STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.. 131 



DISCUSSION" OF THE ESSAY, 



Mr. Peffer. Thick-leaved varieties make short growth of top 

 and much root. Prefers these varieties for stocks, for when such 

 trees freeze down they have enough vitality in the roots to rebuild 

 on. Pears can be raised by planting seed of hardy varieties in the 

 place where they are wanted to stand. In answer to an inquiry, 

 says a friend of his lost all of his trees but Tetofsky at 53*^ below 

 zero. Transcendent stood at 50*, but went at 52°. Trees were in 

 a valley. Duchess and Fameuse killed at 45°. These trees were 

 all two and three years old and had no tap roots. Otherwise they 

 might have recovered, 



Mr. Phillips. I knew a man to cut off the tap roots of an entire 

 young orchard and move it to another place. But his trees never 

 amounted to much afterwards. 



Mr. Peffer. I have twenty-five pear trees planted in 1857. 

 These trees are good ; tap roots of some can reach the water. Some 

 are only six feet above water, while others go down eleven ieet. 

 I think it is owing to the tap roots going to water that the trees 

 have stood so long. Have one seedling as good in every respect 

 as Flemish Beauty. Pears might succeed grafted on crab if put 

 low enough to take root from the scion. 



The Secretary. Last fall I read in a York State agricultural 

 paper that there is one variety of the pear that top-works well on 

 the apple. This is the Seckel — that little, delicious honey sweet 

 pear of the eastern markets. Chase Brothers, of Rochester, N. Y., 

 have kindly sent me some Seckel scions for trial, and in the spring 

 I will put them on the Whitney No. 20 and report what they do 

 for me. I have furnished our West Salem friend Phillips a few of 

 same for trial in his orchard. 



Mr, Sias. It is best to let roots go deep. Think have I never 

 dug holes deep enough. I had a man last fall to dig holes for me. 

 He put them down four feet. He was a German, and had seen 

 trees in the old country 100 to 150 years old, and bearing crops of 

 50 bushels to the tree. 



Mr. Peffer says he knew of a man in the old country who sold 

 earth to make roads of, and had trenches dug ten or twelve feet 

 deep and filled with rubbish from the cities and then planted trees 

 on top. 



Miss Share's paper was read by Assistant Secretary Stearns: 



