PEAR 



growth, anil alsci to mitigiite tlie lialiiliiy to alternate 

 freezing and thawing in wintir. a nortlicrly or north- 

 easterly slope is to be pnt'crnd ; wlii.'h, however, 

 should be so gradual as not to siriously interfere with 

 the convenience of cultivation. As wi- approach the 

 northern limit of practicable Pear culture, however, 

 a modification of this rule of selection may be found 

 desirable, since, with the shorter growing season, a 

 warmer exposure may prove necessary as a means of 

 hastening maturity. 



4. Soi7s.— While the Pear tree will yield more or less 

 satisfactory results in a variety of soils, it is found to 

 succeed most perfectly in a strong loam, of moderate 



PEAK 



1245 



mit such peculiarity to its offspring. Seeds resulting 

 from known or artificial c-ross-fi-rtiliz.itinn, and there- 

 fore of known and scl.-cii-d pannt.i^-i- on both sides, 

 offer increased probability of valuabli- n^ults. Seeds 

 intended for the originatic.n of m-w vari.tiis should be 

 planted very thinly in strong, rirb, dt-i-ply prepared 

 soil, in a single row. and covered with not more than an 

 inch of earth, so that the young plants shall have ample 

 space for development. 



Seeds intended for the growing of stocks for nur- 

 sery purposes should be collected from varieties in 

 which the seeds are plump and well developed, as well 

 as from healthy, vigorous trees. American nurserymen 



depth, overlying a porous subsoil. Soils which are lia- 

 ble to be wet during any considerable portion of the 

 growing season are unfit for this purpose, unless deeply 

 and thoroughly underdrained ; while even then they 

 are quite liable not to prove fully satisfactory. A few 

 varieties are found to be moderately successful on 

 sandy soils, but for general planting such soils should 

 be avoided. 



5. Manures.- The liability of the Pear tree, in this 

 climate, to the attacks of blight is thought to be in- 

 (T.asr.l l,y .•x.'.ssiv.- -r.,wth. It is, therefore, desirable 

 tlii.t 111.' ;iiiiiii,il L,'ri>«ili I H- completed and ripened at as 

 .ally ;i .l:ii. .i~ |irjr 1 1,;, 1,1,. ; and the more so, since the 



nded 

 illow 



drills. In our American climate the foliage and un- 

 ripened wood of seedling Pears is very liable to be at- 

 tacked during midsummer by leaf-blight or mildew, 

 which prematurely arrests their growth. For this reason 

 European stocks are generally preferred by nurserymen. 

 This attack of mildew may often be partially or wholly 

 avoided by planting in virgin soil remote from other 

 cultivated grounds. Pear seedlings form a very long 

 tap-root during their first year, with few. if aiiv, side- 

 roots. For this reason they are taken up pn f. ihIiU in 

 autumn, and the tap-roots shortened to li .u- s inili,^. 



they 



newed fj) 

 phorus. ^ 

 position 

 ist in ex 

 either an 

 applied t 



illv trans 

 , with the 

 iless, and 

 rs usually 



ir charac- 

 illy recog- 



tlie occa- 

 r.Uing by 

 I' ditTerent 



purpose of keeping the earth cool, nn.l :il-" k. .Ijeck 

 evaporation from the soil; but this -Im.hM i;..t 1.. ,l,,ne 



mulch sill. Ill, I l„. k.|.t «,-ll pulverized. 



6. P/v./. .;./.(;--„ ,, I Hv seedlings: Seeds, when to 



be plant, -,1 r..r il ii-iiiation of new varieties, should 



be selecte,! tr,.iii w.il i.'iown and fully matured fruits, 

 of such varieties as possess in a high degree the quali- 

 ties sought to be reproduced or improved, since a va- 

 riety in which a characteristic is strongly developed 

 and persi.stently manifested is the more likely to trans- 



1.-. iiu|M,r.,il,lc to fiiruscc U) wliat extent such transfer 

 may interfere with the occult formative processes 

 through which its ultimate qualities would have been 

 developed. 



(6) By budding: Seedlings of one or two years' 

 growth, intended for standard trees, are usually planted 

 from 6 to 10 inches apart in the nursery row; for the 

 reason that space, as well as cultivation, must be econo- 

 mized to correspond with prices, although it is impos- 

 sible to grow trees of good form and properly branched 

 of the size and age demanded by most planters when 

 thus closely planted. Trees thus closely planted should 

 be removed, or at least thinned, after having made one 



