142 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



But it will be essential, in the first place, that he should 

 make the selection for his orchard, from those varieties that are 

 the most hardy and productive, and will be eagerly sought for 

 in the market. The location and soil should be favorable, and 

 the ground stirred and enriched from time to time, as the neces- 

 sities of the trees may require. All stimulation to a late growth 

 of wood that will not properly ripen before the season closes, 

 should be avoided, and any tendency to such growth should be 

 immediately checked, as it is very liable to ultimate in the 

 frozen-sap blight, a disease fatal to the pear tree. 



For good practical information on this whole subject, we would 

 recommend Mr. Field's excellent work on pear culture. 



But should any one enter upon this business, without the 

 requisite knowledge for success, and with no love for his new 

 vocation, and so mismanage his trees, or leave them in utter 

 neglect to struggle alone with the weeds and the grass, he will 

 probably encounter the same failure that he would by dealing 

 with any other crop with the same measure of ignorance and 

 neglect. 



The presentation of pears for the table at our annual fair this 

 year was very good, though not perhaps any better than in 

 some preceding years. We missed the usual contributions of 

 Hon. Moses Wood and Benjamin Snow, Jr. The number of 

 contributors seemed to indicate the fact, that not a few of those 

 who have a garden and a homestead, are becoming somewhat 

 interested in the subject of pears. We trust that their example 

 will be more generally followed by those who possess larger 

 means for the production of this noble fruit. 



Grapes. — We are glad to perceive, by the number and char- 

 acter of the contributions offered for premiums in this depart- 

 ment, that the interest in the cultivation of this fruit has, year 

 by year, gradually increased. 



The two varieties that seemed to take the lead for their 

 superior qualities and perfection, were the Concord 'and Del- 

 aware. The Concord appears to be more generally cultivated, 

 while the Delaware seems to have been but recently introduced 

 into this vicinity, and its adaptedness to this locality, therefore, 

 is not as yet fully tested. But the plate of Delawares presented 

 by Mr. Emory, was certainly ripened to the greatest perfection, 

 and was invested with a sweetness and deliciousness that 



