320 MASSACHUSETTS AGEICULTURE. 



Slatemeyit of Jabez Fisher. 



The " statement " required by the rules of the W. N. A. 

 Society being, as I understand it, chiefly, if not entirely, for the 

 benefit of tlie public, I propose to include in that statement the 

 history and management of the whole of my central pear 

 orchard, the westerly half only of which is entered for premium. 

 Said half was planted in the spring of 1854. The easterly 

 portion was planted in the spring of 1855 and 1856, and to 

 some extent in 1857, and there are still remaining a few yacan- 

 cies to be filled. The orchard is intended, eventually, to com- 

 prise 1,037 trees, of which one-third are upon pear stocks, and 

 the other two-thirds are upon the quince. 



The form in which the trees are set is that known as the 

 modern quincunx, in which each standard tree occupies a corner 

 of an equilateral triangle, the sides of which measure eighteen 

 feet. In the centre of each triangle, (of which there are two 

 to each standard,) at a distance of about ten feet five inches 

 from each other, are placed those upon the quince. This 

 arrangement gives to the trees a more equal distribution over 

 the ground than any other, and secures to each the greatest 

 amount of sunlight and air compatible with the distance at 

 which they are placed one from another. It also allows of 

 horse cultivation in three different directions, a most important 

 aid in the after management. The entire orchard occupies 

 about two and one-third acres. The soil is a strong loam, 

 resting upon a clay bottom, with mica slate underlying at a 

 depth of five to fifteen feet. The soil is one retentive of mois- 

 ture, and requires drainage. 



In the spring of 1854 the land was a clean piece of mowing. 

 I commenced by digging holes five feet in diameter and twenty 

 to tw^enty-two inches deep. The holes were filled with sods 

 and loam that were thrown out in digging, and enough more 

 was borrowed from the sides to set the trees in. The trees 

 were procured from Hon. M. P. Wilder, of Dorchester, the 

 standards being mostly worth a dollar each, and the dwarfs 

 were imported trees, two years from the bud on the Angers 

 quince. The standards were placed rather high in the ground, 

 though after the soil had settled, some of them proved to be too 

 high, and a few have been lowered. The shape assumed by the 



