1869.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 13 



PEAR, 



wliicli should be propagated either by budding or grafting upon the 

 Wild Pear stock, Pyrus communis, or any of the varieties used for 

 perry, as well as the Quince stock. It is not uncommon to raise 

 several of the English or common varieties by suckers and layers ; 

 these, however, often prove very gross and rank growers, not over 

 productive, and never of high quality. Inarching has also been 

 recommended ; but the best, the easiest, and the most successful 

 method is by grafting, of which I will give a detailed account by- 

 and-by. The raising of new varieties is invariably accompKshed 

 through the medium of seedlings. Much care and judgment are 

 requisite in order to obtain success in this department of horticul- 

 ture. No doubt it is quite possible to obtain good and new varieties 

 by simply saving seeds from a good stock, but it will be more chance 

 than anything else if such is the result. He who wishes to succeed 

 ought to select parents of the following good qualities, viz. : let one 

 parent be a hsudy, robustly-constitutioned, free-growing variety, and 

 this I would recommend as the female ; the other should have all, or 

 as many of the good qualities — such as size, shape, flavour, and ap- 

 pearance — as it is possible to obtain in one kind. This important 

 point settled, much care and watchfulness will be necessary to obtain 

 blooms on both parents at the exact stage for operating upon. The 

 female parent will require even more watching and care than the male, 

 for there is the danger of self-fertilisation — fertilisation from others 

 than the kind required, either by having the pollen carried upon the 

 air, or upon the legs or proboscis of insects. To obviate the former 

 of these risks, it will be necessary, as recommended by Mr Isaac 

 Anderson — see Lindley's 'Theory of Horticulture,' page 491 — "to 

 divest the blooms to be operated on, not only of their anthers, but also 

 of their corollas." And this I would recommend to be done oiihj 

 with very sharp scissors, used with much care, so as not to injure 

 the pistil. To guard against the latter contingency, the best plan v/ill 

 be to remove all the blooms, save those wanted for the operation, from 

 the branch or branches, to such an extent as will be covered by a hand- 

 light ; these having been removed, watch with care until the pollen is 

 beginning to ripen upon the male, and the female gives signs of sus- 

 ceptibility; then place a handlight over the female, filling up every 

 crevice by the easiest means at command, so as to exclude the possible 

 entrance of any insect. As soon as the flowers show signs of being 

 ready, remove the light, and impregnate with a camel-hair pencil ; after 

 which, replace the glass, and remove it not until all danger of impreg- 

 nation from exterior sources is over. It may be necessary also to 



