oliioct now is to draw attention to certain causes which have ahcady led to disappoint 

 nient, and are likely to do so hereafter, 



Durin" the last seven or eight years, a large number of persons have engaged in 

 pretty extensive experiments in growing Pears tor market, without possessing the 

 slightest dei^rce of experience in either that or any kindred branch of cultivation ; and 

 that, too, without calling in the aid of any one having the requisite skill ami exj)eri- 

 ence, or of devoting to it their own personal care or direction. Engaged in some other 

 T)ursuit, they have taken this up as a sort of speculation or investment, and have 

 attempted to carry out their plans with such assistance as common field laborers are 

 competent to give. It is scarcely possible that these persons could succeed in realizing 

 their expectations, for although the culture of the Pear in our soil and climate is a 

 very plain and simple matter, yet it can not be done on an extensive scale, in such a 

 manner as to be satisfactory and profitable, except under good and skillful manage- 

 ment. This is certain. There are various considerations that require to be well 

 wei'J'hed and studied by one who has had experience. The soil must be suitable, the 

 location eligible, varieties well adapted to the soil and other local circumstances, as 

 well as to the markets for wliich they are grown. The trees must be properly planted, 

 and afterwards pruned and trained, and the soil must be kept in good heart and good 

 tilth about the trees. Insects have to be watched and destroyed ; and a great variety 

 of minor matters, accidents and incidents, must be encounterd and provided for. 



A common laborer, who might be a capital spademan or plowman, and who might 

 very well take care of a crop of Potatoes or Corn, is no more competent to direct the 

 management of an extensive orchard of Pears, or any fruit trees, than he would be to 

 conduct the machinery of one of the great cotton mills at Lowell. The planter may 

 fancy that, being well read on the subject, he can in a short lecture make it all plain 

 to his laborer ; but he is mistaken. We know from experience that it is not an easy 

 matter to make a good tree-cultivator with mere words, however explicit and forcible 

 they may be. To plant a tree well, is an easy matter, no doubt. We know many 

 amateurs who, by a little experience, have become most successful planters — their 

 trees live if they have a spark of vitality left when planted ; while we hear hundreds 

 of people complain that they have "bad luck" in planting — their trees die, or they 

 dorit (jroxc, or there is something wrong. Thousands of trees are annually lost through 

 errors committed by inexperienced planters; and in most cases it would be impossible 

 for any one to discover where the error was, unless by pulling up the trees. They 

 may have been planted too deep — the roots placed out of the reach of the genial and 

 exciting warmth of the atmosphere, there to remain dormant for a season, and finally 

 die. They may have been planted too shallow, and thus too much exposed to the heat 

 and dryness of the atmosphere, or to the action of frost in winter. The roots may have 

 been huddled in, all curled and twisted in unnatural positions, and thus checked in 

 their attempts to recover from the shock of removal ; or they may have been bruised 

 and broken when taken up, and these mangled and decaying parts allowed to remain, 

 instead of being carefully removed with a sharp knife. The tops may have been 

 branchy and full, while the roots were meagre and defective, and yet no pruning given 

 to restore tlie necessary balance. I'hen there are a multitude of little points that 

 would appear to be scarcely worthy of notice, yet by no means unimportant 



