IGO THE GARDENER. [April 



THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 



THE PEAR. 



( Concluded from page 1 1 .3. ) 



The only disease to which the Pear is liable in this country, so far 

 as I have ever seen or been able to ascertain, is canker : there may be 

 others of which I am not aware, but never having come under my 

 observation, I shall confine myself to this one, which at all events 

 works great havoc in many places. Various causes are assigned for 

 its appearance, and surrounding circumstances often come in for a 

 share of the blame. Any or all of these may to a great extent be the 

 cause of it, yet it is our firm opinion that where the trees planted 

 liave been selected to suit the climate, and treated something after the 

 fashion already recommended, the disease may at all events be greatly 

 modified, if not entirely prevented. Mr Thomson in the * Gardener's 

 Assistant,' see page 509, cautions against extremes of moisture and 

 dryness, and goes on to say that " where canker makes its appearance 

 the soil should not be made too rich, for over-luxuriance of growth 

 seems to encourage the disease, at least in our variable and ungenial 

 seasons." Now I find, in turning back to page 499 of the same work, 

 that he says, in speaking of the soil suitable for the Pear, that "it is 

 essential that the tree should start vigorously, and therefore, if the 

 soil is not naturally very rich, a compost in which to plant the tree 

 should be formed. A mixture of good turfy loam and farmyard 

 manure will be very suitable." Now I cannot reconcile these two facts, 

 that first he should recommend a very rich compost as being best suited 

 for the Pear, and afterwards say that the soil should not be too 

 rich, as such will encourage the disease. It is our opinion that the 

 soil he has recommended is exactly what the Pear requires and flour- 

 ishes best in, but that he makes a mistake in thinking that too rich a 

 border is the harbinger of this disease : in fact, the reverse is our opinion, 

 for we think that a poor and cold soil has far more to do with it than 

 anything else. Let any one who is troubled with canker make the 

 following experiment, and prove the fact for himself. His border may 

 be made up of the very best and most suitable soil for the Pear, and 

 he may be of opinion that over-richness is the cause of it. Let him, 

 however, examine, and he will find that the roots of his trees have gone 

 beyond the depth of his prepared border, and penetrated into the cold 

 and bad subsoil. Now I know it is a very prevalent belief that a 

 tree will not leave the good soil prepared for it and enter that which 

 is inferior in quality. All this I believe to be perfect moonshine, as 

 I have seen the reverse over and over again, one or two instances of 



