OIIAPTEtt III. 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 



A thorough preparation of the soil before plant- 

 ing is positively necessary, to insure success with the 

 pear, and until the soil is in a condition to allow the 

 " rains and dews to enter, pass through and out of 

 it," in as short a time as possible, the cultivation of 

 fruit cannot be brought to the highest point of profit. 



On clay lands, or sandy soil with a retentive sub- 

 soil, under-draining is the first step towards accom- 

 plishing the right condition. This should be done 

 at least a year before the trees are planted. There 

 is a prevalent opinion in the minds of many farmers, 

 that under-drains are only wanted to carry off the 

 excess water ; but this is only one of their offices. 

 Another, and very important one, is to aerate the 

 soil ; in other words, the drains open the way for the 

 atmosphere to circulate freely through the soil, carry- 

 ing with it gases which cause many chemical changes 

 to take place that will benefit the growing plants. 

 At the. present cost of labor and material, under- 

 draining will prove to be an expensive operation, but 



