2512 



PEAR 



PEAR 



as does the permanent bending of the branches and the 

 hardening of the tissues, to hasten the formation of 

 fruit-buds and the production of fruit. 



The pear may be successfully grafted upon the white 

 thorn, the mountain-ash, and the apple, and such grafts 

 have occasionally proved more or less productive for a 

 time, but in such cases the union between stock and 

 cion is generally, if not always, imperfect; and such 

 uncongenial combinations are therefore usually short- 

 lived. The quince is the only dissimilar stock upon 

 which the pear is extensively grown. Quince stocks for 

 this purpose are largely imported from France. The 

 Angers quince is generally preferred for this purpose. 

 These stocks are usually planted in nursery rows at the 

 age of two years, to be budded during the following 

 summer, in the same manner as pear stocks. When 

 intended for dwarf trees, nurserymen usually cut them 

 back after one year's growth from the bud to the nearly 

 uniform height of 18 inches, although with the more 



2815. Anjou, one of the popular late autumn and early 

 winter pears. ( X 1 A) 



upright-growing varieties it is by many deemed prefer- 

 able to branch them even 6 or 8 inches lower. Aside 

 from the height at which they should be branched, the 

 pruning and management should be identical with that 

 prescribed for standards, with the important exception 

 that when planted out for fruiting the junction between 

 the quince and the pear should be 3 or 4 inches below the 

 surface to encourage the formation of roots from the 

 pear. Trees thus planted will begin to bear while yet 

 growing solely from the quince stock, and will continue 

 to produce fruit after rooting from the pear, thus 

 affording the early fruiting of the dwarf, as well as the 

 permanency of the standard. 



Not more than a specimen or two should be permitted 

 to grow upon a dwarf the first and second years after 

 planting. Such trees, if left to fruit freely, will almost 

 certainly be ruined from overbearing before they are 

 fully established. Many varieties when grown as dwarfs 

 can never be safely allowed to mature more than a small 

 portion of the fruit which they will naturally set. 



While several varieties are found to be especially suc- 

 cessful when grown upon the quince, most others prove 

 only moderately so, requiring careful and expert man- 

 agement to insure satisfactory results. A few others, 



of which Bosc may be named as a prominent case, are 

 obstinately unsuccessful upon the quince, and even 

 when double-worked upon a dwarf of a congenial 

 variety, their success appears to be by no means 

 assured. 



Dwarf trees trained as hereinbefore specified are 

 commonly known as half-standards. Other and more 

 elaborate forms are known as pyramids, cordons, 

 and the like, descriptions of which are not deemed 

 necessary here. 



Choice of trees. 



Aside from the selection of the location for an orchard, 

 the first important particular is the selection of the 

 trees, leaving the choice of varieties for subsequent con- 

 sideration. Trees of one year's growth from the bud are 

 to be preferred for the following reasons: (1) Fewer 

 roots need be injured or lost in the process of lifting 

 and replanting, for which reason the tree may be 

 expected the more promptly to recover from the shock 

 of removal. (2) The single season's growth may be cut 

 back and the top commenced to suit the preferences of 

 the planter. (3) The top will present little or no obstacle 

 to the force of the wind until the roots shall have gained 

 such hold upon the soil that there will remain little 

 liability to displacement from this cause. (4) The risk 

 of failure from removal is greatly diminished, while the 

 more prompt recovery and increased rate of growth of 

 the trees in the more open orchard rows may be expected 

 to compensate fully for one or two years more of 

 growth in crowded nursery rows. (5) Something will 

 also be saved in the cost of the trees and in the expense 

 of transportation, as well as in the labor of planting. 



If older or high-branched trees are not objected to, it 

 will usually be found that they are but imperfectly 

 branched from having been grown hi crowded rows. 



Preparation of the soil. 



When the late John A. Warder was asked how large 

 the holes should be dug for planting orchard trees, 

 he replied, "Of the full size of the orchard;" and it may 

 also be remarked that when the ground for an orchard 

 has been well tilled and fertilized to a depth at least 

 equal to that at which trees are to be planted, there is 

 no longer occasion for holes larger than shall be necessary 

 to receive the roots in their proper position. If the sub- 

 soil be not freely pervious to water, the ground must be 

 deeply and thoroughly underdrained, and in no case 

 should the hole in which a tree is to be planted be sunk 

 into a subsoil so impervious as to retain water beneath 

 or about its roots. If such retentive subsoil occurs too 

 near the surface and is not considered suitable to be 

 mixed with the surface soil, it should be thoroughly dis- 

 integrated to the requisite depth by means of a subsoil 

 plow or other equivalent device. In all nearly level 

 retentive soils, it will be found advantageous to "back- 

 furrow" a land along the line of each row in the direc- 

 tion of the surface drainage, so that when the trees 

 have been planted the drainage will be away from 

 them. 



Laying out, staking, and planting. 



The most economical mode of laying out and plant- 

 ing an orchard, so far as space is concerned, is doubtless 

 that commonly, but erroneously, designated as quin- 

 cunx, and more correctly as hexagonal; but whether 

 planted thus, or in rectangles, the work may be most 

 rapidly and accurately done by planting a stake where 

 each tree is to stand, and using what is known as a 

 planting-board, consisting of a strip of board 6 or 7 feet 

 long, with a hole for a stake near each end, and a notch 

 or slot intermediate and in line between them to receive 

 the stake, and to support the tree while the earth is 

 being carefully filled in, under, among, and above its 

 roots. 



The following are good general rules to be observed 



