574 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



for any length of time it must be severely shortened in. 

 If the tree has good roots, the top will soon be renewed. 

 Severe pruning at this time is the only way to make the 

 tree branch out near the ground, so as to shade the trunk 

 and give a tine pyramidal shape. To secure this, plant 

 maiden trees, or those one year old from the bud. When 

 they have grown one year, cut back the branches in 

 the winter; pinch in any shoots, during the summer, that 

 would mar the symmetry of the tree, or remove them en- 

 tirely, if supertluous. 



Head back the leader each year, to strengthen the side 

 branches. The leader must be shortened more or less, 

 according to its vigor. A little practice will enable any 

 one of ordinary judgment to form his trees in the desired 

 shape. Do not let the branches remain so close together 

 that, w r hen they come to bear, they will cause the fruit 

 and foliage in the interior to suffer from want of air; keep 

 the lower shoots the longest by pinching those above, 

 when disposed to overgrow them. This makes a beautiful 

 tree, ornamental even for a flower garden. 



A greater number of varieties of the pear are in cultiva- 

 tion than of any other fruit. Of those that have fruited 

 here, the following are the most desirable. The varieties 

 do not always observe with us the order as laid down in 

 the books. 



Madeline. — Fruit medium, obovate, tapering to the 

 stem, which is long and slender, set on the side of a small 

 swelling; skin smooth, yellowish-green; calyx small, in 

 a shallow basin; flesh white, melting, juicy, sweet, and 

 perfumed. Eipe from the 1st to the 15th of June. 



Doyenne d'Ete, or Summer Doyenne. — Fruit small, 

 roundish, slightly turbinate; skin smooth, light yellow, 

 shaded with bright red, sprinkled 'with small gray or 

 russet dots; stalk rather short, thick, fleshy where in- 



