STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 109 



1,000 feet of iron pipe which cost me $80. I elevate the water 

 into a tank twenty feet high, so as to give a head foi' the beds, as 

 well as to run it on the plants. 



Mr. Varney. I want to say a word about the fall setting of 

 strawberries. I have had the best success with fall setting. I 

 would have my plants ready and set them when the ground was 

 in suitable condition, if I had to wait until the first of October. I 

 have had the best success in setting towards the latter part of 

 September. If I couldn't run a strawberry bed but one year, I 

 shouldn't want to undertake it. I should use my beds three years 

 and sometimes more. By setting when the plants are well rooted, 

 as late as the middle or last of September, I almost always get a 

 crop the following year, and get rid of the severe drought of 

 August. 



Discussion on Pear Culture. 



President Gilbert. It has been stated that pear culture in 

 Maine is assuming more importance every year. The most impor- 

 tant matter for us to determine is, what varieties can be success- 

 fully grown in this State, and it is hoped that the discussion will 

 draw out further information in regard to this matter. The dis- 

 cussion, as announced in the programme, will be opened by Mr. 

 McLauglin of Bangor. 



Mr. McLaughlin. Without attempting an apology, I would 

 say that when I received a note from the Secretary requesting me 

 to say something on this subject, I did not take the trouble to 

 decline as I ought to have done. When I saw my name on the 

 programme, I concluded that my place had been assigned on the 

 principle of a court martial, where they put the junior member on 

 trial first. I intended to read up with reference to the subject, 

 but have neglected to do so. 



My idea is that the cultivation of the pear in Maine should rank 

 only second to that of the apple, and yet I should hesitate to 

 advise an indiscriminate rushing into pear culture in all our local- 

 ities, with the expectation of getting reliable crops without get- 

 ting pear trees killed every two or three j-ears. If a man puts a 

 few dollars into pear trees and occasionally loses one, he is apt to 

 feel very badly about it, but if a merchant loses a few dollars, he 

 takes it as a matter in the regular course of trade. 



The selection of the location is a very pretty thing in theory, 

 but a man can hardly change his soil, and many of us haven't 



