45 
Pear continued. 
flowers will usually fall off at an early stage of growth, 
because of their being unable to compete with stronger 
ones, which take a lead, if weather and other conditions 
allow them to set properly. Were all the flowers to set 
and be allowed to come to maturity, the size and quality 
of fruit throughout would be materially affected. This 
is not of very frequent occurrence generally; but, should 
it take place, thinning is an obvious remedy. The uses 
of Pears are pretty well known. First, and most im- 
portant, as dessert fruits, nearly all the best varieties 
are highly esteemed. For kitchen use, some few sorts 
are specially adapted, because of their fruits being large, 
and the flesh firm and somewhat austere rather than 
sweet; this renders them more suitable for stewing, 
baking, &c. Another use for Pears is that of producing 
perry. Fruits for this purpose may be either large or 
small; the more austere or rough their taste, the better 
is the liquor product considered. 
Fic. 44, FLOWERING BRANCHLET OF PEAR. 
PROPAGATION. This may be accomplished by seeds, 
by cuttings, by layers, and also by budding and grafting. 
Seeds are sown with a view to raising new varieties, and 
more largely for the purpose of procuring stocks, whereon 
to graft sorts already approved. 
Seeds. Seedlings might be raised in rather large 
pots (about Qin.) of loamy soil, which should be 
covered with pieces of slate or board at the time of 
sowing, to prevent any depredations of mice, and placed 
on bricks or tiles, to stop worms from entering. If 
sown in autumn, and the pots are placed in a sheltered 
position outside, the young seedlings may be expected 
about March, when the coverings must be removed. 
Seeds sown later on will require about three months 
to germinate, while some may keep dormant for nearly 
a year. The young plants may remain in their pots 
one summer, and be transferred to the open ground the 
following autumn. 
should be reserved for raising others, and they should 
be saved from fine fruits which have been gathered 
from healthy, vigorous trees. Seedling Pears seldom bear 
fruit before the sixth or seventh year. Seeds intended 
only for the purpose of raising stocks may be collected, 
cleaned from the pulp by washing, and afterwards sown 
in the open ground. Drills about 9in. apart, and 2in. 
deep, are suitable; the soil should be previously well 
pulverised and prepared. The seedlings may be trans- 
planted when a year old, and grown on until they are 
large enough for grafting. 
Cuttings and Layers. Propagation by cuttings is a 
slow process, only to be recommended for preserving a 
variety (that might otherwise become lost) until some 
j 
/ 
AN ENCYCLOPADIA OF HORTICULTURE. 
Only the seeds of first-class sorts - 
Pear continued. : ; 
grafts are procurable. It is not, at all times, an easy 
or a certain method. Layering is practicable, if it is 
desired to have trees on their own roots; but there are 
few, if any, advantages to be derived, and, consequently, 
this system is not much practised. 
Budding and Grafting. These are the principal methods 
adopted for propagating Pears; the former is practised 
in the months of July and August, the latter chiefly in 
March and April, or so soon as the sap begins to flow. 
Whip or tongue-grafting is the plan best suited; but, 
according to Baltet, side-grafting under the bark in July 
and August, cleft-grafting, inlaying in March and April, 
and crown-grafting in April and May, are also applicable. 
The trees may be worked as standards, or close to the 
ground, according to the sort of stock and the form in 
which it is eventually intended to train them. 
Stocks. The principal stocks used for Pears are the 
Pear itself, either common or wildings, the Quince, and 
sometimes the Whitethorn. On the common Hawthorn, 
the Mountain Ash (Pyrus Aucuparia), and the Medlar 
(Mespilus germanica), the Pear may also be grafted with 
more or less success; but the Pear stock and Quince are 
the best, and are most extensively used. Pear stocks, as 
already indicated, are raised from seeds; those obtained 
from the wild or from common sorts are well adapted. 
Stocks from Quince are readily propagated from cuttings, 
taken with a heel, or, better, by means of layering. Old 
stools that are strong enough to produce vigorous shoots, 
may be covered with soil; and, during autumn, after a 
sufficient time has elapsed for the shoots to root, they 
may be detached and transplanted in the different sizes 
that are caiculated to be ready for grafting about the 
same time. Layering of short Quince shoots for stocks 
should be practised some time during winter, and the 
rooted plants will be ready for removal so soon as the 
leaves drop in the following autumn. Whitethorn stocks 
are raised from seeds, : 
In the cultivation of Pears, the sort of stock on which 
the trees are worked has always a very important bearing, 
particularly in certain soils, on the general health, vigour, 
and fruitfulness of the trees after they become esta- 
plished. The Pear stock is, of course, the most natural, 
and trees grafted on it possess more vigour, and attain 
a greater age, than do those on any other. The roots, 
however, have a tendency to penetrate deeply into the 
subsoil, which is, in many localities, cold and unsuitable 
to their requirements; they are also long, and have but 
few small fibres: consequently, the trees do not transplant 
readily, unless the work is rather frequently undertaken, 
and the roots are kept pruned. In deep and rich land, 
the Pear stock is apt to induce a too luxuriant growth, 
which is attended with comparative unfruitfulness ; 
but, in hot districts, and in chalky soils, this stock 
may be found to possess considerable advantages over 
any other. Grafting of seedling Pear stocks may be 
practised, either close to the ground, or at any desired 
height, as stock and scion are inclined to enlarge at 
about an equal rate. For standards, only stout, vigorous 
stocks are suitable for grafting at some height up; weak 
ones are, for this purpose, of little use, unless worked 
near the ground with a variety likely to be of sufficiently 
upright growth to form the requisite stem itself. Pre- 
parations for grafting should commence by cutting off 
scions before any signs of vegetation appear, and laying 
them in deeply under a north wall. The stocks should 
also be cut back near to where the union is intended, 
before the sap commences to rise. 
In contrast to the Pear stock, and its method of rooting, 
as already referred to, stands the Quince, which offers 
many advantages in comparison. It encourages a dwarfer 
growth, and an earlier bearing habit, and the fruit is often 
more highly coloured and better ripened. The Quince 
forms numerous fibry roots within a short distance from 
