128 THE NURSERY. 



best. The autumn before planting it should be trenched, 

 or subsoil-plowed, to the depth of two feet, for the pear 

 has long tap roots, and liberally enriched with a compost 

 of stable manure, leaf mould, or muck, and wood-ashes, 

 in about equal parts ; four inches deep of this, spread 

 over the surface before plowing, will be sufficient for any 

 ordinary soil. Lime should also be given liberally, unless 

 the soil be naturally and strongly calcareous. A soil pre- 

 pared thus in the fall, will require another plowing or 

 spading in the spring, to mix all the materials properly 

 with the soil, and fit it for the seeds. If the soil be very 

 tough, and not fit to be turned up, a thorough harrowing 

 or working w^ith the horse-hoe will do. Where large 

 quantities are grown, the drills may be the same distance 

 apart as that recommended for apples three feet ; but if 

 only a few, twelve to eighteen inches will be sufficient, as 

 the cleaning can be done with the hoe. The seeds should 

 be scattered thinly, that every plant may have sufficient 

 space without any thinning. The end to aim. at, as before 

 remarked, is to get good growth, say eighteen to twenty 

 inches in height, and stout in proportion, before the first 

 of August. This can be done in any deeply-trenched or 

 plowed fresh soil, well prepared and manured, as described 

 above. I have been told that seedling pears, grown in a 

 frame, covered with whitewashed sash, and kept well 

 ventilated continually, escaped the "leaf-blight," whilst 

 all those grown in open ground, near by, were blighted ; 

 showing, as far as the experiment goes, that the sun's 

 heat has something to do with producing leaf-blight. 

 Pear seedlings should always be taken up in the fall, after 

 the first season's growth ; the largest selected for trans- 

 planting into the nursery, and the smaller to be put into 

 beds, to remain another season. 



Quince Stocks are propagated with considerable success 

 by cuttings. These should be strong shoots, six inches to 

 a foot long, taken off close to the old wood, and, if pos- 



