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Duchesse d'Angouleme alone excepted, which thrives best 

 on quince stock. The Dwarf as a rule goes to bearing soon 

 after planting, and bearing a few specimens every year, keeps 

 it in a stunted and sickly state, and when a dozen years old, 

 it is next to worthless, whereas the Standard, being as I ma}'" 

 say a natural tree, goes to growing wood for future use, 

 which is necessary before it ought to bear fruit for profit. We 

 must not think that they are backward in bearing either, for 

 we find our best varieties six years from planting (soon 

 enough) well spurred for fruiting, with suflicient dimensions 

 to bear two bushels of pears, and with me such varieties as 

 the Bartlett, Belle Lucrative, and Beurre Clairgeau, have 

 produced abundantly the fourth year from planting ; but I 

 would rather my trees grow wood than fruit, until they ob- 

 tain sufficient size to hold up the fruit. In picking and 

 ripening fruit,' a good rule to follow when to pick pears is, 

 on gently lifting the fruit the stem will separate from the 

 limb, and the best place to keep them, is a dark, cool, dry 

 room, with a good circulation of air. I pick Bartletts, Sept. 

 1st, ripe the 15th; Beurre Clairgeau, Oct. 1st, ripe Nov. 

 10th ; Beurre Bosc, Oct. 1st, ripe the 20th ; Duchesse d'An- 

 gouleme, Oct. 10th, ripe Nov. 10th ; Louise Bonne de Jer- 

 sey, Sept. 20th, rijje Oct. 5th ; Sheldon, Sept. 25th, ripe 

 Oct. 15th ; Seckel, Sept. 25th, ripe Oct. 10th ; Lawrence, 

 Oct. 10th, ripe from Dec, 1st to Jan. 1st ; Beurre d'Anjou, 

 Oct. 10th, ripe Dec. 1st ; Vicar of Winkfield, Oct. 10th, or 

 as long as you can safely leave them to grow ; they will keep 

 in a good, dry cellar till March, and are fit to eat from De- 

 cember to that time ; treat Winter Nelis the same as the 

 Vicar. Another good pear, that I raise myself, I must not 

 pass over, that is the Belle Lucrative, very productive, 

 though a good pear it is not very salable in the market. You 

 must bear in mind that the seasons and circumstances have 

 a great deal to do with keeping fruit. I give you these dates 

 as the proper time to pick, and when ripe in our climate, 

 considering all things favorable to the fruit. 



