stock, so that an increase of nourisliing: power will be p^iven by jilaiitinj? it under 

 prronncl. Aiul in this manner of proceeding:, the collar of the tree, or point where 

 the roots and top are united, will be formed of the more thrifty wood of the pear 

 — perhaps at the point of inoculation, where, in the course of growth, a change 

 of habit will develop itself. 



It has been held by some writers, whose experience entitles their opinion to full 

 credit, that when dwarfs are planted out so that a part of the ])ear is covered by 

 earth, roots will issue from it, which will increase the age and strength of the 

 tree. Our individual experience is yet too limited to speak confidently on the 

 subject, yet we are certain that roots will be so thrown out, and where proper 

 culture is given we can see no satisfactory reason why they will not become 

 healthy, supporting roots. Admitting it to be so, there can be no doubt but 

 pears jiropagated in this way will attain an ample size, and fruitful old age. 



We have alluded to the dilferent course pursued by nurserymen in propagating 

 dwarfs. The evils of failure, however, do not rest altogether on their way of 

 doing things. Cultivators are cpiite too ajot to neglect their labors, and then, in 

 course of failure, throwback the blame on the nurseryman, his manner of growing, 

 or taking up his trees, or almost anything else that will excuse their own negli- 

 gence. How often we have seen the roots of trees warmed in the sun, dried in 

 the wind for hours before ])lanting out, and then set in holes dug in hard earth 

 hardly large enough to receive them, and then covered with as much haste as 

 though they were infected with smallpox, with the very first material that comes 

 to hand — turf, stone, hard earth — anything that will fill the hole and kill the suf- 

 fering tree thrown in, while to give it firmness, a half-a-dozen stamps of a heavy 

 man are made on the earth as the closing act of a hasty operation. When will 

 men learn that trees are things of life, and possess, in delicate proportions, the 

 organs of healthy and successful vegetation ? Until they do, there is no wonder 

 that their trees, allowed to suffer from management so foreign to their nature and 

 habits, die, and blast the expectations of their murderers. 



It is an admitted fact, by those best acquainted with vegetable physiology, we 

 believe, that all care should be taken in planting out trees to give the root 

 as much of the ease and freedom of nature as possible, and that the space 

 unoccupied by the root, not only in juxtaposition, but its surroundings, should 

 be occupied by a soil best adapted to its future nourishment. The hardy trees of 

 the forest, to thrive well, require this, and how much more do fruit-trees. That 

 dwarfs require it in a much greater amount, no one conversant with their growth 

 and habits will deny. Of course, then, the ground they are to occupy should be 

 well prepared before they are placed in it, by a thorough subsoiling or deep and 

 uniform spading, not confined merely to the few feet the tree occupies, but all the 

 space between the trees. Spading is preferable, because it enables the operator 

 to disturb the minutest particle of soil, and what is better yet, to invest it com- 

 pletely, that is, to throw the top soil, well ameliorated by previous culture, to the 

 bottom, and bring earth which has never felt the rays of the sun, to the surface, 

 where atmospheric influence will, in due time, improve and fertilize it. 



How seldom this thorough preparation of soil is given, we vshall not attempt to 

 decide, but where it is given, and proper trees are properly planted, we have not 

 a doubt but the culture of dwarfs may be sufficiently successful to warrant its 

 adoption in every garden. 



In the midst of diseases to which such trees are liable, we have as yet discovered 

 none but the blight. The trees should be carefully watched to discover its 

 earliest approach, and as soon as it shows itself, the infected part should all be 

 removed with a sharp knife, and grafting wax applied over the wound. We ' 



