DWARF PEARS. 



199 



Thus, at Dorchester, Mass., on Long Island, and in some 

 other places, the White Doyenne only succeeds well upon 

 the quince. 



The stocks of dwarf pears should be wholly beneath the 

 surface to elude the borer, which avoids the pear. 



Pruning Dwarf Pears. Dwarf pear trees are usually 

 pruned into the pyramidal and conical form, the latter only 

 differing in its broader shape. The an- 

 nexed figure exhibits these forms dis- 

 tinctly. The principle to be adopted in 

 pruning has been already explained on 

 page 90 ; the extent to which it must be 

 carried, should be such as to keep the 

 trees within ten or twelve feet in height, 

 and from four to six feet in diameter at 

 the base. A greater height increases the 

 difficulty of pruning. The same reason 

 forbids the adoption of a head with a clean 

 stem below, as in common standards. 



The pyramidal mode of pruning may 

 be applied to pear trees upon pear stocks, 

 Half -standards, or trees with about two 

 and a half feet of clear stems, the heads 

 being usually roundish-oval, and pruned only by thinning, 

 are a good form for market orchards. The clear stem facili- 

 tates cultivation, and prevents splitting by deep snows. 

 Dwarf trees may be planted at a distance of six to ten 



feet apart. They will 

 always need careful at- 

 tention to pruning, and 

 to thorough and enriched 

 cultivation of the ground. 

 Horizontal training, 

 for walls or espaliers, is 

 +^*~ very rarely practiced or 

 needed in this country. 

 """"It is occasionally em- 

 ployed in limited gar- 

 dens, to form bounda- 

 ries of walks, without 

 occupying much lateral space, and where it is desired to 



Fig. 157. 



