MANURE FOR PEAR TREES. 29 



two in a pailful of water, distributed for a space of 

 three or four feet around the tree. 



Of the more concentrated forms of manure, ground 

 bones, horn shavings, etc., are decidedly the best, 

 especially when dissolved in sulphuric acid. 



When nsed without this treatment, the bones should 

 be a mixture of the finely-ground bone-meal and the 

 crushed half-inch bones in equal quantities. The first 

 will decay rapidly, and afford immediate nutriment to 

 the roots, while the latter will last longer, and yield 

 their virtues when the finer bones will be completely 

 exhausted. But even these generous and excellent 

 manures have a better efifect mixed with coarser 

 manures, such as stable-litter, horse-dung, swamp- 

 muck, and other decomposing organic matter. 



Summer applications of stimulating manures have 

 a tendency to produce late succulent growth that does 

 not ripen, and which the winter blights or kills down, 

 endangering the life of the whole tree with its poisoned 

 sap. Late spring applications of manm'es also stimu- 

 late wood-growth to such an extent in midsummer, as 

 to induce the tree to throw ofl" the yonng and half- 

 grown fruit. 



In the grounds of the author, during the last season, 

 a Bartlett Pear tree, three years from the bud, set 520 

 pears. When the fruit had acquired the size of mus- 

 ket-balls, the tree was supplied with guano and super- 

 phospliate of lime, dissolved in large quantities of 

 water, in order to ascertain how great a number of 

 fruits a tree six feet high, and one and a half inches 

 in diameter of body at the ground, would ripen. A 

 barrel was filled with the solution, and set so as to leak 

 Blowly about two quarts daily around the roots. 



