90 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



[Reply of John Preston of Georgetown.] 



My soil is a vesry dark rich loam a foot or more in depth, 

 with subsoil of a yellowish rich loam a foot or more in depth, 

 resting on a stratum of extremely fine white sand, or sand 

 and clay intermixed, the sand very largely predominating. 

 This stratum of sand is so compact as to form a hard pan. 



I enrich the soil around my trees yearly, usually in the 

 spring of the year, with Stockbridge's Fertilizer for Fruit- 

 Trees and Bradley's Superphosphate of Lime. I prune 

 only enough to give the trees perfect form. I usually cut 

 back the leaders about the last part of August, or late 

 enough in the season to prevent a succulent growth. By this 

 method of pruning, the sap is impeded in its circulation, and 

 the result is a larger growth of fruit spurs and buds. 



My ti'ees have been troubled with the blight and insects, 

 to some extent. If some part of the tree is diseased, I im- 

 mediately remove that part : if the tree is diseased generally, 

 I immediately cut it down, and commit it to the flames. 



Some three or four years since, my pear-trees were infested 

 with pear-slugs; but by several applications of air-slaked 

 lime to the foliage of the trees, when moist with dew or rain, 

 I destroyed most of them. No other insect has done me 

 much damage. 



For the most profitable trees to set out, I should say 

 standards on most soils, and dwarfs on some soils; because 

 standards will grow and thrive on most soils in Essex 

 County. Dwarfs require a very deep and rich soil, and high 

 cultivation, to make them thrive well, with more attention on 

 the part of the cultivator. 



As regards picking, ripening, and keeping, I usually gathei 

 early summer and early fall varieties from one to two weeks 

 before maturity ; late fall and winter varieties, the last of 

 September or first of October, the early kinds ripening from 

 one to five weeks after picking, according to variety. For 

 the late fall and winter varieties I can give no definite time. 

 I keep them in small, tight boxes placed in the coolest part 

 of my room or cellar. 



