PREFACE 
EEE sim dh _diimmealimmmeel 
THE pomological student, doubtless, will 
miss many things in this book, as it has been 
the author’s aim to rigidly exclude all points 
that do not bear directly upon practical pear 
culture, whether for pleasure or profiit—synony- 
mous terms, for that matter, to many of us. 
If one wishes to raise pears intelligently, 
and with the best results, he must know first 
the character of his soil—the best mode of 
preparing it, the best varieties to select under 
existing conditions, the best mode of planting, 
pruning, fertilizing, grafting, and utilizing the 
ground before the trees come into bearing, 
and, finally, of gathering and packing for mar- 
ket. 
A grower not seldom defrauds himself of the 
legitimate profit of a fine pear crop by not 
knowing the best ways of marketing his fruit. 
The hope of furnishing practical iInforma- 
tion on all these points, has induced the author 
