94 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



hardiness of the tree, but also in tlic quality of the fruit and 

 the time of ripening." We must, therefore, learn on Avhat kind 

 of stock, in what soil and aspect, and with what treatment each 

 variety will flourish best. As I have before remarked, every 

 tree, plant and herb, from the cedar of Lebanon to the flag of 

 the Nile, from the loftiest oak of the forest to the humblest 

 daisy of the meadow, from the fantastic parasite luxuriating in 

 solstitial air to the little flower that peeps from Alpine snows, 

 every thing endowed with vegetable life, requires its own 

 pecuHar element and treatment to sustain its vigor, and secure 

 its highest possible perfection. However varied this sustenance 

 may be, and whether derived from earth, air or water, if it be 

 uncongenial, deterioration and decay are inevitable. Every 

 branch, twig and bud, every leaf that flutters in the breeze, is 

 an organized and living body. Each has its correlative part, 

 and any injury done to the one will be felt in the other. 



Under these general laws, each variety requires a particular 

 treatment, and should be nurtured with a wise reference to its 

 peculiarities and habits. I am inclined to believe that the most 

 valuable treatise on pomology would be one descriptive of the 

 wants of each sort. The pomologist must, therefore, study the 

 constitution and natural tendencies of each variety, as a father 

 would those of his children : — 



" Each tree a child, your aid their weakness rears, 

 Directs their youth, and tends their drooping years, 

 Their different bents you mark with studious eye, 

 Their laws you give, their manners you supply ; 

 Directing thus their flowrcts, fruits and leaves, 

 Your potent hand Creation's work achieves." 



My experience has so often been solicited by private com- 

 munication in relation to the pear upon the quince stock, that I 

 deem it jiroper to introduce it in this connection, with the 

 reasons on which it is founded. Many varieties of the pear 

 thus grafted grow vigorously, and bear abundantly. I am 

 aware that an impression has prevailed in the minds of some, 

 unfavorable to the cultivation of the pear on the quince stock, 

 an impression which must have arisen from an injudicious 

 selection of varieties, or improper cultivation. In this opinion, 

 I am happy to know that I am sustained by Mr. Barry, in his 



