156 OF PEARS. 



If the above directions be followed, you will get 

 more pears in three or four years than you can in 

 twenty-five years by planting young trees, and 

 pruning and managing them in the common way. 



If you should find, that, before the pears arrive 

 at half their natural size, they get stunted, after 

 cold bligliting winds, and frosty nights (such as we 

 have had for several years past in the months of 

 June and July), I would recommend a new oper- 

 ation to be performed when the weather begins to 

 ffrow mild. 



Take a sharp penknife, and with the point of it 

 make an incision through the rind of the pear 

 from the footstalk to the eye, in the same way as 

 you would scarify a bark-bound tree, taking care 

 to penetrate as little into the flesh of the pear as 

 possible. At the same time beat up some fresh 

 cow-dung with wood-ashes, and with your fore- 

 finger rub in a little of this Composition where you 

 made the scarification ; as the wound heals, the 

 Composition will be discharged from the fruit; 

 this will prevent the pears from cracking and 

 bursting, which renders them good for nothing. 

 The sorts that are most liable to this disorder are, 

 the Col mar, Virgouleuse, and Crasanne. 



I only recommend this operation for wall pears. 

 It may be thought by some a troublesome oper- 

 ation. It certainly will take up some time ; but 

 sure I am, that no gardener, who wishes to have 

 his master's table well supplied with fine peai^ 

 during the winter, will grumble at losing a few. 



