THE FRUIT GARDEN. 191 



but the majority of melting varieties do, and produce larger 

 and finer fruit on it than on the free stock. The tardiness 

 of bearing of the pear tree, when grown in the ordinary 

 standard form on pear stock, has, more than any otlie: 

 cause, retarded its general cultivation. ~No better proof 

 of this can be adduced than the general partiality now 

 shown for trees on quince stocks, that bear at the age of 

 three or four years. The introduction of these trees, a 

 few years ago, was really the first thing that gave a general 

 impulse to pear tree planting. With most people, it is a 

 very important thing to obtain fruit in two or three years, 

 instead of waiting eight or ten. The best management of 

 trees on free stocks, cannot bring them into a bearing state 

 short of six or seven years, unless it be some remarkably 

 precocious variety. People, therefore, who wish pear 

 trees for pyramids that are easily managed, and will bear 

 early, will select them on quince stocks, in case the va- 

 rieties they wish to cultivate have been proved to succeed 

 well on it. 



The Pear in the dwarf standard form, as in the 

 pyramidal, is much easier managed, and bears much 

 earlier on the quince than on the pear; indeed, these trees 

 are as easily managed as a standard apple tree. There 

 are some dwarf standards on the quince in our grounds 

 here, and in gardens in this city, that are now eight years . 

 old, and about seven to eight feet high, with trunks from 

 two to three feet, heads four to five feet high, and three 

 or four feet in width, that have borne regular and heavy 

 crops for the last four or five years, without any other care 

 than thinning out superfluous wood. The Cherry is as 

 easily managed in the pyramidal form as the pear, not 

 only the free-growing sorts, Hearts and Bigaweaus, but 

 the Diikes and Morellos; the latter, however, are less 

 vigorous, and more easily managed. All should be 

 worked on the mahalob stock ; this has the same effect on 



