Probable Characters to be loolced for in a seedling Pear-iree. 293 



cementing- itself into one conglomerated rock, already laid int o 

 the walls, and by the addition of a stucco, is for ever painted in 

 80 good an imitation of granite (or other stone) as, in some in- 

 stances, to excel in beauty even the granite itself. 



Any further information will be given with pleasure on appli- 

 cation. 



Kalamazoo, Mich. 



PROBABLE CHARACTERS TO BE LOOKED FOR 

 IN A SEEDLING PEAR TREE. 



/. de Jonghe, Brussels. 



T is by no means a difficult task to discover 



in a seedling Pear-tree the indication of its 



Sf HHM!^^^^ probable worth. It is only necessary to observe 



/ mmS^^^Wm^ the characteristics of five or six good varieties 



raised in the end of the last centurj^, which 



<^y have been worked on the Pear stock, and 



>fX which bear good fruit when the trees are placed 



in the conditions required for producing well. It 



is then, also, that the characters are displayed to 



the fullest extent in the stem, in the branches, in 



the shoots, the wood, the' fruit, and the leaves. 



Once these characters are understood, it is easy 

 to discover them in seedlings, and the estimation of 

 the value of one of these, becomes a matter regulated by skillful 

 investigation. Nevertheless, it is necessary to state that these 

 characters are much more prominent in the more recently improved 

 sorts, and are therefore more easily recognised and placed beyond 

 doubt. 



An experienced practitioner finds the first indications of a prom- 

 ising seedling in the seed leaves. If these have long petioles, and 

 are themselves long, narrow, of a delicate green, and deeply 

 serrated at the margin, with the surface finely and delicately ret- 

 iculated, there is a good prospect ; if on the contrary, the petiole 

 is short and thick, the leaf round, thick, without serratures, white 



