EASTER BEUBRE PEAR. 



last sprint;, we shall find that the roots are in proportion to the miniber and streiiijth 

 of the young shoots. 



The rrreat object in pruning to promote growth is to direct the sap into a smaller 

 number of chantiels, and ihus increase its force. If a tree', for example, has 500 leaf- 

 buds to draw upon its sap, and wo cut away 400 of them, the remaining 100 will 

 of course receive a far greater proportion than they would have done, and will con- 

 sequently be enabled to make new wood; and experience teaches us that young shoots 

 with their largo cells, luxurient leaves, and great vital activity, act far more powerfully 

 on the roots than the small, lean foliage of trees merely living but not growing. We 

 know how cutting back acts upon stunted trees. A three or four years old Apple or 

 Pear tree, for example, if cut down nearly to the ground, will, in one season, make a 

 growth equal to that of two or three seasons under ordinary circumstances ; and this 

 is simply because its whole vital force is concentrated in one point. The sap rushes 

 there, and large cells are formed immediately, in which a rapid and powerful circula- 

 tion takes place. 



All operations upon trees should be performed cautiously, because whatever pro- 

 duces a sudden or violent change in their condition, cannot fail to be attended with a 

 derangement of their wisely and beautifully adjusted organization, and this derange- 

 ment must be more or less injurious to their healthy existence. Every man who 

 takes his knife in hand to mutilate a tree, should bear this in mind, and weigh care- 

 fully the consequences of every cut. We intended to have referred to the opinions 

 of experienced and skillful ai-boriculturists on this subject, but we can not at present 

 devote more space to it. What we have said will, we trust, induce reflection and 

 observation on the part of some who have heretofore been too indifferent. 



THE EASTER BEURRE PEAR. 



Synonym: Doyenne d'hiver, the popular French name. 



The culture of winter Pears has hitherto been much neglected. We are surprised 

 that some enterprising cultivators do not plant extensively. Our large cities would 

 consume immense quantities, and they would command greater prices than any other 

 fruit. One reason why they are not more cultivated is, we presume, that they require 

 more care and labor to prepare them for market. The autumn Pears, such as the 

 Virgalieu (White Doyenne), can be picked from the trees and carried directly to 

 market, while the winter varieties would require to be stored away for a length of 

 time, and house-ripened. And then the supply of autumn Pears is still small, and 

 prices as high as cultivators can reasonably desire. We suppose that we shall not 

 witness any extensive culture of the winter sorts until Pear culture in general has 

 become much more extensive and better understood. There are intelligent amateur 

 cultivators, not a few, who even at this day express a disbelief in the existence of 

 fine, melting, winter dessert Pears. Not one in five hundred, or we may safely 



