MANNING, Robert, pomologist, born in Salem. Mass., 19 July, 1784: died there, 10 October, 1842. His great-great-grandmother, Anstiss Manning, widow of Richard Manning, of Dartmoor, England, came to Massachusetts with her children. In 1823 he established a pomological garden in Salem, which at the time of his death was unrivalled in the assortment of fruits that were then cultivated, and contained nearly 1,000 varieties of pears, besides several hundred more of apples, peaches, plums, and cherries. His principal object in the formation of this garden was rather to collect the several species for identification, to test their qualities, and to correct the nomenclature, which had been in confusion, than to grow fine specimens or to originate new varieties. He was so familiar with the names and habits of the trees and qualities of fruits that he could readily identify at sight even the rarest kinds. His labors in the cause of pomological science, by the introduction into general use of the best varieties of fruits, fairly entitle him to be ranked among public benefactors. He was one of the founders of the Massachusetts horticultural society, and one of its most liberal contributors. His sister, Elizabeth, became the mother of Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was educated at the expense of Mr. Manning.