FRUIT ON THE FARM. 



265 



orchard of sixty trees, twelve years old, all Bartlett, is three- 

 fourths dead, but seems to have now passed the blighting stage. 

 There is one old tree near, which for thirty-five years has borne 

 heavy crops, never missing except when a heavy freeze came 

 late in the season, as in 1875 and 1882. This tree has made 

 so little new wood that it has not increased perceptibly in size 

 during the time I have known it, but all its energies are devoted 

 to the production of fruit. Mr. Ohmer reported twenty years 

 after planting his first orchard of four hundred and twenty trees, 

 that but eighty had died, and if we except three varieties which 

 proved failures, his five orchards of three thousand five hundred 

 trees show about the same per cent of loss. 



Dwarf Pears. Dwarf pears are produced by grafting 

 pear stock on the roots of the Angiers Quince. This produces 

 a small tree which comes early into bearing and produces a very 

 fine quality of fruit. These dwarf trees may be planted eight 

 feet apart each way, which gives 680 trees to the acre. Some 

 varieties do not succeed well on the quince, while others do re- 

 markably well. Mr. Ohmer had great success with Beurre de 

 Anjou and Duchess as dwarfs, and on my grounds. the Flemish 

 Beauty and Seckel have given good satisfaction. If dwarf pears 

 are set deeply they will often strike root from the pear stock 

 and become vigorous standard trees. Of eighteen dwarfs which 

 I planted in 1859, there are now, in 1884, six large, thrifty 

 trees in full bearing. 

 Any one who has a 

 taste for horticulture, 

 and the time to de- 

 vote to it, can pro- 

 duce a pleasing ef- 

 fect by training dwarf 

 pear trees to the sides 

 of a bower, as shown 

 in the cut. A grape-vine might be planted at each end to run 

 over the top of the bower, and the pear trees kept on the sides, 

 as the grape would give a better shade, and is also less liable 

 to rot if allowed to run high above the ground. 



DWAUK I'K.AK TKKK HOWKK. 



