48 THE BOOK OF PEARS AND PLUMS 



Liquid manure (not strong nor cold) must also be 

 given two or three times a week. The fruit must be 

 thinned, and the trees never over-cropped. Large trees 

 in 1 6 or 1 8-inch pots need the annual renewal of the 

 soil rather than repotting. The flowers should be 

 fertilised by the admission of bees, by shaking the trees 

 in fine weather about mid-day, or by passing a light 

 brush gently over the blooms from flower to flower. 

 Change of diet as well as air, and frequent syringing 

 with clear water (say Messrs Bunyard) are very neces- 

 sary ("Modern Fruit Culture," p. 23). But a dry 

 atmosphere is best when pear and plum trees are 

 in flower. Syringing in the open air is good for all 

 trees in dry weather after the fruit has set. The 

 following is a good wash to be applied when the trees 

 are brought into the house in January or February. 

 Put a peck of fresh soot into a coarse sack, and hang 

 it in a tub containing 30 or 40 gallons of water ; leave 

 it there for eight or ten days ; then remove it and throw 

 in half a peck of fresh lime. Mix well, then take off 

 the surface scum. A decoction of quassia made by 

 boiling 2 or 3 ozs. of chips to a gallon of water for 

 twenty-five or thirty minutes (or steeped in soft water 

 for twenty-four hours) added to the above is a useful 

 insecticide. Syringe with this before the buds appear, 

 but not again until the fruit is set, then once a week, 

 or oftener, as occasion may require. 



N.B. Never repot until you have learnt that the ball 

 and roots of the tree are thoroughly moist. Soak the ball, 

 if necessary, for twenty minutes. In surface-dressing 

 leave a space near the tree open, that you may see what 

 water is wanted. Never give strong liquid manure. 

 As severe frosts and dull weather sometimes occur in 

 March when the trees are in bloom, some hot-water 

 pipes (two rows of 4-inch) may be added if means 

 allow. A span-roof house should run north and south. 



