71 



not to spade in any, but to plant the trees, and apply tlie 

 manure liberally upon the surface afterwards. 



The trees should be planted with great care, the roots 

 placed in their natural positions, and the earth carefully 

 packed about them. Trees upon the pear root should be 

 planted at the same depth they stood in the nursery, but 

 those upon the quince should be planted so deep that from 

 two to three inches of the pear stock will be covered with 

 earth. This will secure the trees against being disturbed by 

 the winds, and will induce, in most instances, roots from the 

 pear. Of several hundred trees upon the quince, planted 

 five and six years ago, to which my attention has been es- 

 pecially directed, most have roots, some very large, from the 

 pear stock. 



Pear growers differ in opinion as to the best season for 

 planting the trees. I have seen the best results from those 

 planted in the autumn. They should be set as soon as pos- 

 sible after the ripening of their leaves, that they may get fairly 

 imbedded in the earth before the ground freezes. If planted 

 in the spring, they should be set as early as the frosts and the 

 condition of the soil will permit ; if possible, before the buds 

 have commenced to push. 



Pear trees should be manured annually, in the autumn, 

 after they have lost their leaves. The manure operates as a 

 mulch to prevent the injurious effects of freezing and thaw- 

 ing, and the mineral substances in it are washed by the rains 

 of autumn and spring into the ground, and furnish nutriment 

 to the trees in their first summer growth, which is of great 

 importance. If the manure is applied late in the spring or 

 in the summer, it tends to stimulate a late growth, which 

 frequently does not ripen, and causes blight. A wheelbarrow 

 load of good manure or compost should be placed around 

 each young tree. If not well rotted, it will be well to draw 

 earth around the trunk of the tree to prevent injury to the 

 bark from the action of the manure. 



