LUTHER BURBANK 
in temperate climates. It often requires from 
ten to twenty years for seedlings of the pear to 
come to their first fruiting. The matter may be 
forced a little by grafting the pear cions on quince 
stock, but while this makes them fruit earlier, it 
also tends to dwarf them, and I do not recommend 
this as a general practice, though highly desirable 
for special purposes. 
Whoever has not patience to wait had best not 
undertake experiments with the pear. 
With a tree of such slow development, it is 
peculiarly desirable to make no mistakes in select- 
ing seedlings for preservation. Judgment as to 
the future tree must be based, as with other fruit, 
largely on its growth, and the appearance of the 
foliage. Pear seedlings that have an abundance 
of large leaves, and strong, thick, short-jointed 
wood, and thick, fat buds, are those to be selected. 
But this is not by any means as sure an indication 
of superior fruit in the pear as in most of our cul- 
tivated fruit, for the reason that Van Mons and 
other workers in this line have mostly sought 
early-bearing and fine quality of fruit, neglecting 
the foliage and growth of the tree almost fully. 
Tue Errect oF New Boop 
I grew great quantities of pear seedlings from 
seed imported in 1884 from Japan. The selected 
seedlings of this original stock have enormous, 
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