ROOTING OF TUE J»EAK. 141 



of the rooting of the Pear above the Quince, it is only 

 necessary to seize the tree by the body three or four 

 feet above the ground, and shake it slowly, and if 

 pear-rooted, the superior firmness will be readily per- 

 ceived. The wood-growth and foliage of all trees, 

 throwing out roots above the quince stock, will be 

 found to be more vigorous, but the production of fruit 

 will be considerably delayed. If a strong, vigorous 

 shoot or sucker grows np from near the ground, or if 

 the branches are much more strongly developed on 

 one side, it is qnite certain that the Pear has rooted. 

 I am often asked, if the tree roots from the Pear, what 

 advantage is gained by growing upon the Quince ? 



This query may be answered by a statement of the 

 following facts : 



First. Many of the varieties budded on the Quince 

 do not obtain pear roots sufficient to support the 

 tree before the sixth or eighth year, and the trees, 

 in the mean time, have borne fruit three or four 

 years, wdiile if budded on the pear stock, few of them 

 would have yielded fruit in less than eight or twelve 

 years. 



Second. The greater vitality of the Quince root has 

 preserved life in a large per-centage of the trees, 

 which, under ordinary care, would have perished if 

 budded on pear roots. The ratio of loss by trans- 

 planting healthy trees on quince roots, with but 

 moderate care, is not more than one per cent, while 

 that of pear trees on pear roots, is much greater. 

 After the pear roots form above the Quince, the tree 

 is (from causes wdiich will be hereafter investigated) so 

 much better furnished with fibres, that it wnll endure 



