32 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The least meritorious in the list are : — Madame Treyve 

 (quickly over), Duchesse d'Angouleme (gritty), Beurre Bachelier 

 (mealy), and Ne Plus Meuris (gritty), yet I know no other four 

 kinds that can — all points considered— replace them. Lest any 

 one should conclude from what I have said as to the number of 

 kinds to ensure a regular succession of useful fruit, that that is all 

 that is required to make certain of the supplies, I will undeceive 

 them at once by saying, No. There is no fruit that gives better 

 returns for labour expended, and none that more quickly resents 

 the "let alone" policy that one is occasionally compelled to 

 behold. As regards the former, nearly all our trees are grafted 

 on the quince, from which stock it is no exaggeration to say 

 that we get at least double the fruit that we do from trees on 

 the pear stock, and high feeding is therefore a matter of 

 necessity ; but the labour of applying these manurial mulchings 

 we place as a set-off against that of the time expended in root 

 pruning that nearly all trees on the pear stock require about 

 every alternate year, and the fruit is neither so numerous nor so 

 well coloured, and not superior in quality. No, if good crops of 

 fruit are expected annually, water and mulch, mulch and water, 

 must be the order of the day all through the fruit- swelling 

 season. They who by reason of restricted space can only grow 

 a few varieties, and whose demands for fruit are, as a matter of 

 course, proportionately restricted, may do something towards 

 lengthening out the supply of ripe fruit by gathering the same 

 variety of pear at varying intervals of from a week to ten days. 

 The fruit of most varieties — more especially the earlier kinds — 

 will then ripen at similar intervals, and thus the season of ripe 

 fruit may be considerably extended. To those who have unlimited 

 room, and can therefore grow the required number of varieties 

 to ensure supplies, this piece-meal gathering is not of so much 

 consequence, nevertheless I strongly advise its being done with 

 any varieties that ripen rapidly, such as Citron des Carmes, 

 Jargonelle, Williams' Bon Chretien, and Fondante d'Automne. 



ON PRUNING. 



By Mr. Shikley Hibberd, F.R.H.S. 



It is commonly asserted in books, and forms part of the 

 faith of mankind, that pruning tends to augment the vigour of 

 trees, and as a consequence much of the pruning that is done 

 has in view to promote the end predicated for it. There can no 

 longer be entertained by observant men a doubt of the fact that 

 pruning, so far from augmenting, actually diminishes the vigour 

 of the_subjects operated on, and the one sole reason that the 



