STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 219 



in.. i- iirc, prevent blight in the pear ; and I think thai we have proof that it has. But 

 why does il do it ? I cannot belici e I liat it la cutting off the roots at a certain distance 

 from the tree that does the good, but rather the digging of a deep trench around the 

 tree, and in that way giving it ;i steady supply of moisture during the natural growing 

 season ; for it is a well known fact that Boil bo deeply stirred docs not dry out in one, or 

 even two seasons, tn many other ways, without doubt it is beneficial, but even if it 

 proves a specific remedy I have to consider it wholly impracticable. Even the curious 

 amateur would, I think, soon tire of so expensive and laborious a practice, let alone he 

 that would grow pears for market. Like all other old fruits, the pear lias been bred up 

 toe higblj in one direction ; or to speak to the point, we have given too much attention 

 to growing a fruit of a very superior quality without giving proper regard to health, 

 vigor and productiveness of the tree. Third and fourth class pear-; liave great com- 

 mercial value, if perfectly bardy and productive, as many of them are. I think there 

 lias been more money made from the old Bell pear than from any other two varieties, 

 according to the number of trees planted. A vast improvement can yet lie made by 

 raising seedlings here from native seed, for the simple reason thai those thai have 

 foliage not adapted to this climate can readily be discarded while young. I will now 

 ii upon my legitimate business as a member of the committee Ad-Interim. So 

 fa;- as my recent planting of Dwarf pears are concerned, a regular obituary notice would 

 hit the ease exactly, as three-fourths of the trees I planted in the spring of '66 and '07, 

 are. dead. This has been caused partly by my own neglect, secondly by planting on 

 soil not adapted to their health, and thirdly by the great drouth of the summer of '67. 

 The winter of '07 and '68, I think had nothing to do with their destruction, or at most 

 bul little. 



I am led to these conclusions from the fact that wherever the ground retained sufficient 

 moisture, my trees did not die. My theory of the cause of their death i~, that the Boil 

 me - ■ thoroughly dry, thai the leaves wen; not supplied with crude sap, ami also 

 became 60 disorganized and weakened by the intense heat and dryness of the air that 

 they entirely losl the power of elaboration. Nowil is a well known fact that the roots 

 of a p-rennial plant must receive a downward How of elaborated Bap from matured 

 leaves late in the season, or they are dead— not liable to be killed by the winter, but 

 I before winter sets in — proof — the body ami branches of the trees were in good 

 condition when spring opened — proof positive, strip every leaf from a tree just when 

 the terminal bud has become firm and plump, and you kill all the roots. I have no 

 doubt that if the soil had been thoroughly saturated with moisture before winter set in, 

 that many of the roots thai were only weakened would have survived, from the well 

 known fact that root-'m an extremely dry soil are injured almost as badly by severe 

 IV tezing as if they were not i-,\ ered at all ; and it is probable that what little moisture 

 was in the roots when winter set in, was entirely thrown off by evaporation from the 

 tree while frozen. There never has been any serious blighting of the pear in proper 

 ■ii as i have named] in this neighborhood. What little there ha- been could he 

 directly traced to stimulating with manures, or in some other way at an Improper 

 season. [ consider manures absolute poison to the pear tree. 



h nearly every case where trees have been Btricken with blight In soils, and in loea- 



tions not adapted to them, it has been asioned by allowing the trees to overbear, or 



by some other cause easily guarded against. 



Parties.— Nearly all the varieties recommended by our horticultural societies have 



