NEW ZEALAND GARDENING. 51 



bearing. Rampant growing varieties should therefore be 

 grafted on quince stocks, and the shy growers on the pear 

 stock. Where the situation is naturally damp, and the soil 

 rich in character, the quince will thrive ; but where it is very 

 dry and sandy, it will make little progress, and the fruit will 

 be small and gritty. Common observation will, however, 

 easily enable any 'one to determine whether the soil is suitable 

 for the one stock or the other. 



The mode of training is another subject deserving atten- 

 tion. If the espalier system is preferred, it must be 

 remembered that it involves a considerable outlay in the 

 first place if a permanent railing of iron is erected, and if 

 wooden stakes are employed, then these are constantly giving 

 way, and fresh ones are required ; endless expense is conse- 

 quently incurred. Dwarf standards, if properly managed, 

 will obviate the use of these expensive props. If the ground 

 is properly drained an essential point as regards the flavour 

 of the fruit as well as the productiveness of the trees they 

 may be planted ten or fifteen feet apart. Should they grow 

 too vigorously which is often the case with pears grafted on 

 their own stocks this may be counteracted by simply stick- 

 ing a few strong stakes into the ground, to which the 

 branches should be tied, drawing them gently towards the 

 earth till the bark begins to creak. This system checks the 

 flow of sap, and causes the formation of fruit buds. If this 

 treatment has not the desired effect, then judicious root 

 pruning or transplanting must be resorted to. The most 

 important point in the management of pear trees hinges on 

 the Summer pruning. Many imagine that' when the trees 

 are planted there is nothing more to be done, except picking 

 the fruit. This notion has converted some little gardens into 

 little forests. During the Summer let the superfluous shoots 

 be stopped back to within three inches of the old bearing 

 wood broken off rather than cut. This will cause flower 

 buds to be formed at the base of the shoots so treated. 

 The projecting part can be removed in Autumn or Winter, 

 close to the fruit buds. By following this mode of treat- 

 ment the trees will be kept within a limited space and their 

 productiveness secured. The following varieties will be found 

 suitable for general purposes : Williams' Boncretian and 



