340 Pmr Stock vs. Qwiuce. Stock. 



to keep it alive, therefore a dwarf is a starvling. To make 

 a tree fruitful you must sicken it. This may be performed by 

 partially girdling it or cutting off the roots. Trees so treated 

 never recover. So it is with a dwarf, born of a disease, it cannot 

 naturally be expected to produce an amount of fruit equal to a 

 healthy standard. The pear engrafted upon the mountain ash 

 rarely survives the third year. On the thorn and apple its 

 sojourn is of longer duration. On the quince it will vary from 

 one to twenty-five years. 



Many varieties of pear cannot be induced to grow on the 

 quince unless double worked ; other kinds will live one or 

 two years, others again five and six years. A few sorts that are 

 rampant growers as standards, exhibit a similar redundancy oa 

 the quince stock. This may be accounted for in the fact, that all 

 rapid growing trees or plants derive a large share of nourish- 

 ment from the atmosphere. Thus it is that the free growing 

 varieties of pear invariably take kindly to the quince. It cannot 

 be denied that large quantities of fruit may be induced on 

 dwarfs by extra cultivation, for the simple reason that if you 

 incessantly apply nutriment to the roots a large proportion 

 must find its way to the fruit. But can this undue excitement be 

 sustained for any considerable period ? I opine not, as it is not 

 only inconsistent with Nature's laws, but experience has thus far 

 denounced its practicability. The advocates of dwarfs cite 

 many instances of extraordinary success attending their cultiva- 

 tion. That these instances do occur, I cannot denj', but the 

 coterie is quite small when compared with the almost innumera- 

 ble occasions where bitter disappointment is realized instead of 

 fruitful, healthful trees. 



Some who have written on the subject say that the trees 

 should have a mound of earth, raised high enough to cover 

 several inches of the scion, in order that it may be induced 

 to throw out roots. This advice is certainly very good, but 

 can the tree, under such circumstances, be considered a dwarf, 

 when it is indebted to the roots emitted by the scion for 

 sustenance ? Most certainly not ; only proving a powerful argu- 

 ment in favor of standards. 



To remedy many of the above enumerated evils, tree growers 

 have introduced a variety of the quince that more closely assimi- 



