PEARS ADAPTED FOB BUSH CTTLTURE. 19 



compost for pear trees. It is good practice to add 

 half a bushel of burnt earth, or the same quantity of 

 sand, to a barrowful of this moor earth. Leaf mold 

 (or rotten manure), loam, and sand, equal parts, form 

 also an excellent compost : in planting, one wheelbar- 

 rowful to a tree will be enough. In London suburban 

 gardens, for which these trees are peculiarly adapted, 

 no compost need be given to the trees in replanting, 

 for the soil in them is generally rich. These bush 

 trees offer two very great advantages — ^they are easily 

 protected ii'om spring frosts when in blossom by 

 covering them with tiffany, and they may be planted 

 from three to five feet apart, so as to be eligible for 

 very small gardens with great facility. 



In large gardens in situations exposed to the wind, 

 large bushes may be desirable. In suCh cases the 

 leading shoots on each branch may be pinched, as 

 recommended for pyramids (page 8) ; but instead of 

 pinching them to three leaves, they may be suffered 

 to make ten leaves and then be pinched, leaving 

 seven. The trees will, if treated in this manner, soon 

 become large, compact, and fruitful. 



The following varieties are well adapted for bush 

 culture, as they are spreading in their growth and 

 difficult to form into compact pyramids, although 

 they may be made into spreading and prolific conical 

 trees. It ought, however, to be mentioned that those 

 sorts, such as Louise Bonne of Jersey, which form 

 handsome pyramids, make very pretty compact 

 bushes by cutting out the central branch to within 

 three feet of the ground ; so that pyramids may be 

 easily formed into bushes. I may add that these bush 



