62 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



dance for twenty-five or thirty years, and its life is thus short 

 because of its overbearing. 



The pear needs little pruning as compared with the apple, 

 and the work should be performed at the same season of the 

 year, namely, June. It is an excellent plan to cut in young 

 and very thrifty trees ; that is, shorten back the new growth, 

 because, if the trees are very thrifty, they will sway round and 

 become ill-shapen. 



Pear-trees will bear to be planted much nearer than apple ; 

 in fact, about double the number should be planted on an acre, 

 if standards ; if dwarfs, double the number of standards ; the 

 former we plant fifteen by twenty feet, the latter six by ten or 

 ten by ten. The pear-tree has few insect enemies, and in this 

 respect is more highly favored than the apple. We do not 

 believe that fruit culture, whether of pears or other fruit, is so 

 wonderfully profitable in dollars as some writers would have us 

 believe ; but we do think fruit culture, under favorable circum- 

 stances, is much more profitable than ordinary farm crops. • 



But we pass from this branch of our subject, to refer to the 

 peach, the most luscious fruit of our northern climate. Years 

 ago, before the yellows made their appearance and the forests 

 were cut off, good crops of this fruit were raised even here. 



For the last fifteen or twenty years it has become more diffi- 

 cult to raise the peach. This fruit cannot be relied upon as 

 formerly as a profitable one for the market. We advise all to 

 plant a few trees each year, with the hope that once in three or 

 four years they may raise some peaches. The duration of the 

 life of the tree depends very much on the way it is managed. 

 We have a tree on our place that was one of a lot of which all 

 but this were set out and cultivated highly and died years ago, 

 while this one, planted in grass ground, and only manured so 

 as to keep it in good condition, is now more than twenty years 

 old, with no signs of disease, and has given, some seasons, large 

 crops of fruit. 



We believe much depends upon the mode of cultivation. If 

 they are forced into great growth by high manuring, they will, 

 like the cherry-tree, surely die off. Then shelter is of the 

 greatest importance with this fruit. It is said that very cold 

 weather will kill the fruit-buds, and so it will, when they are 

 exposed to the cold winds ; but in sheltered places they will 



