

345 



PEAR. 



winter's pruning, and care must be taken not to cut above a node 

 where there is only a blossom-bud or buds, but to one that is seen to 

 have a wood-bud that is, such as a shoot will proceed from. In the 

 following spring, the blossom-buds are unfolded, and soon after the 

 wood-buds begin to push the rudiments of shoots, one of which, next 

 the base of each fruit-bearing shoot, must be preserved and encouraged 

 with special care, in order to supply the place of those that are bearing 

 fruit. The fruit-bearing shoots being useless for such purpose a second 

 time, must therefore be cut away at the following winter pruning, 

 when the young shoot, retained during the summer, is shortened like 

 its predecessor, and trained for the purpose of bearing fruit and pro- 

 ducing a successor, which likewise becomes subject to the same routine 

 treatment. 



The preceding directions are to be followed in order to the essential 

 pruning, the development and maintenance of the form of the tree ; 

 but as a great number of superfluous shoots will be produced, the 

 mode of their removal requires to be noticed. The operation is termed 

 disbudding, and it commences as soon as the young shoots can be Liiel 

 hold of, but should be completed in a gradual manner. A portion of 

 such front-shoots as have no fruit at their bases are first removed, 

 then part of those elsewhere situated, making exceptions of the lowest 

 on each bearing shoot, for succession, and of the terminal one. By degrees 

 all are removed excepting the two last mentioned and those from nodes 

 where fruit is set and promises to attain perfection. Finally, the 

 terminal ones and those left on account of having fruit at their bases 

 are shortened, or stopped, to about three inches in length, or so as to 

 have several leaves for the purpose of maintaining the flow of sap and 

 elaborating it for the nourishment of the fruit. Should these or the 

 terminal shoots again push, such secondary shoots must be pinched off 

 above the second leaf from the origin. 



Thinning the fruit is generally done much too sparingly. The 

 vigour of the tree should of course be taken into consideration. As a 

 general rule, one fruit on each bearing shoot, or two at most, are all 

 that ought to be left. By leaving too many, the size of the fruit is 

 diminished, so that the aggregate weight of flesh is probably but little 

 if at all increased, whilst that of stones, to the great weakening of the 

 tree, becomes materially so. Some remove the flower-buds to a con- 

 siderable extent, a practice which is very proper. It is advisable 

 however to preserve several on each shoot, in order that a choice may 

 be made of one or two of those likely to take the lead. 



The surface of the border should be frequently stirred ; and when 

 the weather is dry, watering will be necessary both for the border and 

 foliage; but the use of cold spring water must be avoided. The 

 ravages of the green fly (Aphit Pertircr) must be carefully guarded 

 against. The best known remedy is to dust the tree, after syringing, 

 with snuff, or powdered tobacco leaves. Coping-boards, made to 

 project about a foot, are of great utility in protecting the blossoms ; 

 but after the danger of frost is over, the coping ought to be 

 removed. 



The best varieties of peaches in cultivation at the present day in 

 this country appear to have been obtained from France. Although 

 designated by various English names, most of the sorts have been 

 traced to be synonymous with the French peaches. They are nume- 

 rous and often changing. 



(Hart, Tram. ; Guide to the Orchard and Kitchen Garden ; Loudon, 

 I'ipadia, of Gardening ; Macintosh, Jiook of the Garden.) 



PEAR, the wild pear-tree (Pynu communit), from which the nu- 

 merous cultivated varieties have originated, has a wide indigenous 

 range extending over a great part of Europe and Asia, within the 

 limits of temperate regions. It is to be met with in certain localities 

 in the southern parts of Britain. The old varieties of pear are however 

 getting rapidly out of cultivation, and giving place to others of recent 

 origin, superior in quality, and much better adapted for this climate 

 than the old kinds appear ever to have been. Few of the latter could 

 be successfully cultivated without the aid of walla ; whereas most of 

 the new varieties produce abundance of excellent fruit on standards 

 or dwarfs in the open ground. Even in France the old varieties are 

 now decaying, although the climate is there most congenial to them. 



The pear is chiefly propagated by grafting or budding on the wild 

 pear stock, or on stocks raised from the seeds of cultivated pears, 

 called free stocks ; the former are however to be preferred. It is alao 

 grafted on the quince, which is most proper for dwarf trees, or for 

 moist soil, and has also the effect of bringing the trees earlier into a 

 bearing state. It may be also grown upon the medlar, and the white 

 thorn (Crattcgus Oxyacautha), but on these the disparity of growth 

 between the respective stems occasions a short duration of the union. 

 The enlargement of the pear-stem in the case of strong growing 

 varieties is indeed generally too much for quince stocks. There are 

 several varieties of the quince, and the sort that has the broadest 

 leaves and which has the nearest correspondence in regard to horizontal 

 growth with that of the pear should be preferred for stocks. 



The pear-tree will thrive in any rich loamy soil ; but it is only 

 where the subsoil is naturally congenial, or rendered so artificially, 

 that it will continue to produce good crops of well flavoured fruit. A 

 clay subsoil is bad, and so is in fact any other that will hold water. 

 Good drainage is absolutely necessary, and shallow planting cannot be 

 too much recommended. The monks in former times were aware of 

 the advantages arising from having the roots near the surface; for 



PEAR. 34 



stones and slates have been found below old fruit-trees, which had 

 been planted at monasteries once in their possession. 



Manure is not so liable to prove injurious to the pear and apple 

 as it is to stone-fruits. On the contrary, unless the trees be growing 

 too strong, manure, judiciously applied, will always prove beneficial. 



Pears are deemed worthy of the expense of walls, but this is often 

 an unnecessary expenditure for want of a properly formed border, and 

 thorough draining, where the subsoil renders such necessary. Brick- 

 rubbish is a good bottoming ; or a bed of concrete, two or three inches 

 thick, laid sloping from the wall towards a drain in front, is un- 

 questionably one of the best modes that could be practised ; and it is 

 the only effectual one to prevent the roots from penetrating beyond a 

 limited depth ; for they will often find their way through a stratum 

 of stones or brick-rubbish. The depth of soil need not exceed 2 4 feet. 

 The best season for transplanting is in the beginning of winter, or as 

 soon as the leaves have fallen in autumn. 



Standard trees may be planted from 20 to 30 feet apart, or where 

 vegetables are intended to be cultivated, the distances may be 40 feet 

 between the rows and 20 feet in the rows. Dwarf trees, or quince 

 stocks, will not require more than 15 feet distance. Wall-trees should 

 be at least 20 feet apart, and for some varieties 30 feet will not be too 

 much. 



The modes of training the pear-tree are various. Against walls, the 

 three principal methods are the fan-shape, its reverse the pendulous, 

 and intermediately the horizontal, which is that most generally adopted. 

 In the fan method the central part of the tree, from the upright 

 position of the branches, or their near approach to such, is apt to 

 become too strong. On the contrary, the pendulous training induces 

 debility when the trees begin to bear heavy crops. By annually 

 cutting back a central shoot to about a foot, and training branches 

 horizontally, right and left, the vigour of the tree is equally dis- 

 tributed. It often happens that in this mode the branches only 

 produce fruit towards their extremities. When this is the case, a 

 shoot should be encouraged near the origin of the horizontal branch, 

 and trained in the interval, and at some distance, say three feet ; 

 farther along the branches another may be laid in a similar manner, 

 and so on, care being takeu that each is stopped when its elongation 

 reaches the place where another has its origin. These shoots will 

 generally become as fruitful, after two or three years, as the portion of 

 wood of the same age near the extremities of the branches themselves. 



Training against espaliers was formerly more practised than at 

 present. The difficulty of getting the old varieties to bear apart from 

 a wall, together with the expense of erecting the espalier, and the 

 liability of its materials to decay, have no doubt tended to bring this 

 mode into disuse. It is however worthy of remark, that a greater 

 extent of foliage can be exposed to direct light by espalier training 

 than by any otber on an equal extent of ground. New varieties will 

 do away with the objection of unproductiveness ; and although the 

 contact of metallic substances is not congenial to vegetable growth, 

 yet the principal supports of the espalier might be constructed of 

 cast-iron, which would prove an ultimate saving; the small inter- 

 mediate wood-work that would be requisite could be easily replaced. 



In the cultivation of pears as standards, the head is allowed to take 

 nearly its natural course, being only subjected to such regulations, by 

 pruning, as are necessary to preserve the equality of the principal 

 branches with regard both to strength and distance ; and likewise to 

 render the whole sufficiently thin, in order that the sun's rays may be 

 freely admitted. 



In some situations, many kinds of pears remain long unfruitful ; the 

 best means of rendering them otherwise is of course a most important 

 desideratum. So long as circumstances are very favourable for the 

 growth of wood, blossom-buds are not likely to be produced ; the 

 production of the latter results from a more inspissated state of 

 the juices; and will not take place whilst a copious flow of sap is con- 

 tinued. This may be interrupted by ligature, ringing, grafting, or other 

 analogous means. But these means frequently afford only a temporary 

 remedy, and a" repetition of the process is at the expense of the 

 energies of the tree, so that it is rendered too weak for future bearing. 

 There ia still a mere important object which the above means are not 

 calculated to affect. If the roots are hi a cold subsoil or out of the 

 reach of solar influence, the fruit will only acquire an inferior degree 

 of flavour. If however the tree be carefully removed (for doing 

 which autumn is the best season), the soil well dug, or even renewed, 

 and the tree deprived of such roots as cannot be brought to a hori- 

 zontal position, namely, that in which all the others should be placed 

 when replanted, and if this be done as shallow as possible, a satis- 

 factory check will be occasioned, fruitfulness induced, and flavour 

 communicAted. 



The management of dwarf standards is similar to that required for 

 tall standards, excepting that the head is formed at the height of one or 

 two feet from the ground, instead of six, the usual height allowed for 

 the stems of standard trees in orchards, or where under-cropping is 

 carried on, as in market-gardens, where the dwarf-headed trees would 

 obstruct the growth of vegetables for a considerable distance from their 

 stem. Dwarfs however have some important advantages ; a large 

 head ia sooner formed, and the fruit is not so liable to be blown 

 down. 



The French modes of training en Quenouillc or en Pyramids cannot 



