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the last season's growth is a good evidence of 

 the health of the tree. The trunk should be 

 straight, smooth and stocky. The root ought 

 to be well shaped, neither one-sided, nor very 

 destitute of fibres. As in purchasing apple- 

 trees, one must not expect to have all these 

 good qualities combined in every pear-tree 

 he obtains from a nursery, but the purchaser 

 should always endeavor to unite as many of 

 them as he can, even though he should be com- 

 pelled to pay a greater price for the trees. 



Soil. "The best soil for the pear," says 

 Downing, "is a strong loam of moderate 

 depth on a dry subsoil." Kenrick recom- 

 mends " rich soils and gentle declivities, not 

 moist situations." Thomas advises the same 

 soil as for the apple. On a cold soil with a 

 clayey subsoil, the trees are stunted and short- 

 lived, and the fruit is of an inferior quality. 

 We should prefer a deep, rich sandy loam on 

 a dryish subsoil, such land as would pro- 

 duce eighty or a hundred bushels of Indian 

 corn to the acre. For setting the pear on 

 damp or very dry soils, see observations in 

 the chapter on The Apple. If the subsoil is 

 heavy clay, it will be better to cultivate dwarf 

 pears only, unless the places for the pear-root- 



