FRUIT CULTURE. 



553 



about a month previously. Admit no air for a few days 

 after planting ; il the sun is bright, shading will be neces- 

 sary. It is important to close the frame early in the 

 afternoon, so as to harbour as much sun-heat as possible, 

 as none is available from hut-water pipes. The plants have 

 necessarily to be trained on the surface of the soil, so that 

 the fruits ought to be placed upon tiles or slates, as it i- ol 

 course impossible to suspend them, As they approach the 

 ripening period, die Melons need l" be well exposed to the 

 light. If mats are thrown over the frame at night, the 

 temperature will be increased by several degrees. The 

 cultural details advised for the plants grown in houses, 

 with regard to regulating the growths and t he proper 

 conditions to maintain at certain periods, etc., apply equally 

 well to those in frames. 



THE PEAR. 



Though the Pear does not reach so high a state of perfec- 

 tion in this country, generally speaking, as the Apple, it is 

 one of the most valuable and highly esteemed of our hardy 

 fruits. By many it is preferred to the Apple for dessert. 

 Though not so largely used as the latter for culinary 

 purposes, some varieties of the Pe.ir when stewed are 

 delicious. As a press fruit lor the manufacture of perry it 

 is in some parts of this country largely cultivated, ami this 

 beverage is by many persons considered superior to cider. 

 The climate of some parts of the Continent — notably 

 France and Belgium — and 01 the Channel Islands produces 

 finer Pears than we, as a rule, are able to furnish from trees in 

 the open ground and upon the walls of our home gardens. 

 Farly in the present century many new varieties were raised 

 and introduced to cultivation by Knight, Van Mons, 

 Duquesne, and others. These were of such a high quality, 

 that with lew exceptions they superseded the older ones. 

 From "The Book of the Garden" we learn that in the 

 course of a lew years the Abbe Duquesne and 1'rofessor Van 

 Mons fruited no less than 8,000 varieties. Van Mons 

 alone raised 80,000 seedling Pears, and spent the greater 

 part of his life in carrying out this his favourite study. 



In its wild state the I'ear tree is thorny, with upright 

 branches ami ol a pyramidal form, in which respect it 

 differs from the Apple tree. Burnet observes that the 

 cultivated tree differs from the Apple not only in its 

 tendency to a pyramidal form, but also in being more liable 

 to send out tap roots, as a seedling much longer in coming 

 into bearing, and when on its own roots or grafted upon 

 the Pear stock of being much longer lived. In a dry soil 

 it will exist for centuries and still keep its health, pro- 

 ductiveness, and vigour. 



The first accounts we have of the I'ear are of great 

 antiquity ; it is mentioned by the earliest writers as 

 growing abundantly in Syria, Egypt, and Greece. From 

 the latter country it was imported into Italy, and though 

 we have no record 

 of the date of the 

 introduction of 

 the cultivated 

 Pear into this 

 country, it is 

 generally thought 

 to have been 

 brought here by 

 the Romans. 



Propaga- 

 tion. -There are 

 various methods 

 of propagating the 

 Pear, but the best 

 and most gener- 

 ally practised are 

 buddingand graft- 

 ing. The raising 

 of seedlings is only 

 resorted to for 

 the purpose of 

 obtaining new 

 varieties and 



for raising stocks, PEAR, LOUISE 



If it is 

 variety 



chosen 

 hand, 



sought to raise a new 

 by selection, then th 

 bom the healthiest trees 

 from 



r improve an existing, 

 finest fruit should be 

 if, on the other 

 fruit whose flower 



pips are saved 

 was impregnated with the pollen of another variety, no 

 choice of course will be possible. The seed is best sown 

 in the autumn, either on a sheltered piece of ground known 

 to be free from injurious insects, or in Sin. pots, covered 

 over with slates or pieces ol board, and placed outside on 

 tiles or ashes to prevent the entrance of worms, etc. Il 

 will not be possible to obtain the pips from late Pears in 

 the autumn, as they are not thoroughly ripe at that time. 



The autumn-sown seeds b-gin to germinate, as a rule, i.i 

 the month of March, whilst those sown in February will 

 probably not commence to sprout before May. Throughout 

 the summer the seedlings may be allowed to remain in their 

 pots, a sunny position and plenty of water at the root 

 being necessary for them in the growing season. In October 

 they are planted in iSie open ground at a distance between 

 each plant of 1 Sin. , and 111 rows 3ft. apart. 



Where stocks are simply required, the seed is generally 

 sow n in drills, about Ojn. apart, prepared in ground that has 

 been well broken up ; this latter remark applies equally to 

 the seedlings above mentioned. The following w inter they 

 may be transplanted and grown on until large enough for 

 grafting upon. 



The question of the stock to be used for grafting the Pear 

 is important, for the nature of this affects the future well- 

 being of the tree. Of the several stocks employed, that of 

 the Pear itself is undoubtedly the most natural ; trees worked 

 upon this live the longest, and are also the most vigorous. 

 The roots, however, are naturally long and fibreless, and are 

 liable to grow downwards into the cold subsoil, and require 

 frequent primings ; for the same reason the trees ought to be 

 often transplanted, otherwise they move badly. In poor 

 soil the Pear stock is to be preferred to the Quince, as its 

 roots roam further afield, and are able to find food where 

 only surface roots would perish. In selecting stocks from 

 amongst the seedlings, all but the strong and erect-growing 

 ones should be rejected. 



The graft may be affixed quite close to the ground or 

 at some distance away, as this stock and the graft increase 

 in size about equally. For standard trees the most vigorous 

 should be selected, as only these are suitable for grafting at 

 some distance from the ground. In deciding whether a 

 standard tree is to be grafted near the ground or some 

 distance up the stem, the habit of the variety to be 

 grafted must be considered. It would be useless to 

 join the scion of a weakly sort on to the stock near the 

 ground and allow it to form the stem. With a strong- 

 growing, healthy variety it does not matter where the union 

 takes place, as either stock or scion would make an equally 

 good stem. Before the sap rises the stock needs to be 



cut down to the 

 point at which it 

 is intended to 

 graft, and the 

 scions also should 

 be cut off and 

 partially covered 

 in on a cool 

 border before they 

 show any signs of 

 starting. 



The Quince 

 stock is of quite 

 a different nature 

 to that of the Pear. 

 Trees grafted 

 upi in this become 

 dwarfed in habit, 

 and start into 

 growth and bear 

 earlier, their roots 

 being more fibrous 

 and keeping near 

 the surface, and 

 the fruit is often 



BONNE OF JERSEY, 



