PEARS. 



208 



A change of diet is also recommended from time to time, such 

 as farmyard liquid (diluted), house-sewage, soot, guano, fish 

 manure, &c. ; but amongst the artificial fertilisers 1 have found 

 nothing to equal an occasional application of muriate of potash 

 and superphosphate, mixed together in the proportion of one of 

 the former to two of the latter. About two ounces to the square 

 yard should be applied on the surface. These fertilising agents 

 undoubtedly induce fruitfulness, without an undue amount of 

 wood-growth. On wet clay land a lesser quantity may be used. 

 In a hot, dry season like the past any kind of salts have been useful 

 to keep moisture in the mulchings, as well as maintain a healthy 

 fertility in the surface soil, so acceptable to the hungry roots. 



In most cases it is more satisfactory to grow a few sorts of 

 Pears well than to attempt a quantity of different varieties and 

 only half do them, thus realising the homely truth of an old 

 sajing, that u the gardener who places first-class fruit on his 

 employer's table covers a multitude of minor imperfections ; " 

 and as my motto is always "quality before quantity," my favourite 

 method is to grow the best mid-season and moderately late 

 varieties as single cordons, obliquely trained on walls of various 

 aspects, on Quince stocks, planted 18 inches apart in a 

 narrow prepared border consisting of turfy loam, old mortar 

 rubbish, a few half-inch bones, and chopped rags. The different 

 varieties should be grouped together in quantities, and as far as 

 possible arranged in their respective order of ripening. Cordon 

 trees are inexpensive, early in bearing, can be easily replaced, 

 require only moderate attention, with a minimum of pruning or 

 root-pruning, and, if protected when in bloom, can nearly always 

 be relied upon to return crops of perfect specimens of the very- 

 highest quality, which is more than can be said of the old fan- 

 trained and gridiron trees seen on the walls of the majority of 

 gardens, whose crop generally consists of a few fair fruits 

 growing at the extremities of the branches, and the middle of 

 the tree nearly barren. 



The best varieties for cordon planting on walls are as follows : 

 Louise Bonne of Jersey, Marie Louise, Beurre Superfin, 

 Triomphe de Vienne, Doyenne du Cornice (the best Pear in the 

 world), Pitmaston Duchesse, Thompson's, Princess, Winter Xeli*, 

 Fondante d'Automne, Glou Morceau, Beurre Diel, Huyshe's 

 Victoria, Passe Colmar, and Josephine de Malines. 



