184 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 



leaves at the lower bud, and cut at them ; for, at 

 the foot-stalk of every one of these, will be pro- 

 duced a flower bud. You will have in some sorts 

 of pears, in a favourable season, from five to nine 

 pears in a cluster. Ttais cutting should not be 

 later than April, on account of the leading shoot 

 beginning to grow; the next topping, when the 

 leading shoot grows quick enough to admit of it, 

 should be about the latter end of June ; arid the 

 length of the shoots should be according to their 

 strength, having from three eyes or buds to six on 

 a side. Mr. Forsyth has been successful in reno- 

 vating old trees when in such an advanced state of 

 decay, that very little, except the bark, remained. 

 He always applies the composition to the wounds, 

 and when, on examination, the root is found to be 

 decayed and rotten, he cuts away all the dead part, 

 to the sound wood, and covers the wound. If the 

 above directions be followed, he says, you will get 

 more pears in three or four years, than you can in 

 twenty-five years by planting young trees, and 

 pruning and managing them in the common way. 

 If it be desired to change the kind of fruit, it will 

 be easy to graft or bud upon the young shoots. 



The method recommended by Mr. Knight for re- 

 claiming old unproductive pear trees is, to cut away 

 all the central branches, retaining those only that 

 are nearly horizontal, and all the spurs of these 

 must be taken off closely with the saw and chisel. 

 Into the extremities of the branches thus retained 

 grafts are to be inserted at proper distances, so as 

 to form a new crown. It was on an old Saint Ger- 

 main pear tree, that had been trained to the wall 

 in a fan form, that he adopted this mode. As soon 

 in the succeeding summer, as the young shoots had 

 attained sufficient length, they were trained almost 

 perpendicularly downwards between the larger branch- 

 es and the wall, to which they were nailed. In the 

 second year, and subsequently, the tree yielded 



