768 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



difficult to obtain a good quality of this fruit, is altogether without foundation. Pear trees 

 live to a great age under favoring conditions. M. Bosc, in his writings, refers to several 

 which are known to be near 400 years old. 



Other writers mention a remarkable pear tree in Herefordshire, England, which, in 1805, 

 covered more than half an acre with its branches, which, bending down, would take root, and 

 in turn produce others in the same manner. It is also stated that more than once, fifteen 

 hogsheads of perry (the juice of the pear fermented) have been made from this tree in a 

 single year. The delicious qualities of this fruit were not developed to any great extent 

 until the seventeenth century, while during the last century more has been done to perfect 

 this choice fruit than all the time of its cultivation previous, although it has been culti 

 vated in Europe and Asia fully two thousand years. 



Van Mons devoted almost his entire life to the improvement of the pear, he having pro 

 duced 80,000 seedlings by his own individual efforts, from among which many valuable and 

 choice varieties had their origin. Others have devoted much time and attention to hybridiz 

 ing or crossing, and attained high success in this department, while new varieties are con- 

 stantly being produced in this country through the efforts of enterprising horticulturists of 

 the present time. With proper care, pears may be produced in abundance by any farmer 

 who has a suitable soil, with but little labor or expense, while they are a luxury that no fam 

 ily should be deprived of. Pears will not keep as long as apples, but with suitably selected 

 varieties, and proper storage, they may be had from August until the spring following, some 

 of the winter varieties being very delicious, with good keeping qualities. 



The principal value of the pear is as a dessert fruit, although it is used for baking, stew 

 ing, drying, canning, etc., to a considerable extent. Dessert pears should have a melting, 

 soft texture, and should be juicy, sugary, and of an aromatic flavor. Pears for baking, dry 

 ing, and canning should be large in size and be more firm in texture, with crisp flesh, and 

 moderately juicy. 



Dwarfs and Standards. Dwarf pear trees are generally produced by budding or 

 grafting on the quince. The principal object of this is to produce trees that will bear at a 

 much earlier age than the standard trees, the dwarf frequently producing fruit in two years 

 after planting. Such trees are frequently very fruitful, but are not usually very long-lived. 

 They require the same treatment as standard trees, except that they should be planted from two 

 to four inches deeper in the soil when being transplanted than they had previously grown. 



They should be set so that the junction of the pear and quince should be about four 

 inches below the surface of the soil, and the earth pressed closely and compactly around 

 the trunk. With this method of setting, the pear-stem will frequently send out roots and 

 sustain the tree after the quince root is dead. In such a case the tree becomes part dwarf 

 and part standard, and will be longer -lived than otherwise. 



Many varieties of pears succeed well as dwarfs, while others do not, and should never 

 be grown in this manner. Some varieties do even better when grown as dwarfs than as 

 standards. In planting trees it is always well to set a few dwarfs of each variety that suc 

 ceed well in this manner, in order to supply fruit while the standards of the same, which 

 are set at the same time, are attaining a bearing age. 



Some of the principal varieties that succeed well as . dwarfs are the Bartlett, Beurre 

 d Anjou, Duchesse d Angouleme, Flemish Beauty, Vicar of Winkfield, Clapp s Favorite, Belle 

 Lucrative, Buff urn, Howell, Louise Bonne, and Louise Bonne de Jersey. 



Varieties. The varieties of pears are very numerous, and the number is constantly 

 increasing by the propagation of new varieties in this country, and by importations from the 

 old world. Among the hundreds of varieties, amounting to over a thousand, that have been 

 originated, the great difficulty seems to be to determine which are the most valuable for cul- 



