PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 213 



wine cellar. In about a week the papers were wet from tlie exu- 

 dation from the pears, and had a smell something like cider. The 

 papers were taken off, the pears wiped dry with a napkin, and 

 new papers put on. In about a fortnight the pears were again 

 in the same condition, and the papers were again exchanged, and 

 every fortnight the process was repeated. If the papers are not 

 taken off there will be a mould, which will strike into the pear, 

 and which cannot afterwards be got rid of. About a week ago 

 the pears in the box were all alike, of a russettj green. These 

 specimens were taken out and put in the dining room, in a 

 comfortable atmosphere 5 and they have ripened and colored 

 well, while those remaining in the box are still hard and green. 

 He had had these trees in plentiful bearing for half a dozen years, 

 but could never get the fruit to ripen. Some he had packed in 

 sawdust, but in about two months they tasted like pine wood. 

 Otliers he had packed in bran, but they shrivelled. The method 

 adopted this year, and now explained, had proved successful. 



Mr. Carpenter. — Will you describe the mode of cultivation ? 



Mr. Hite. — It is a system I conceived some three years ago of 

 pruning and spurring the limbs of these trees. I spoiled a good 

 many trees in learning how to do it. About the first of June I 

 cut the limbs to within about three buds from where they start. 

 By the first of August they will have grown from six to nine 

 inches, and then they may be nipped to the next leaf, similar to 

 a grapevine. A fruit bud will form there, and the buds will be 

 enlivened all the way down. About two years ago there came 

 out from a fissure in the bark, about a foot from the ground, on 

 one of my trees, a fruit spur, and this year it produced a pear. 

 That pear, growing directly from the trunk of the tree, was seen 

 upon the tree by several gentlemen now present, and among them 

 yourself (described in the report of July 22d,) has ripened, and 

 here it is, a large, beautiful specimen of the Easter Beurre. Other 

 buds have come out from the same point, which Avill next year 

 bear fruit, and all the limbs of the tree are now perfectly clothed 

 with fruit buds. I learn that the plan of Debreiul, recently intro- 

 duced in France, is essentially the same with mine. My greatest 

 trouble was to find the right time for the pruning. If the limbs 

 are pinched more frequently there will be more buds, but they 

 will not be fruit buds. Debreiul's plan is to plant out a tree that 

 is a year old, and let it grow as it pleases that year. Next year 



