PEAR. 



301 



channels, and to the support of the crop and leading 

 shoots only. The whole system of the tree was so 

 prolific, that flower-buds were often formed on the 

 points of the leading shoots and laterals ; and these 

 were preserved, on account of their powers of yield- 

 ing the largest fruit. Thinning the fruit was always 

 attended to ; for no tree should be allowed to weaken 

 itself by too heavy a crop in any one year, as this 

 gives such a check as is not soon recovered. The 

 thinning should be done early. 



The successful culture of this tree is entirely to be 

 attributed, first, to the soil it was planted in being 

 neither too rich nor too poor ; neither too deep nor 

 too moist, too shallow nor too dry ; to the care be- 

 stowed in keeping the head rather thin, and equally 

 balanced with the powers of the root; to stopping, 

 in the hud, all irregular or unnecessary growth, and 

 careful thinning of supernumerary fruit. This ma- 

 nagement every young fruit tree requires, whether 

 planted on walls or espaliers, or as dwarfs or stan- 

 dards in the open ground ; and whether jargonelle 

 or any other sort. 



In some parts of the country there is hardly a 

 healthy jargonelle tree to be seen : whether on walls 

 or in the open ground they are cankered and un- 

 thrifty, producing large unkindly shoots in summer, 

 which usually die off in the winter, and rarely bear- 

 ing a single fruit in perfection. The unhealthy state 

 of these trees may be traced to over-deep planting 

 in a rich deep loam or clayey soil : their growth is 

 too luxuriant, the wood never being thoroughly 



