382 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



Before speaking of these beautiful little trees, I 

 would call to your mind the very injurious effert 

 produced upon the soil of hundreds of gardens, both 

 small and great, by the shade of large old Pear 

 trees ; in fact, in many instances the ground is ren- 

 dered almost useless. 



Pears are generally many years before they pro- 

 duce fruit, and in small gardens they are unsightly, 

 from being vastly disproportioned to the inclosure, 

 and if any attempt be made at reducing them in 

 size, their productiveness is sure to be destroyed, 

 so that a small garden inclosed by walls is better 

 without standard Pear trees. Under these circum- 

 stances the owner is deprived of the most valuable 

 of all dessert fruits, for although the Peach and 

 Nectarine may bs higher-flavored, they can only 

 be had for a small part of the year, but the Pear 

 may be enjoyed all the year round. 



Apples are also undesirable in small gardens, but 

 they may be bought reasonably; but the fine sorts 

 of winter Pears can only be obtained in large towns 

 at large prices. If, therefore, a mode can be shown 

 by which a large quantity of the very finest Pears 

 can be produced from trees which, instead of being 

 unsightly and injurious, are not only harmless, but 

 extremely ornamental, a benefit of a very high or- 

 der is obtained. 



If any one doubts whether this can be done, let 

 him send to Mr. Rivers for a few of his root-pruned, 

 Quince-grafted, pyramidal Pear trees, and request 

 him also to send his directions for the mode of ma- 

 naging their roots, as everything depends on this 

 being done with judgment, and I will venture to 

 say that he will be so pleased that next year he will 

 procure as many trees of different kinds as he has 

 room for in his garden. 



These little trees are exceedingly tractable and 

 manageable, and the process is so simple, that al- 

 though every tree may require somewhat different 

 treatment, yet there will be found no difficulty in 

 deciding upon each case, and the pruning of a hun- 

 dred of such Pear trees would be only an amuse- 

 ment for a lady, with a small pair of nippers, and 

 the root-pruning under her directions might occupy 

 a laborer half a day in November. The treatment 

 is as follows: — Having procured the trees, and if 

 for trial I would leave the choice to Mr. Rivers, 

 plant them up to the insertion of the graft, mulch 

 them, and water diligently from April, until they 

 are thoroughly established, and afterwards in dry 

 weather. I can say from experience, the fruit will 

 be found as fine, as large, and as good-flavored as 

 from a tree of 10 years' standing in the same ground. 



In July, if any shoot grows longer than is con- 

 sistent with symmetry, shorten it with the nippers 

 or the thumb and finger to its proper limit, and if it 

 produces a fresh shoot where shortened, cut that 

 shoot back in October about the eighth of an inch 

 beyond the place from whence the summer shoot 

 sprung ; but if several shoots have required shorten- 

 ing, and have also produced summer shoots, and 

 not many blossom-buds have been developed, then 

 the tree requires root-pruning. 



It is not a good practice, as recommended by 

 some, to leave all the terminal shoots to draw the 

 superabundant sap from the blossom-buds, because 

 being left growing they also greatly strengthen the 



roots and enlarge the stem of the tree ; whereas, if 

 root pruning be duly attended to, there will be no 

 danger in shortening all the shoots in July. 



If the tree makes only a kw inches of wood, and 

 the terminal buds are blossom-buds, they are not to 

 be shortened, nor are the roots to be pruned. If the 

 tree is not symmetrical, and requires a shoot or two 

 to balance it, make a deep notch over any dormant 

 eye, and it will break next spring. 



In shortening any shoot, consider whether you 

 would like the new shoot to be right or left of the 

 pruned shoot, and cut to an eye accordingly; but if 

 the tree is pretty well balanced, any shoot that is 

 shortened should have the last eye downwards, 

 which has a tendency to check luxuriance by inclin- 

 ing the growth from the perpendicular line. Aim 

 eventually to make your tree about 6 feet high, or 

 7 feet at the utmost limit, and from 2 feet to 2k 

 feet wide at the broadest part, which will be at 1^ 

 foot to 2 feet from the ground in a well proportion- 

 ed tree, although the branches will begin to grow 

 within 6 inches of the ground ; from the broadest 

 part it should taper regularly to the top. 



As soon as this point of growth is attained, root- 

 prune more severely than before, causing the tree 

 to produce nothing but blossom-buds ; it will thus 

 become a full-grown, full-bearing, Lilliputian or 

 miniature pear tree for a century. Is this true? 

 If so, how beautiful and how profitable ! If false, 

 let reasons be given why it cannot be effected. It 

 is said it may be done in France, but not in the 

 moist climate of England ; but if I can get a tree 3 

 feet high, and in six or eight months from the 

 nursery, to produce a full crop of fruit of full size 

 and excellent flavour, merely by transplanting or 

 root-pruning, why not at 6 or 7 feet ? because a 

 tree once brought to a full bearing condition, the 

 habit may be perpetuated, provided the means 

 which produced this habit be continued. 



I have lately seen a row of Pears on Quince 

 stocks of 16 to 20 years' growth, grafted low, and 

 another row grafted standard height ; in both cases 

 the branches are drawn down almost to the ground, 

 but ever since they were planted there has been 

 open warfare between them and thepruner, the tree 

 constantly shooting upwards or naturally, the gar- 

 dener saying — No, you must grow downwards or 

 unnaturally, and so cutting ofl"the upright growths 

 in winter, not daring to do this in summer ; this 

 luxuriant growth being thus far indulged, causes 

 proportionate vigor in the roots and a great in- 

 crease in the size of the trunk ; there are conse- 

 quently roots and a trunk adapted to a tree of 25 

 or 30 feet high, whereas the poor tortured thing is 

 never suffered to rise above 7, presenting the un- 

 sightly appearance of a kind of Brobdignag dwarf 

 or stump, instead of the Lillipuiian I wish to intro- 

 duce to your notice and protection. 



That these Brobdignags bear fruit I do not deny, 

 but that they bear as fine fruit as a tree with a stem 

 proportioned to its head, and with roots proportion- 

 ed to both, and growing in a natural form, and 

 with the features of a full-grown tree, requiring 

 little or no pruning, I do certainly disbelieve ; and 

 I can safely affirm I had finer fruit from my Lilli- 

 putians than I couhl find on the Brobdignags — 

 J^. Y. in Gardner's Chronicle. 



