SECRETARY'S REPORT. 229 



when the trees come to bearing', and in fact as soon as fit to trans- 

 plant, then comes the Blight — fire-blight it is usually called, and 

 sometimes "frozen sap blight" — though nobody knows either 

 cause or remedy. Suddenly, without any premonition whatever, a 

 limb or a whole tree blackens and withers ; being a hopeless case, 

 if it be only a limb, it is amputated, if a whole tree it is dug up and 

 removed. This blight is an awful scourge, sometimes sweeping 

 whole orchards, and more or less thinning' almost every orchard. 

 Here, the case is very different ; our troubles are almost if not 

 wholly past when once the trees survive the hazards of infanc}' and 

 early youth and come to a bearing state. 



It is not always that we are duly thankful for, or even aware of, 

 the immunities we enjoy. This one of freedom from the blight in 

 pears is a notable instance of such immunity. Another of consid- 

 erable importance in connection with apple culture is the absence 

 of the canker worm. This worm', the occasional scourge of or- 

 chards in other New England States, has never, to our knowledge, 

 passed eastward of the Piscataqua river; yet how many of our 

 orchardists have ever thought of it, to say nothing of being grate- 

 ful for the exemption ? 



The Pear on the Quince Root. 



A great deal has been written on the subject of dwarf pear trees, 

 that is to say, of the pear grafted or budded on the quince root. 

 Within the last ten years our leading horticultural and agricultural 

 journals have teemed with animated discussions in which the most 

 contradictory statements regarding their value have been put 

 forth. Not a few have denounced them as worthless, while others 

 declare that this method is attended with a degree of success un- 

 attainable in any other way. The novice, with such conflicting 

 statements before him, both coming from those who profess to 

 have proof from experience, is greatly puzzled, and anxiously 

 inquires, "What is truth?" The discussion has now mainly 

 passed by ; certain conclusions have been arrived at ; and I will 

 attempt briefly to state the facts as now admitted by the great 

 mass of intelligent horticulturists. 



First — Some varieties of the pear, with proper treatment, will 

 succeed admirably on the quince, yielding finer fruit, more of it, 

 and at a much earlier period. 



Second — Other varieties will not succeed, and such should not 

 be worked on the quince. 



