148 Oh PEARS. 



from the walls, from one foot to eighteen inches 

 and upwards. [_See Plate VII. Letter C] The 

 constant pruning inevitably brings on the canker ; 

 and, by the spurs standing out so far from the 

 wall, the blossom and fruit are liable to be much 

 injured by the frost and blighting winds, and 

 thus the sap will not have a free circulation all 

 over the tree. The sap will always find its way 

 first to the extremities of the shoots ; and the 

 spurs will only receive in a small proportion, as it 

 returns from the ends of the branches. The 

 fruit standing at so great a distance from the 

 wall is too much exposed to the weather, and, of 

 course is liable to be hard, spotted, and kernelly ; 

 as Letter D. Plate VII. 



I have adopted the following method when the 

 trees were all over cankered, and the fruit small, 

 and not fit to be sent to the table. I cut the 

 tops off as near as possible to where they were 

 grafted ; always observing to crt as close to a 

 joint or bud as possible. The buds are hardly 

 perceptible ; but you can always know where the 

 joints, or forks, are, by the branches breaking out 

 of the side. 



Finding the Pear-trees in Kensington Gardens 

 in a very cankery and unfruitful state, in the 

 years 1784 and 5, I took out the old mould 

 from the borders against the walls, and put in 

 fresh loam in its stead ; at the same time I 

 pruned and nailed the trees in the common way, 

 and left them in that state upwards of eighteen 



