SECRETARY'S REPORT. 35 



In severe winters, some of the branches of the Bartlett are killed 

 when unprotected ; but it is hardy when grafted on the wild pear 

 stock. The fruit, however, is sometimes insipid. The Louise 

 Bonne de Jersey and Vicar of Winkfield, in some localities, are 

 also tender. The rest are comparatively hardy. 



In the city gardens, pears have been grown, principally, on the 

 quince stock. The trees are headed back and the branches encour- 

 aged to grow near the ground. Early in September the ends of 

 the branches are cut off to check their further growth and cause 

 the wood to ripen, but with all our care, the more tender varieties 

 are sometimes killed down to the snow. But it has been discov- 

 ered that pears are hardy when grafted on the wild pear stock or 

 "shad-bush." One of the members of this society, Mr. Jefferson 

 Stubbs of Hampden, has used this stock for the last ten years. He 

 already has a pear orchard of two hundred and fifty trees, and 

 intends to add two hundred more next spring. He transplants the 

 trees from the woods, cutting off all the branches when they are 

 tall, so as to force the latent buds to start, and after they have 

 grown a year or two, he inserts the grafts, and they take effect as 

 readily as on other stocks. He claims that they bear early and 

 constantly, that they are perfectly hardy, that he has not lost a 

 single tree from the effects of winter. He has already had experi- 

 ence with the Madeleine, Tyson, Buffum, Pratt, Bartlett, Flemish 

 Beauty, Onondaga, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Seckel, Beurre Diel, 

 Urbaniste, and Winter Nelis. Pears general!}' prove more hardy, 

 also, on the mountain ash and pear stocks, than on the quince, but 

 the quality of some is inferior. 



Plums. Our most experienced cultivators recommend the Green 

 Gage, Washington, Jefferson, McLaughlin, Imperial Gage. Smith's 

 Orleans, Lawrence's Favorite, Washington Seedling, Purple Fa- 

 vorite, Bleeker's Gage and Lombard, and the Damson and Yellow 

 Egg, for preserving. The first-named are decidedly the best. The 

 Columbia is a large and handsome plum ; but its meat is rather 

 coarse and sometimes lacks flavor, and the tree is an awkward and 

 scraggy grower. 



Grapes for open cullure. The Delaware for our climate is the 

 best and most desirable of all grapes. It is hardy as an oak, is 

 sure to ripen its fruit, however unfavorable the season, and its 

 flavor surpasses all others. Every farmer ought to possess it. 

 The Hartford Prolific is also very hardy, early and productive — 



