94 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ties of the pear, such as the Dix, is not effected in less than ten or 

 fifteen years. Time is required to prepare and consohdate tlie 

 juices. Tea, and other ever-blooming roses, do not succeed if taken 

 out of the ground and put immediatel}' into the house ; thej^ require 

 time to prepare for blooming, and should not be pruned too earl}', 

 but 3'ou cannot check the growth entirely. For the majority of our 

 common fruit trees, such as the currant, frost is not necessary. 



The Chairman remarked that frost might be beneficial, even if 

 not necessary. 



Mr. Hovey did not think it was ; Nature, in placing fruits in a 

 northern climate, made them capable of enduring frost, but it is 

 not a necessity to them. 



Dr. E. L. Sturtevant's experience had been that exposure to a 

 drought might give results similar to those produced by exposure 

 to frost. The object of frost is to give the plants a rest, and this 

 can be imitated by drought. 



Mr. Hovey said that withholding water withholds a certain 

 amount of vigor. Manj^ plants will die if water be withheld for 

 a day or two. Dryness will effect the ripening of the wood, but 

 not as well as dryness with cold. 



The Chairman asked. Why stop at the freezing point instead of 

 going lower and giving the plant a more complete rest ? He found 

 when fatigued that a nap of a quarter of an hour refreshed him so 

 that he could go on with Ms work. 



E. S. Rand, Jr. said that anything that would produce a rest and 

 a ripening of the wood, would effect the object in view. In our cli- 

 mate the agenc}' is frost ; the ripening of the wood of the pear tree 

 is accomplished both with and without frost, according to the cli- 

 mate. Mr. Rand gave an account of his success in forcing roses 

 the present winter. He had a house about twenty-five feet square, 

 filled with roses — almost entirely Gen. Jacqueminot. The greater 

 part of these were struck from cuttings nearly a year ago. They 

 were turned out into the garden, and, the smnmer being dry, were 

 occasionally watered. They made a good growth, and were taken 

 up the last of November, pruned to from two to six eyes, pot- 

 ted in six inch pots, and placed in a frame which was covered at 

 night. A crust froze on the surface of the soil in the pots nearly 

 an inch thick. They were brought into the house in succession, 

 nuich air was given, they were allowed to break very slowl}', and 

 watered with weak liquid manure. The advantage of year old 



