252 TREATISE ON FRUIT TREES. 



as on the quince tree, & that the quince tree is just as mediocre a stock for pear trees as 

 the plum tree is for peach trees. 



Pear trees adapt to all exposures. Even a northern one can be used for the kinds 

 with fruit that ripens readily & takes on little color. In the same way we've indicated the 

 proper exposure for pear trees where it's important for them. 



Pear trees are pruned following the conventional rules. We'll add only one 

 observation to that. As this tree naturally is destined to grow large, the shoots that it 

 usually puts out are long & vigorous, and it seems only determined to grow larger, 

 postponing any evidence or even hope of fruitfulness. So during its early years it must not 

 be pruned hard for fear of altering the roots or causing it to produce only strong branches 

 & false wood, & to let it fill out with as many small branches that can remain without 

 cluttering it. If it appears too overgrown, after its youthful vigor has moderated & it's 

 ready to yield fruit, it can be reduced & cut back without harm because it will easily grow 

 again. So if the tree has been well taken care of for its first three or four years, any later 

 mistakes made contrary to the rules for pruning, either from need or neglect, are reparable 

 as long as the tree is not allowed to continue to age with its flaws. There are pear trees 

 that frequently are ten or twelve years old and that still haven't borne any fruit because 

 they'd never lengthened or filled out sufficiently. If instead they had filled out with small 

 branches, the only ones appropriate for yielding fruit, & if too hard a pruning hadn't 

 constantly increased the big ones, they would have been fruitful from their fourth or fifth 

 year onward. For further procedures for pruning, bud removal, training, &c. see the 

 section on General Cultivation [Translator's note: in Volume I]. 



