CHOICE KINDS OF PEARS. 55 



few of them were in sufficient quantity to make it 

 an object to send them to market. At the expira- 

 tion of ten years two-thirds of the original fifteen 

 hundred trees had to be re-grafted. 



It is much less trouble and more profitable to 

 dispose of one hundred barrels of any one well- 

 known variety than to sell ten barrels of ten differ- 

 ent varieties. In an orchard of five hundred trees, 

 I would not have less than one hundred of the same 

 kind. As a matter of course, before deciding, I 

 would endeavor to make myself familiar with the 

 varieties that will most likely do well in the locality. 

 In making selections for the orchard, preference 

 should always be given to trees whose natural habits 

 are vigorous, for strength, combined with product- 

 iveness and good quality, and adaptation to soil and 

 climate, are the requirements we need. There are 

 many choice kinds of pears on our catalogues that 

 are rendered unfit for the orchard, by their habit of 

 growth being so irregular and uncertain. This 

 peculiarity, and an inclination to overbear while 

 young, should deter purchasers from planting largely 

 of such varieties in the orchard, and therefore in- 

 quiry should always be made on these points before 

 selecting. It makes little difference to the orchard- 

 ist what the quality of the pear may be ; if the tree 

 is a poor grower, it becomes an unsightly object in 



