940 



Varieties of Pears. 



[march, 



resting on a stiff subsoil, high planting is probably of more 

 use than trenching. Experiments made with a number of 

 apples at Ridgmont gave an excess of 20 per cent, in growth 

 during the first season as the result of such surface planting, 

 but in the succeeding season, which was exceptionally dry, 

 these trees did not do so well as others planted on the level. 



Date of Planting. — Planting trees early in the autumn has 

 been found to be advantageous, though the difference due to 

 planting at any particular time later on in the dormant season 

 was quite inappreciable. 



Arrangement of Trees. — Some experiments were conducted 

 to ascertain the respective merits of planting the same number 

 of trees in a given area when arranged on the hexagonal and 

 square systems, and also on a rectangular arrangement. No 

 very substantial differences could be ascertained, and it is 

 considered that growers can adopt the square arrangement, 

 which affords better facilities for cultivation, without any 

 appreciable sacrifice of the welfare of the tree. 



The selection of the best and most suitable varieties of 

 fruit trees is of the first importance in planting, and a few 

 of the more useful varieties are men- 

 Varieties of Pears. tioned in the Board's Leaflet No. 148 

 (Planting Fruit Trees and Bushes) and 

 Leaflet No. 134 (Apple Culture). A selected list of dessert 

 and cooking varieties of apples suitable for planting in 

 different parts of the country was also given in this Journal 

 in April last (p. 52). 



The varieties of pears mentioned in « the leaflet are not, 

 however, very numerous, so that it may be useful to repro- 

 duce a selection given in the Journal of Horticulture (October 

 22, 1908). This list represents the opinions of some sixty 

 fruit growers, who were asked to select the eighteen choicest 

 dessert varieties of pears for garden cultivation, capable of 

 furnishing a supply from August to April, as well as the 

 twelve most reliable varieties for orchard cultivation. 



The following list shows the garden dessert pears chosen, 

 arranged in order of popularity ; thus Doyenne du Cornice 

 was mentioned by every grower, Louise Bonne de Jersey by 

 57 growers, out of a total of 60 ; Williams' Bon Chretien by 

 56, while the last five received only 21 votes each. 



