A FEW WORDS ON FRUIT CULTURE. 437 



violent changes of temperature. As the pear-tree (in its finer varie- 

 ties) is more delicate in its bark than any other fruit-tree excepting 

 the apricot, the best cultivators now agree as to the utility of sheath- 

 ing the stem from the action of the sun all the year round either 

 by keeping the branches low and thick, so as to shade the trunk and 

 principal limbs the best mode or by sheathing the stems with 

 straw thus preserving a uniform temperature. In all soils and cli- 

 mates naturally unfavorable to the pear, the culture of this tree is 

 far easier upon the quince stock than upon the pear stock ; and this, 

 added to compactness and economy of space for small gardens, has 

 trebled the demand for dwarf pears within the last half-dozen years. 

 The finest pears that make their appearance in our markets, are still 

 the White Doyenne (or Virgalieu), and the Bartlett. In Philadel- 

 phia the Seckel is abundant, but of late years the fruit is small and 

 inferior, for want of the high culture and manuring which this pear 

 demands. 



If we except the neighborhood of Rochester and a part of cen- 

 tral New- York (probably the future Belgium of America, as e- 

 gards the production of pears), the best fruit of this kind yet pro- 

 duced in the United States is still to be found in the neighborhood 

 of Boston. Neither climate nor soil are naturally favorable there, 

 but the great pomological knowledge and skill of the amateur and 

 professional cultivators of Massachusetts, have enabled them to make 

 finer shows of pears, both as regards quality and variety, than have 

 been seen in any part of the world. And this leads us to observe 

 that the very facility with which fruit is cultivated in America 

 consisting for the most part only in planting the trees, and gathering 

 the crop leads us into an error as to the standard of size and flavor 

 attainable generally. One half the number of trees well cultivated, 

 manured, pruned, and properly cared for, annually, would give a 

 larger product of really delicious and handsome fruit, than is now 

 obtained from double the number of trees, and thrice the area of 

 ground. The difficulty usually lies in the want of knowledge, and 

 the high price of labor. But the horticultural societies in all parts 

 of the country, are gradually raising the criterion of excellence 

 among amateurs, and the double and 'treble prices paid lately by 

 confectioners for finely-grown specimens, over the market value of 



