STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. HT' 



Wiiikfield in illustration of his success — the latter grown on a 

 thorn stock.] 



When I went upon the place I now occupy, neither the apple 

 or the pear trees were in a flourishing condition ; but I have 

 mulched them and have raised up the earth, I think two feet about 

 every tree, and they now bear annually. I have served hundreds 

 of trees in that way. I would n't fear banking them up to the 

 limbs ; there is no trouble at all about it. Whether the root is a 

 thorn or a true pear, if the root does not supply the top with food, 

 by bearing every year the tree exhausts its forces, and then we 

 get no fruit. 



Mr. Simpson Does n't your heavy mulching prevent the growth 

 of the roots ? 



Mr. Smith. No, sir. I think they grow better for it. 



Mr. G. B. Sawyer. Don't j'ou think pears require deeper set- 

 ting than other fruit trees ? 



Mr. Smith. No, I don't. I think the great want is drainage ; 

 the land is not underdrained. There is more suffering every where 

 from wet feet than from anything else. People dig holes and put 

 their trees in them, and the water comes in and stands there more 

 than it does anywhere else, and they wonder why the trees die. 

 The reason is wet feet, in my opinion. 



Mr. Sawyer. To the general question propounded, whether 

 pear culture in Maine is to bo recommended, I think this society 

 ought to give an affirmative answer, with the qualification that 

 pears must be grown subject to the special conditions which they 

 require, which, I believe, are somewhat different from, and more 

 exacting than those which exist with reference to apples and some 

 othe;- fruits. I believe the pear is much more sensitive to climatic 

 conditions and sudden changes in the condition of the soil. Hence 

 arises the necessity of protection. I believe we need to protect, 

 not from the cold or the winds alone, but from the operation of the 

 sun — from sudden thawing and freezing, and to protect not only 

 the trunk of the tree, but the roots. I believe that the universal 

 experience is that where pear trees have suff'ered, it is on the side 

 exposed to the sun. This is perhaps best prevented by allowing 

 the trees to form low heads, so as to shade the trunks ; or it may 

 be done by artificial means, such as tying up the trunks with straw 

 or placing boards against them. I believe that this cracking and 

 blight are produced by the same causes ; that the cracking of the 

 pear results from sudden changes in the condition of the soil, pro- 



