Mr. Chas. Downing writes : "W. F. H., asks you if the Le Compte and Kieffer's Hybrid are identical ? They are not the same. They are quite distinct. Though the Le Compte is derived from the Sand Pear, its origin is obscure. It is generally believed that the original tree came as the true Chinese Sand Pear, from a New York nursery to Major Le Compte, the well-known botanist of the last generation. It may have been Prince's Flushing nurseries." The trees are easily raised from seed, and this may have been a seedling tree, and the parent have derived the pollen from one of our regular garden sorts as the Kieffer did. If we are to have a new race in these Pears, would it not be worth while to retain the maternal name ? Thus Le Compte Sand Pear; and Kieffer Sand Pear. It will distinguish the race from the common kind.