JOURNAL OP HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



THE CULTUBE OF PYRAMID PEAR TREES. 



HESE useful frnit trees are now evei'ywherc 

 cultivated. Both in large and small gardens 

 tliey find a place, and under all circumstances 

 they well repay the careful, painstaking cul- 

 tivator. In many cases I have seen them 

 grossly mismanaged, sometimes from igno- 

 rance of the requirements of the trees, at 

 others fi-om a pi-essure of work having pre- 

 vented theii' being attended to at the proper 

 time. 



In order to make these remarks useful to amateui's and 

 others, I will presume that a number of trees have to be 

 pm-ohased ; a visit should be paid to the nm-sery in Octo- 

 ber, and the trees selected. Large trees specially trained 

 may be purchased at a high rate, but for ordinai-y pur- 

 poses trees two years from the bud or gi-aft should be 

 selected; and at the outset a vei'y important question 

 arises, and that is, the best sorts to select. 



The earhest is the Summer Doyenne, which makes a 

 fine pyramid ; Beurre Giffard requires more care to train 

 into this form ; .Jargonelle cannot be omitted, but is one 

 of the most difficult to train as a pyramid ; WLUianis's 

 Bon Chretien is indispensable, the fniit should be gathered 

 before it is ripe. Louise Bonne of .Jersey forms a hand- 

 some pyi'amid, and is better grafted on the Quince than 

 on the Pear stock. It is the best October Pear we have. 

 Mai'ie Louise forms a handsome pyramid on the Pear 

 stock ; it does not succeed on the Quince. General Todtle- 

 ben makes a robust pyi-amid on the Quince, but it does 

 not bear freely with me. Marechal de la Coiu' is a good 

 November Pear. Beurre Superfn and Doyenne du 

 Cornice on clay soils are two of the finest Pears in 

 cultivation ; on our gravel subsoil they are only second 

 or tldrd-rate, and do not bear freely. Josephine de 

 Malines succeeds both on the Pear and Quince stocks. 

 Zephirin Gregoii'e is a free-bearing variety of dehcious 

 flavour. Bergamotte d'Esperen is the best late sort. 

 These are an-anged in the order of ripening, and are 

 generally good. Other good varieties are Soiivenu' du 

 Congres, Mad.ame Trey^-e, Beun-e Hardy, Beurre Bosc, 

 Beun-e d'Ai-emberg, and Beurre de Eance. AU the above 

 Pears deseiwe a trial. No doubt many more sorts equally 

 good may be added, but I have had no experience of 

 them. If any particular sort does not succeed it is an 

 easy matter to head the tree back, and regraft it with a 

 variety that will thrive. 



The trees should be planted in well-prepared ground in 

 November, selecting a dry day when the gi'ound is in 

 good order. I like to place a ban'owload of decayed turfy 

 loam, well chopped-up, over the roots of each tree. Trees 

 worked on the Quince stock .should be planted to the 

 depth of the union of the gi'aft with the stock ; those on 

 the Pear stock should not be planted deeper than they 

 wei'e in the nursery. In placing the soil over tlie roots 

 see that it is shaken in well amongst the fibres, tread it 

 in rather fiiinly, and mulch the sm'face with short fi-ame 

 manure. If the trees are likely to be disturbed by winds 

 No. 683.— Vol. XXII., New SElirES. 



place a stick to each, and they will be safe for the winter. 

 Some of the young shoots may require to be cut back ; 

 this ought to be done in February, and the grafts may bo 

 stuck in the gi'ouud at the base of the tree if they are 

 required. 



Trees gi'own in the pyramid form are trained to a single 

 leading shoot, wliile the side shoots are arranged so as to 

 form a regular pyi'amid. It is necessary to place a stick 

 to some of the varieties in an early stage of theu" growth, 

 and to train the le.aihng shoot to it. 



We now come to the summer treatment of the trees. 

 Nearly all the pnining should be done in the summer 

 months. The leatUng shoot should be pinched or stopped 

 two or three times dm-ing the season. The side shoots 

 should also be stopped, thinned out, and regulated as 

 often as they requh'e it. The first season after planting, 

 the trees will not gi'ow much, and may not require vei-y 

 much attention ; they wUl, however, fonn a mass of 

 fibrous roots which will serve to start the trees into vi:,'or- 

 ous gi'owth the following season. I have seen young 

 Pear trees allowed to throw up a perfect thicket of strong 

 shoots, which were cut back at the winter pnming ; no 

 wonder if such trees are iinii'uitful untU they are five or six 

 years old, and then bear but sparingly. Juchcious summer- 

 stopping and tliinnmg the young shoots will invariably 

 throw the trees into beailng. Another evil to be guarded 

 against is the tendency the trees have to become crowded 

 in the centre ; at no stage of growth should this be per- 

 mitted, holding fast to the principle that all the thinning 

 and regulating of the shoots shoiild be done in summer 

 when the trees are in fuU leaf. 



A row of pyramid Pear trees carefully trained has an 

 exceedingly fine effect in any garden, but it is only where 

 a love of the subject exists that due attention will be given 

 to them. Where this special interest exists, the trees will 

 be a constant soui'ce of enjoyment from the time they 

 are covered with their snow-white blossoms in spring 

 until the fruit is gathered in the mellow autumn months. 

 These trees may be planted in many different positions 

 in the kitchen garden, according to its formation or the 

 taste of the owner. The best arrangement I have yet 

 seen is to foiin boi-ders on each side of the main walks ; 

 they may be from 7 to 9 feet wide, and may be planted 

 in the following manner :^The back row pyramid Pear 

 trees not less than 6 feet apart ; the next row, at the dis- 

 tance of 3 feet, pyramid Currant or Gooseberi-j- bushes ; 

 and, at the distance of 1.5 inches from the Box edging, a 

 single cordon foiined of Apple trees, wliicli have an ex- 

 ceedingly fine effect. If the cordons are not desirable, 

 Strawberry plants, Lettuce, Parsley, or any other crop of 

 small-growing subjects may be substituted. Pyi'amidal 

 fruit trees are also very effective if planted as division 

 lines to the kitchen-garden quarters ; but in all cases avoid 

 placing too much manure in contact with the roots. If 

 the gi'ound is poor it is very easy to emlch it with sur- 

 face-dressings, which will entice the roots nearer the sur- 

 face, where they can be maintained in a healthy moist 

 medium by summer mulchings. 



I wish I could suggest some practicable means to 



No. 1235.- Vol.. XL^^I., Old Seeies. 



