OTHER ORCHARD TREES. 1 07 



CHAPTER XXII. 



OTHER ORCHARD TREES. 



THE PEAR. We have already stated that the apple, the 

 pear, and the quince belong to the rose family. The form of 

 their fruit with seed in a hard box or core shows their resem- 

 blance. Our different varieties of pears have all been derived 

 from the common pear of Europe by cultivation and selection. 

 These fruits all change somewhat with soil, climate, and treat- 

 ment. According to the size of the tree we class pears as 

 "standards" and "dwarfs." The standards are formed by 

 grafting or budding from the improved varieties on to seedlings 

 as stocks. The pear trees that are purchased for an orchard 

 are therefore first grown from pear seed and then grafted or 

 budded. Transplanting in the nursery induces a greater growth 

 of fibrous roots than if the trees were kept growing in one 

 place. So that better results are sure to follow from getting 

 trees that have been well cared for, even if they cost more 

 money. When trees are transplanted some of the top is pruned 

 off and the trees are cut back. Why? In transplanting some 

 of the roots are likely to be damaged, and all are not likely to 

 start work at once ; therefore the old top would be too large in 

 proportion to the amount of feeding roots. 



The dwarf pear trees are produced by budding on the 

 quince as a stock. The quince will not take the buds of all 

 varieties of pears, so that it is sometimes necessary to "double 

 work " them. This is done by budding on the quince with 

 any pear bud that will take, and then afterwards budding on 

 this pear stock with the buds of the varieties desired. 



