Louise Bonne, and Tjawrence. The Vicnr of Winkficld, orcupvintr about one- 

 tliinl of the orchard, outstripped all tlic others. The cnlniinntion of this variety 

 was in 1852. Familiar as I have l)cen, from cliil<l]ioo<l, with vciretution in its most 

 beautiful forms, I think I never saw anythiupj surpassinti; the beauty of these Vicar 

 of Winkfield Pear-trees at that time. The rows were perfectly straifrht, the trees 

 were making rapid growth, and the fruit liuug all over them aln)ost as thickly as 

 the leaves, bending down each branch to that graceful curve which artists think 

 the true line of beauty. Several ]»ear connoisseurs came from a distance to sec 

 them, and thought the sight amply repaid them for a long journey. I shall not 

 soon forget the pleasure my orchard gave me that whole summer, from the first 

 budding-out of the young and delicate leaflet and the overlying mass of snow- 

 white bloom to the well developed fruit, gradually, increasing in size, and daily 

 assuming a more brilliant color, till every branch was ])endent in ruddy graceful- 

 ness. I well recollect that the iDcanty of this orchard was sufficient to attract me 

 in the hottest noon. But at no time was it so beautiful as in the early morning, 

 when leaf and fruit were all covered with dew-drops, and the sun rose upon them, 

 making them glisten and s})arkle like diamonds mounted on emerald. 



All this afforded pleasure, but I knew this was not enough. The vital question 

 was — would they pay ? So I waited till October came, and then gathered them. 

 The yield was enormous, erpialling all my anticipations. I sold them to a dealer 

 at prices sufficiently high — if I recollect right, some five dollars per bushel. I 

 have not now any memorandum of the whole yield of the orchard, but it was 

 sufficient to demonstrate to me an important problem — given land, manure, and 

 dwarf pear-trees, the result would be a large income. With this conviction, I 

 wrote an article giving my experience, and highly laudatory of dwarf pears, which 

 article, I now much regret, was extensively copied in magazines and books on 

 fruit. 



And I had abundant data to warrant me in arriving at this conclusion. I had 

 tested the matter by actual experiment, had grown the trees and fruit, and received 

 the money. So I bought anotlicr farm, and commenced preparing it for pear- 

 trees. This required two years, but, before the two years had elapsed, ray opinion 

 of dwarf pears had undergone a material change. I continued to give my pears 

 the same cultivation I had before given them, growing between them all my kitchen 

 vegetables and beets for stock. The year after the great yield mentioned above, 

 I noticed that the dwarfs were less thrifty, while the standards in the same orchard 

 grew as before. The next year, I noticed that they were losing ground still more, 

 and, the third year, they looked and promised so poorly, that, with a few excep- 

 tions, I sold the whole orchard to a person who offered a large sum for them. 

 He removed them to Pennsylvania, and I do not doul)t that they grew well after 

 being placed in new ground. The standard pears are still growing as satisfac- 

 torily as I could wish, and I feel assured that pear culture, with standards, can 

 be made very profitable. 



My opinion, therefore, of dwarf pears, founded upon actual experiment and 

 careful culture, is simply this : that they arc very nice toys, and, like a beautiful 

 picture, may give great pleasure. They are admirably fitted for a small garden 

 where they can be nursed, spaded, trowelled, and fed with special manures. No 

 one should be without them, if it were only for the i)leasure they give. 1 have 

 no hope whatever that they will be found profitable in orchards for growing fi'uit 

 on a large scale for the demands of our large cities. 



We may ask why the same treatment that produces certain results in a small 

 garden, could not be applied in a large orchard of a hundred acres ? There 

 reason why it could not 'be ; but it may be safely assumed that it would n 



