CHAPTER XXXIV. 



THE PEAR. 



The wild pear of Europe and Asia is one of the most 

 austere of all fruits, entirely unfit for the palate, but 

 through the ameliorating influences of cross-breeding 

 and reproduction from seeds, it has become a favorite 

 fruit of modern times. The trees, under favorable cir- 

 cumstances, are very long-lived and exceedingly prolific. 

 Instances are on record of trees reaching the age of four 

 hundred years, and from one hundred to one hundred and 

 fifty bushels of fruit have have been gathered from a sin- 

 gle tree. The pear is propagated by budding and graft- 

 ing on its own roots for standards, and on the roots of the 

 quince for dwarfs. For orchard culture, standards are 

 much preferred, but for garden and amateur culture, 

 dwarfs are very interesting. Some varieties are grown 

 readily from cuttings. As was stated in the chapter on 

 seeds and seedlings, it is more difiicult in this country to 

 raise seedlings of the pear than of any other fruit tree. 

 The soil should be deep, rich and moist (not wet.) 



It is useless to plant pear seeds on poor, dry soils. The 

 seeds may be planted either in the spring or fall, and 

 require the best of cultivation to induce a vigorous 

 growth during the early part of the season, without 

 which failure often results. 



Good stocks may be obtained from the seeds of the 

 Jiardy common sorts, often found growing on farms, in a 



