THE COUNTRY HOME [chapter 



every weak shoot cut out. The pear tree is har- 

 dier than the apple, and needs less care — except 

 to see that it does not get choked or checked in 

 growth. However small your homestead may be, 

 don't try to get along with less than three or four 

 pear trees. Plant them near the house, and in sod 

 land; but, as I have directed, thoroughly mulched, 

 and annually forked about. When you have be- 

 come a thoroughly naturalized countryman, and 

 possibly a market gardener, you can plant your 

 pears in rows and plow among them. 



For a country home you can afford to plant 

 peaches quite freely, even where there is very un- 

 certain fruitage. I have best success with Car- 

 man, a noble and beautiful very early peach; fol- 

 lowed by Waddell, one of the best in the whole list; 

 and this by Champion, a nearly white freestone of 

 magnificent quality. Seedlings of early Crawford 

 are very likely to give you satisfaction, and old trees 

 of Crosby are nearly as hardy as Green Gage plums. 

 This variety needs thinning out very sharply, to 

 give you a decent feast. Those who have never eaten 

 peaches right off the trees know much about 

 them. I rarely find one in market that comes near 

 the notch of that juicy, rich, sweet, absolutely sat- 



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