INTRODUCTION xi 



sufficiently to form blossom-buds. Canker then comes on, 

 and although the trees do not die, they rarely give fruit, 

 and in a few years become victims of ^bad culture, existing 

 in a sort of living death. 



There is, perhaps, no fruit tree that claims or deserves 

 our attention equal to a pear. How delicious is a fine melt- 

 ing pear all the winter months ! and to what a lengthened 

 period in the spring may they be brought to table ! Till 

 lately, Beurr^ Ranee has been our best spring pear ; but 

 this is a most uncertain variety, rarely keeping till the end 

 of May, and often ripening in January and February. 



The Belgian pears, raised many years since by the late 

 Major Esperen, and more recently by Monsieur Gr^goire, 

 are likely for the present to be the most valuable for pro- 

 longing the season of rich melting pears ; and of these 

 Josephine de Malines and Bergamotte d'Esperen are espe- 

 cially deserving of notice ; they have the excellent quality 

 of ripening slowly. But improvement will, I have no 

 doubt, yet take place ; for pears are so easily raised from 

 seed, and so soon brought into bearing by grafting or 

 budding them on the quince stock, that new and valuable 

 late pears will soon be as plentiful as new roses. 



In the following pages it will be seen that I strongly 

 advocate the .culture of pyramidal fruit trees. This is no 

 new idea with me. I have paid many visits to the Conti- 

 nental gardens during the greater portion of my active life 

 in business, and have always admired their pyramidal trees 

 when well managed, and I have for many years cultivated 

 them for my amusement ; but, owing to a seeming preju- 

 dice against them amongst some English gardeners, I was 

 for some time deterred from recommending them, for I 

 thought that men older than myself must know better ; 

 and when I heard some of our market-gardeners and large 

 fruit growers in the neighbourhood of London scoflF at 

 pears grafted on the quince stock as giving fruit of a very 



