PREFACE 



THE pomological student, doubtless, 

 miss many things in this book, as it has been 

 the author's aim to rigidly exclude all points 

 that do not bear directly upon practical pear 

 culture, whether for pleasure or profit synony- 

 mous terms, for that matter, to many of us. 



If one wishes to raise pears intelligently, 

 and with the best results, he must know first 

 the character of his soil the best mode of 

 preparing it, the best varieties to select under 

 existing conditions, the best mode of planting, 

 pruning, fertilizing, grafting, and utilizing the 

 ground before the trees come into bearing, 

 and, finally, of gathering and packing for mar- 

 ket. 



A grower not seldom defrauds himself of the 

 legitimate profit of a fine pear crop by not 

 knowing the best ways of marketing his fruit. 



The hope of furnishing practical informa- 

 tion on all these points, has induced the author 



