CULTURE OF THE PEAR ON THE QUINCE STOCK. 



23 



pruned, and full of blossom buds, may now 

 be purchased. Trees of this description 

 should, if possible, be planted before Christ- 

 mas ; but if the soil is very tenacious, the 

 holes may be opened in the autumn, and 

 the trees planted in February ; the soil will 

 be mellowed and benefitted by the frosts of 

 winter. 



In planting pear trees on the quince 

 stock, it is, as I have very recently dis- 

 covered, quite necessary that the stock 

 should be covered up to its junction with 

 the graft. This jointing of the graft to the 

 stock is generally very evident, even to the 

 most ignorant in gardening matters ; it 

 usually assumes this form, (fig. 65, a.) 



If the soil is not excessively wet, the tree 

 may be planted in the usual manner, so 

 that the upper roots are on a level with the 

 surface of the soil. No manure of any 

 kind should be put to them ; but if the soil 



in which it is planted be not light and fria- 

 ble enough to enter freely into the mass of 

 fibrous roots, some light mould should be 

 procured ; this should be carefully filled in, 

 and the tree well shaken, so that the earth 

 is thoroughly mingled with its roots. When 

 this is done, the earth all filled in, and 

 trodden lightly, the tree, according to the 

 usual method, is planted. But with pear 

 trees on the quince something more is re- 

 quired ; this is simply to form a mound of 

 compost, about half rotten manure and 

 earth, mixed in equal quantities, which 

 must cover the stock up to the junction of 

 the graft, as above, to the letter a, and is 

 made of rich compost, in order to encourage 

 it to emit roots into the surface soil, and to 

 keep it from becoming hard and "bark- 

 bound." 



To make this emission of roots more 

 certain, the stem may be tongued as usual 

 in layering ; i. e., the bark must be cut 

 through upwards from the root, and a slip 

 about one inch in length raised, (see fig. 

 65, b b b b, which are the raised pieces of 

 bark,) and these raised pieces of bark must 

 be kept open by inserting a piece of broken 

 flower pot or slate. Several of these tongues 

 may be made, and by the end of the first 

 year after planting every incision will have 

 emitted roots ; the stock, owing to its being 

 kept constantly moist, will swell and keep 

 pace with the graft, and the tree will flou- 

 rish and remain healthy. As the mound 

 will subside by the heavy rains of winter, 

 presuming that the trees have been planted 

 in autumn, fresh compost of the same na- 

 ture must be added in spring, and again 

 every succeeding autumn. The great ob- 

 ject in the culture of the pear on the quince 

 stock is to encourage the growth of its very 

 fibrous roots at the surface, so that they 

 may feel the full influence of the sun and 

 air. These mounds may be made orna- 



