70 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



orchard than to keep it in grass and top-dress the gi'ass every 

 spring ; if not the whole ground, at least as far as the limbs 

 project? 



Prof. Penhallow. On general principles, I should say, 

 keep the grass off a certain distance from the tree. It strikes 

 me a tree needs the same cultivation, the same harrowing 

 and the same manure, that you would give other crops. 



Mr. BowDiTCH. Would you keep the grass as far away 

 as the roots are feedino^? 



Prof. Penhallow. Very nearly to the extent of the 

 limbs. I should adopt the practice myself of always culti- 

 vating orchards. 



Mr. Hadwen. We cannot lay down any rule that seems 

 to be adapted to all conditions under which trees are grown, 

 but each man for himself must determine as well as he can 

 whether he shall top-dress or whether he shall resort to cul- 

 tivating the entire orchard. I have seen very good results 

 under both conditions, and which is the best I am not able 

 to say. I know that good fruit can be grown where the land 

 under trees is top-dressed and still in grass, and I know that 

 good fruit can be grown under constant cultivation. Conse- 

 quently it is for each man to determine which course he will 

 pursue. But there is one reliable course, and that is, to 

 have the tree always well enriched. Be sure to do that and 

 the matter of cultivation is of less consequence than is gen- 

 erally supposed. 



In relation to the pear blight, I am very sorry to hear that 

 science has not discovered, apparently, any cause, or any 

 remedy. I feel that we ought to have discovered before 

 this late day a cause and a remedy, and I feel disappointed 

 to think that we have not yet found the cause of the pear 

 blight nor a real remedy. It is now some fifty years since 

 I first saw the pear blight. I attributed it then to high cul- 

 tivation, and I do to-day, in a measure, attribute the cause 

 of the pear blight to high cultivation, which induces a strong, 

 and you might say excessive, growth. I know that the pear 

 blight is more liable to appear in highly cultivated lands than 

 it is under ordinary circumstances in grass land, and still I 

 do not know the real cause. Some people say it is caused 

 by the extreme heat and extreme cold acting on the tender 



