CHAPTER OL 
PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 
A thorough preparation of the soil before plant- 
ing is positively necessary, to Insure success with the 
pear, and until the soil is in a condition to allow the 
“rains and dews to enter, pass through and out of 
it,” in as short a time as possible, the cultivation of 
fruit cannot be brought to the highest point of profit. 
On clay lands, or sandy soil with a retentive sub- 
soil, under-draining is the first step towards accom- 
plishing the right condition. This should be done 
at least a year before the trees are planted. There 
is a prevalent opinion in the minds of many farmers, 
that under-drains are only wanted to carry off the 
excess water; but this is only one of thoir offices. 
Another, and very important one, is to aerate the 
soil; in other words, the drains open the way for the 
atmosphere to circulate freely through the soil, carry- 
ing with it gases which cause many chemical changes 
to take place that will benefit the growing plants. 
At the present cost of labor and material, under- 
draining will prove to be an expensive operation, but 
