38 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



ill any, but to plant the trees, and apply the manure liberally 

 upon the surface afterwards. • 



The trees should be planted with great care, the roots placed 

 in their natural positions, and the earth carefully packed about 

 them. Trees upon the pear root should be planted at the same 

 depth they stood in the nursery, but those upon the quince 

 should be planted so deep that from two to three inches of the 

 jDcar stock will be covered with earth. This will secure the trees 

 against being disturbed by the winds, and will induce, in most 

 instances, roots from the pear. Of several hundred trees upon 

 the quince, planted five and six years ago, to which my attention 

 has been especially directed, most have roots, some very large, 

 from the pear stock. 



Pear growers differ in opinion as to the best season for plant- 

 ing the trees. I have seen the best results from those planted 

 in the autumn. They should be set as soon as possible after the 

 ripening of their leaves, that they may get fairly imbedded in 

 the earth before the ground freezes. If planted in the spring, 

 they should be set as early as the frosts and the condition of the 

 soil will permit ; if possible, before the buds have commenced 

 to push. 



Pear trees should be manured annually, in the autumn, after 

 they have lost their leaves. The manure operates as a mulch 

 to prevent the injurious effects of freezing and thawing, and the 

 mineral substances in it are washed by the rains of autiunn and 

 spring into the ground, and furnish nutriment to the trees in 

 their first summer growth, which is of great importance. If the 

 manure is applied late in the spring or in the summer, it tends 

 to stimulate a late growth, "which frequently does not ripen, and 

 causes blight. A wheelbarrow load of good manure or compost 

 should be placed around each young tree. If not well rotted, 

 it will be well to draw earth around the trunk of the tree to 

 prevent injury to the bark from the action of the manure. 



« 



Selection of Trees. 

 Particular attention should be paid to the health and vigor of 

 the trees to be planted. If selected from a nursery, those trees 

 only should be taken which have been planted a sufficient dis- 

 tance from others to allow the proper growth of the roots. The 

 trees should be well shaped and of vigorous growth. Never 



