172 NEW AMERICAN ORCHARDIST. 



The quince, when exposed, is liable to danger from the 

 borer in the same degree as the apple tree. Their attacks 

 always commence in the parts exposed above ground, or 

 at the surface of the earth, and never beneath. In trans- 

 planting the pears, therefore, the quince stock must al- 

 ways be completely buried, more than an inch beneath 

 the soil. Thus situated and protected, the quince stock, 

 from its nature, will strike root suddenly, new and numerous 

 roots being produced on all sides, quite to the junction of 

 the pear. Such is the mode adopted in practice by S. G. 

 Perkins, Esq., and by other experienced cultivators, for 

 the complete protection of the quince stock from all dan- 

 gers of every kind. 



SOIL AND DISTANCE. The pear flourishes in rich soils 

 and gentle declivities; they will succeed in the most com- 

 mon, deep, dry soil, and throw out numerous lateral shoots. 

 But they do not flourish in moist situations; in a cold, 

 strong, moist soil, with a clayey subsoil, they throw out 

 very few lateral roots, the fruit is not so fair, nor of so 

 good a quality, and the trees are not so long-lived. They 

 will even grow in poor soils, and in the clefts of rocks. 



With respect to distance, the same observations to be 

 found under the head of Apple, may here apply. But the 

 pear, from its pyramidal form, requires much less space. 

 Twenty feet, in suitable soils, is a good distance ; but less 

 answers in poorer soils. But Quenouilles are found to 

 answer even at four or five feet distance, producing large 

 crops ; and as they occupy but little space, and come sud- 

 denly into bearing, they are, for profit, extensively cultivated 

 in France. The specimen pear trees which I saw at the 

 Jardin du Roi, or Garden of Plants, at Paris, in the autumn 

 of 1840, were under the particular care and management 

 of Mons. Dalbret, the pupil of Thouin, and himself the 

 author of a most valuable work on pruning. These trees 

 were kept in the most perfect Quenouille or pyramidal 

 form, from the summit quite down to the ground, by the 

 system of short or spur pruning ; and although at the dis- 

 tance of but about seven feet asunder, yet they appeared 

 to have ample space, and bore most abundant crops. But 

 M. Dalbret then stated that ten feet was the most suita- 

 ble distance. In our own climate, and with more heat and 

 sunshine, and finer skies, less distance might suffice. 

 Pears produced on quince stocks are found to be much 



