140 



the cause of the luxuriance, for it may 

 be occasioned either by the nature of the 

 tree itselfi or by the soil. I have known 

 the swan's egg pear, which is an early 

 bearer*, shooting so excessively luxuriant, 

 that it grew thirty or forty feet previously 

 to its ever producing fruit, making 

 shoots of great length and proportionate 

 strength, after these had reached the top 

 of the w^all, the ends of them were turned 

 over, from which circumstance these 

 shoots received a check in the circulation, 

 and it was supposed that the previous 

 barrenness of the trees was occasioned by 

 the richness of the soil. Recourse was 

 had therefore to taking up at the distance 

 of twelve feet from the trees a deep trench 

 ten feet wide and of considerable depth, 

 which being wanted for a gravel road, was 

 filled with sand stone ; during this opera- 

 tion the roots were a little cut. This 

 mode had the desired effect ; it produced 

 shortly afterwards an immense crop, on 

 the above described turned shoots, and 



* Producing fruit in a young state of the tree. 



