112 WORTHLESS VARIETIES. 



stock, not more than fifty per cent, of the buds will 

 take the first season. 



GRAFTING. There are few persons, indeed, who 

 have planted pears, either in the garden or orchard, 

 who have not been compelled, sooner or later, to 

 learn the simple art of grafting, that they may be 

 able to make such changes in varieties as experience 

 dictates. This operation is all important to the 

 wide-awake orchardist, in order to substitute profit- 

 able for worthless varieties, with the loss of as little 

 time as possible. There is nothing more discour- 

 aging to the fruit grower, after having waited ten or 

 a dozen years, than to find it necessary to put a new 

 head on his trees before getting any returns. But, 

 under the circumstances, it is the only choice left. 



There are many methods of grafting practised in 

 this country. We have adopted in our orchard cleft 

 grafting ; for large stocks I prefer it to the other 

 modes. 



In the latitude of New York, we commence 

 grafting the pear about the first of April, and con- 

 tinue through the month. On large trees, we graft 

 about one-half of the top the first season, and the 

 balance in the spring of the second and third years. 



The branches are sawed off about twelve or 

 eighteen inches from the body of the tree, and the 

 top of the stock made smooth with a sharp knife. 



