Reviews. 263 



between them. The next summer, the young trees should be thinned out, 

 so that they shall not stand nearer than two to three inches to each other. 



Contrast this theory with ihe practical advice of Mr. Proc- 

 tor, who states that no man "who is afraid of 50 i/m^ /us 

 hands, or the knees of his trowsers^'' should engage in the 

 business of raising onions. We would apply the same advice 

 to those who would raise pear stocks; and we should much 

 sooner expect to get a good crop of onions by sowing them so 

 as to run a cultivator (!) between the rows, than a good crop 

 of pear seedlings : such advice only leads to disappointment 

 and the loss of the crop. If there is any plant which needs 

 thorough tillage, it is the pear in its seedling state. The 

 spade, the hoe, the rake, and the fingers, are the only imple- 

 ments to be made use of. 



In the choice of stocks for the pear, the writer repeats the 

 old story that " the quince is short-lived, not usually bearing 

 more than ten or twelve years." Experience would not have 

 authorized any such statement, as it is well known that the 

 quince will grow and bear abundantly for half a century or 

 more: a row of trees in the garden of the London Horticul- 

 tural Society, which we saw in full bearing in 1844, had been 

 planted twenty-five years. 



Every year, the same story goes the rounds of the papers, 

 set in motion by those who know nothing about the subject 

 from personal knowledge. Essays of this kind should seek 

 to dispel prejudice and error rather than disseminate it. 



Mr. Ives's Essay on the Apple details the entire manage- 

 ment of the trees in a plain and practical manner. Sowing 

 the Seed — Budding — Preparation of the Land — Planting — and 

 the General Routine of Orchard Culture — are given under dis- 

 tinct heads : but we have only room for the concluding re- 

 marks : — 



Keeping Apples. — As regards the best method of keeping winter apples, 

 opinions are various. In P^urope, they usually spread their fruit after gath- 

 ering it, on a floor to sweat, previous to their final packing, which is then 

 placed in sand, sawdust, chaff, charcoal dust, or peat earth. In this coun- 

 try, we find the practice of our most experienced growers is to gather the 

 fruit by hand, and immediately place them in tight flour barrels, shaking 

 them gently while packing, and then head them up light ; they are then 

 placed in a cool, shady exposure, under a shed exposed to the air, there to 



