65 



Since that time I have followed this practice. 



I planted some Le Conte trees. They were reported to 

 be a good pear to graft the Bosc into and I have done that, 

 but I wish I had never planted this variety. The scions died 

 and I think it was on account of the stock into which they 

 were grafted. 



I believe tha^ if I were going to plant pears again, I 

 would set the rows 20 or 25 feet apart, and put the trees 

 about eight feet in the rows. This gives you a chance to 

 cultivate in the center. You may think the trees will grow 

 into one another. They will if they are 12 or 15 feet apart, 

 but put them closer and they will have a tendency to grow 

 out sideways. I would plant rows north and south so the 

 sun could strike on the east side in the morning and the west 

 side in the afternoon. This system of planting is better in 

 spraying, because you spray on the sides and do not have to 

 go around the tree. 



I have planted currant bushes for ten or twelve years 

 in rows; instead of putting them 4 by 5, I have put them 

 about 7I/2 by 2 in the row. Put one row of currants in the 

 tree row, and one in the center, where the pear trees are 15 

 feet apart. This gives you a good chance to cultivate the 

 currants and conserve the moisture. If you let the ground 

 get hard, the currants are apt to blister. We have had quite 

 a lot where the bushes were too close together and then we 

 tried mulching, but I didn't like to cover the entire ground 

 because we were afraid of fire. I believe in putting in the 

 rows as I have done this year, spreading the manure on both 

 sides ploughing up a furrow on each side, and leveling it 

 right off so that there is a little ledge where the bush stands, 

 because it will keep the bushes from lying on the ground and 

 will give you a chance to pick the fruit. The manure i5» 

 added to the fertilizer and the mulch and it keeps the ber- 

 ries green. I think this will make a pretty good way of 

 handling the currants in with the pears. In planting a new 

 orchard, instead of putting the currant rows in with the tree 

 rows, I would rather put two rows, one each side of the tree 



