What among the whole range of our many native shrubs possesses the exquisite beauty of that floral treasure, the Andrómeda polifòlia? The Cape of Good Hope scarcely possesses a heath which will surpass it in loveliness. Its little clusters of tiny bell-shaped flowers, of the richest pink, wreath the delicate stems; and they are enriched by a glossy foliage, whose under-surface presents that silvery shade so admired in the well known abele; add to this its easy culture in any rather moist soil, and it may truly be said to be without a rival for attractiveness. Bigelow and other botanical authors tell us, when describing our native plants, where some of them may be found, but in such brief terms that we are left almost as ignorant as if nothing had been said. For instance, in Bigelow's Plants of Boston, Kálmia latifòlia,

it is stated, grows in "Woods, Gloucester, Princeton, &c." Now if, in any locality, any particular plant is very abundant, as that of Andrómeda polifòlia, at Wenham, by knowing that locality the spot can at once be reached, and the plants secured without a fruitless search, perhaps of a day or more.

We trust we shall have further accounts from Mr. Russell, of other excursions by the committee of the institute, and we think we speak the views of our many readers, when we say, they will be found among our most valuable communications.-Ed.

ART. II. The Averill Apple, its Origin, &c., with a Description of the Fruit. By L. P. GROSVENOR, Pomfret, Conn.; in a letter to Samuel Walker, Esq., President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. With an Engraving of the Fruit. By the EDITOR.

The following account of the Averill apple was communicated to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, by Mr. Grosvenor, of Pomfret, Conn., a gentleman who is not only well acquainted with all the best apples, but has an extensive orchard of the finest varieties. The society voted that Mr. Grosvenor's letter should be published in our magazine. We are highly gratified in presenting the same to our pomological friends, and can confirm the good opinion expressed of this new fruit. By the kindness of Mr. Walker, we received one of the apples, and annex to Mr. Grosvenor's description, which is very complete, an outline engraving of the fruit, (fig. 26.)

DEAR SIR,-I wrote you, some days ago, about a seedling apple; having an opportunity, I now send a sample for the inspection of the committee on fruits of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. The original tree is growing in an orchard of ungrafted trees, belonging to Dea. Lewis Averill, on the farm where the den is situated in which Putnam killed the wolf. The ground has been in grass many years, and the tree is covered with moss. A few years ago the

fruit was discovered to be valuable. I have several trees, four years from the graft, that have made good growth, and I expect will soon bear well every other year.

The apple appears to keep remarkably well, and I hope this variety will prove as valuable as any other now known. I propose to call it Averill, and annex a description.-Respectfully, your most obt. servt., L. P. Grosvenor. Pomfret, Conn., April 27, 1849.

To SAMUEL WALKER, Esq.

Size, large: Shape, oblong, slightly ribbed: Skin, pale red and bright red, in stripes, on a greenish yellow ground, with purple dots: Calyx, closed and slightly sunk : Stem, short and

Fig. 26. The Averill Apple

stout, not projecting beyond the base, set perpendicularly in a middling-sized ribbed cavity: Flesh, light yellow or yellowish white, with some green; crisp, pleasant, rich subacid flavor: Seeds, large, chestnut color: Core, hollow. Ripens middle of March and keeps till June. Tree bears every other year.

Our specimen was in the most perfect preservation, as sound as a Baldwin or Northern Spy; and it will prove a most valuable late apple, taking its place with the two above sorts as late keepers and superior fruits.-Ed.

ART. III. Notice of a New Plum, called the Drap d' Or of Esperin, with an Engraving of the Fruit. By the ED

TOR.

THE late Major Esperin, of Belgium, according to the accounts in the Belgian Horticultural journals, devoted much of his time to the production of seedling fruits, more particularly of pears and plums; and several of his varieties, espe cially of the pear, are said to be very valuable acquisitions, superior to any that have been raised since the productions of Van Mons, and fully equal to many of the best produced by that celebrated cultivator. It is also stated, and we presume correctly, that the fruits of Major Esperin have all been produced without any regard to cross fertilization, or by successive generations, as practised by Dr. Van Mons; but are what may be termed "chance" seedlings. Josephine de Malines and Suzette de Bavay are said to be two of the very finest pears. Of pears, however, we shall speak another time. Our object now is to give some account of one of Esperin's seedling plums.

DRAP D'OR (of Esperin) is the name given to this plum in the Flore des Serres of Van Houtte, where it is represented in a beautifully colored figure, a copy of which we annex, (fig 27,) and the following descriptive account accompanies the drawing:

For this fine variety, we are indebted to that intelligent cultivator and celebrated Belgian pomologist, Esperin, (the Major.) It was raised from seeds, by him, in 1830, and produced its first fruit in 1844; and we are indebted for its preservation to M. Louis Berckmans, d'Heyst Opden-Berg, an amateur and distinguished cultivator, who has communicated, in part, the details we have concerning this plum. The fruit is stated to be one of the best of its kind; the

flesh, which readily separates from the stone, surpasses in flavor that of the Mirabelle Double, or Drap d'Or, which it approaches in its general form, and from which it has been

named. It ripens in the latter part of August; its form is oval, regular, from ten to twelve centimetres in circumference, about the middle of the fruit; the skin is of a beautiful yellow, veined and reticulated with green, under its transparent epidermis. It resembles much, according to M. Berckmans, the Washington, but is different in its flavor, more