1846. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



47 



HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT- 



BY P. BARRY. 



Further Uemarks on tlic Cnltarc of the Pear. 



In our la.st number, we presented a few gene- 

 ral remarks on the Culture of the Pear, by way 

 of stimulating Farmers and Fruit (irowers to 

 bestow that degree of attention on the subject 

 which its importance justly claims from them. 



We now offer a few practical suggestions that 

 may be found scrvicable to some who may lack 

 both experience and suitable books of reference 

 on these subjects. The Pear is a noble fruit. 

 We deem its culture of great importance to ev- 

 ery land-holder in this country ; and we shall 

 therefore exercise diligently, our humble efforts, 

 in commending it to general attention, and in 

 diffusing the most essential information connec- 

 ted with it. 



Soil. — The Culture of the Pear need not be 

 confined to any one, or even tioo particular kinds 

 of soil. We have seen it grow and flourish on 

 a great variety of soils. Cold, wet, as well as 

 dry, sandy locations, are two extreme* that should 

 always be avoided. Where a choice of soils is 

 attainable, a deep loam, with a dry subsoil, is, as 

 a general thing to be preferred. All sorts of 

 Pears will not flourish equally well on the same 

 soil. The habits of the tree and the character 

 of the fruit, of many kinds, require peculiar lo- 

 cations and qualities of soil to perfect them — 

 some requiring a colder, others a warmer, some 

 deeper, o hers lighter soil. The experience of 

 Pear growers in this country is as yet too limited 

 to make such discriminations to any extent 

 worthy of explicit confidence. 



There may be cases, but they are very rare, 

 and only when persons possess but a small gar- 

 den or limited plot of ground, where none but 

 moist cold soil can be had. The rempdy here 

 is to [)lant the tree nearly or quite on the surface 

 of the ground, and raise the earth in the form 

 of a hillock around it. This method is frequent- 

 ly resorted to where the subsoil is bad or unsui- 

 table. 



Chnicr, of Trees and Culture. — Trees inten- 

 ded fiar standards, or orchard culture, should be 

 propagated on seedling Pear stocks, and should 

 not, to succeed well, be more t!ian two }'ears old 

 from the inoculation, and about five to seven feet 

 high. 



The roots of the Pear, as is well known, are 

 but sparingly furnished with fibres, except they 

 have been frequently transplanted. Hence the 

 necessity of transplanting them while young. 



This transplanting large trees, however, is on- 

 ly necessary in this country where a tree hap- 

 pens to be in the way, or in an unsuitable place, 

 oi under sonie peculiar circumstances. Stan- 

 dard trees in orchard culture may be planted 

 tu-enty-five to thirty feet apart. 



The Pear is one of the most durable fruit trees 

 we cultivate. A Pear orcliard will live and pro- 

 duce abundantly, with little care, through three 

 or four generations of men. The most remar- 

 kable Pear tree we have heard of, on this conti- 

 nent, not for its age however, is said to be in 

 Vincennes, Illinois. We remember seeing an 

 account of it communicated through " Hovey's 

 Magazine," a few years ago, and it is mentioned 

 in " Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees." It is 

 said to be about 40 years old : in 1834 it yielded 

 184 bushels of Pears, and in 1840 it yielded 140 

 bushels. 



The old Slnveiisant Pmr, now standing in the 

 upper part of the City of New York, is said to 

 be upwards of 200 years old. So when a man 

 has planted a Pear tree he has made a permanent 

 improvement — one that will not only endure 

 while he lives, but ages after him. 



Such a Pear tree as the one just alluded to at 

 Vincennes, would be quite a respectable legacy 

 in this ])art of the country, equal to an annuity 

 of at least $200 per annum. 



Root Pruning is a comparatively new, but 

 entirely successful method of arresting the luxu- 

 riant growth of fruit trees, and inducing fruit- 

 fulness. It is particularly ajiplicableto the Pear, 

 many varieties of which," if left to their natural 

 course, would not bear for a great number of 

 years. Mr. Rivers, a distinguished English 

 Nurseryman, has practised this operation exten- 

 sively and with perfect success. In the fall of 

 the year, November, he digs a trench around the 

 trees, a foot and a half deep, — (the distance from 

 the tree should be proportioned to its size,) — and 

 cuts off the ends of the large roots with a sharp 

 spade. This he practices annually, supplying 

 manure abundantly at the ends of the roots. This 

 he says facilitatesthe thinning and gathering of 

 the fruit, makes the gardener independent of the 

 natural soil, and renders trees of fifteen ortwen- 

 ty years growth as easily removed as a piece o 

 furniture. In the March number of the 6th 

 volume of th.'s paper we spoke of this operation, 

 and gave a figure of a root jiruned Pear tree, as 

 grown by Mr. Rivers in the pyramidal form. 

 W^e recommend the matter to persons who have 

 unproductive fruit trees, but would suggest great 

 caution — better to err in pruning too little at first 

 than too much. 



Grafting or Budding on the Quince is a 

 a process resorted to for the purpose of dwarfing 



Its 



Pear trees of large size may be successfully , ... 



moved if proper care h;us been previously taken the growth and causing early trultfulness 

 to produce an abundance of fibrous roots— by advantage." are bringing it into popular favor m 

 l)runing or shortening the large feeders or woody this country. Many of the ^ finest gardens in 

 roots — by a method we shall presently allude to. | America, in the vicinity of Boston, are well 



