can be expected in this, is a hardier sort which would be less
susceptible of damage from frost.

_The Chestnut_.--The description of the walnut may be applied to
this, as they are natives of the same climate; and their flowers are
alike impatient of frost. The fruit of this is, however, inferior to
that of the walnut, and seldom arrives at the same degree of perfection.
The tree grows to a great size, and is one of the most valuable of our
forest trees. In "days of yore," it must have been much more plentiful
in this country, or more plentifully imported, than it now is; as the
principal timbers of abbeys, cathedrals, and other ancient buildings,
are chiefly formed of it: being equally durable as the oak, which it so
much resembles, that they can hardly be distinguished from each other,
but by the test of the wet edge of a chissel being stained by the oak,
and not at all by the chestnut.

_The Melon and Cucumber_.--These exotic fruits are extensively
cultivated; the latter takes various shapes in our bills of fare; the
former is more a luxury than a fruit for general use; their culture on
hot-beds forms a material branch of modern gardening, and with that of
the gourd, pumpkin, squash, vegetable marrow, &c., is well known.

_The Pine-Apple_.--This sovereign of fruits is, and can only be, in
this country, an appendage to opulence and rank. Several varieties are
cultivated in our forcing-stoves, and grace the tables of the rich, and
in as great perfection as they can be had between the tropics. In their
wild state, they affect the sides of rivulets, and often under the shade
of lofty trees; but are of inferior flavour, unless the weather is very
dry when they are ripening off; and when cultivated, they receive little
or no water during the last stage of their growth.--_Quarterly Journal