CHAPTER IX. 



VARIETIES TO PLAXT. 



To select the best varieties to plant in the 

 orchard is always a puzzling task for the beginner, 

 especially if he is in a location where there have 

 been few pear trees planted. There are not many 

 sorts that do well in all parts of the country ; such 

 is the influence of soil and climate on pears, that the 

 same varieties often ditfer in quality and productive- 

 ness in different parts of the same State. Persons 

 cannot always be guided in making a selection by 

 ascertaining the kinds that have been fully tested in 

 other parts of the State, unless the soil and climate 

 are alike. Even with such varieties as the Bartlett, 

 Duchesse d'Angouleme, Seckel and Yicar of AYink- 

 field, which succeed in most localities, I have fre- 

 quently witnessed so marked a difference in their 

 appearance and quality, as for a time to doubt 

 whether they were not other sorts. The great dif- 

 ficulty in making a judicious assortment is, that 

 there are too many varieties from which to choose. 



If a peivon consults books on the subject, or 



