4 THE BOOK OF PEARS AND PLUMS 



Heavy clays are not good for pears, yet much may be 

 done to improve such soils, and some outlay may be 

 desirable in gardens and small plantations. Good drain- 

 age will be necessary. The ground before planting 

 must be well lifted and exposed to the air ; some por- 

 tions should be burnt and mixed with the rest ; decayed 

 vegetable matter should be added in abundance. After 

 planting, when the trees are rooted and growing, the 

 soil should be often lifted with a light fork, or hoed, and 

 the air admitted to the roots. A clayey loam is the best 

 of all soils for the Pear, yet even that may be much im- 

 proved by exposure before planting, and the use of 

 the fork or hoe afterwards. In sandy or chalky soils, 

 pears will have a poor chance even on the free (or pear) 

 stock, unless the ground has been previously prepared 

 by trenching, and then digging in a good quantity of 

 decayed stable or farmyard manure. Marl or clay from 

 other parts, or turf (chopped up) from a field, may be 

 added with advantage. Generous treatment subsequently 

 in the way of liquid manure will alone make trees in 

 such ground a success. Should, .however, the soil be 

 shallow and the subsoil gravel or chalk, trees must be 

 lifted every few years, and the expense in a large 

 garden might be considerable. 



The monks in olden days were wont to put slates or 

 large stones below their trees before planting, to prevent 

 the tap-root running into bad soil. In modern gardens 

 a concrete bottom two or three inches thick, sloping 

 towards a drain in front, is sometimes made. Methods 

 must depend on soil and means. A concrete bottom is 

 better than a stratum of stones or brick rubbish. Persons 

 content with a few small trees may lift them frequently 

 or root-prune annually, in which case no special precau- 

 tions are required. 



