AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
34S 
With few exceptions, the wood of these 
pears, although vigorous and succulent with 
high cultivation when young, is small in 
growth when at maturity, tender in habit, 
and exceedingly liable to disease always. 
They are capricious in their choice of soil, 
position, and climate. To this fact, the va¬ 
rious opinions and discussions in our porno- 
logical meetings is proof. Removed from 
the nursery, where they grow finely in their 
infancy, and set out in orchards as standards, 
they frequently spot on the trunk in large 
black blotches, canker, mildew, and die ; and 
all this under good cultivation, in good soils. 
Many are struck with fire-blight when in ap¬ 
parent health and vigorous growth, for which 
no certain cause or certain remedy has yet 
been found in the thousand-and-one experi¬ 
ments and examinations that have been 
made. The question, then, may fairly be 
asked, is not the difficulty in the propagation 
of the tree ? We think so. 
As an inference that this is so—for we do 
not wish to appear too positive—we have 
seen several cases where large, old, natural 
trees have been grafted high among the 
branches, with the choicest of our foreign va¬ 
rieties. which took a vigorous growth, and 
bore the finest specimens of fruit year after 
year, and in great abundance—thus showing 
that where the stock pushed up a healthy, 
free, full flow of sap, the ingrafted wood 
could perform its office in fruiting to entire 
perfection, full in quantity, and perfect in 
quality. And this leads us to our next prop¬ 
osition : that the common mode of nursery 
propagation is wrong. 
The ordinary mode of propagating nurse¬ 
ry pears on their own stocks is this : The 
seed is sown; the young trees come up nat¬ 
urals, or wildings ; left to themselves, they 
grow up thorny, rough, and twisting. Some 
grow vigorously, and show strong constitu¬ 
tion; others are small, with contracted sap- 
vessels, and indicate natural feebleness ; and 
whether they be seedlings of American ori¬ 
gin, or imported seedlings from abroad—as 
have lately been introduced into our nurse¬ 
ries to a great extent—these habits apply to 
them equally alike. As soon as these seed¬ 
lings are of sufficient size, they are grafted, 
or budded, with the fine varieties, at or near 
the root; consequently the stock above 
ground is all, or nearly all, of the new varie¬ 
ty of wood thus worked upon them. Now, 
we believe it will be admitted by all observ¬ 
ing men, that in such situation the root of 
the original stock, and the stem of the worked 
stock above, bear about an equal pro¬ 
portion of growth, as each is equally de¬ 
pendent on the other for sustenance. If the 
root of the wilding be worked with the wood 
of a weaker variety, it will accommodate 
itself to it, and so of the opposite. Thus, if 
the new wood is unable in its original con¬ 
stitution, of which it can not divest itself, to 
withstand the vicissitudes of our climate, 
soils, or treatment, it becomes subject to 
attack in its vital part, the body, while the 
root below may perform all the offices of a 
healthy and vigorous plant, but which, the 
body failing, the root acting sympathetically, 
will, in time, cease to do. Is not this rea¬ 
sonable I If we ask why trees are thus 
propagated, we are answered, that it is the 
readiest and cheapest way to raise them ; and 
that is the end of it. Self-interest lies at the 
bottom of the whole, and probably millions 
of trees are propagated and sold without the 
thought of any better way for the permanent 
welfare of the tree ever being suggested to 
the propagator. We certainly intend to 
blame nobody. 
Now, what is the remedy for these evils, 
and how are we to get strong, healthy, hardy, 
long-lived trees ? We will state our belief, 
simply, based upon what observation and 
experience we have been able to exercise. 
Use none but healthy, hardy, vigorous, natu¬ 
ral stocks. Dig out of the nursery and throw 
away every one that indicates natural feeble¬ 
ness of constitution or growth. Let them 
be well cultivated and pruned, in the nurse¬ 
ry, until they are of sufficient size to trans¬ 
plant into the position where they are to re¬ 
main for life. Then bud or graft them with 
the desired variety, at the point where the 
branches are to be formed, or, if branches at 
the proper height be already made, let those 
branches be so budded, or grafted, and the 
top of the tree be trimmed into its proper 
shape. The influences of our fierce, burn¬ 
ing suns, and our intense frosts, which we 
believe—good cultivation always being pre¬ 
served—are the main causes of disease in 
the bodies of our fine varieties of pear, will 
be less prejudicial to the stock thus grown, 
as it is a natural stock of our own soil; hav¬ 
ing its own corresponding root upon which 
its body can act in sympathy. If the exotic 
worked upon it be less vigorous, by imme¬ 
diately branching out at its junction with the 
main stock, it has a greater draft upon the 
natural stock below, and if it be equally vig¬ 
orous, they act in harmony. If less hardy 
to the influences of the sun and frost, its 
own leaves and spray give the wood a par¬ 
tial protection. At all events, we have a 
multitude of examples for this mode of cul¬ 
tivating the pear, with entire success, against 
thousands of unsuccessful attempts under 
the common root cultivation of the nurseries. 
A year or two after the stock is so budded 
or grafted, the tree may be taken out of the 
nursery and transplanted to the orchard, or 
wherever else it is permanently to remain. 
Even if it be transplanted in its wilding con¬ 
dition, after it has taken growth in its new 
position it may be quite as successfully bud¬ 
ded, or grafted, as when in the nursery, and 
throws up its branches for bearing. Such a 
mode of culture we believe, from observa¬ 
tion, to be a much surer one for permanent 
trees than the ordinary method of nursery 
propagation which we have described. 
We shall consider the propagation of pears 
on quince stocks hereafter. 
Fashionable. —The latest style of coats is 
really beautiful. With the waist of the gar¬ 
ment between his shoulders and the skirts 
sweeping the flagging stones, the happy 
possessor makes a beautiful exhibition. It 
is unfortunate, however, for the novelty of 
the style, that nearly every Irish gentleman 
who comes to this country, has a coat of the 
same fashion which was made twenty years 
ago' 
% For the American Agriculturist. 
HINTS FOR FEBRUARY. 
FROSTED PLANTS. 
When plants, through accident or neglect, 
get frozen, they should be well syringed or 
sprinkled overhead, through a fine, rose 
watering-pot, with cold water. Great care 
must be observed in shading them from the 
sun till the frost is thoroughly drawn out, 
which should be done as gradually as possi¬ 
ble. Standing them on the floor of the house 
is the best plan that can be adopted. Care 
must be taken that they do not again freeze 
after syringing. It seems not to be general¬ 
ly understood that frost merely suspends, 
but does not entirely destroy vegetation ; 
and, unless plants are very tender, with care¬ 
ful treatment they may, generally, be saved. 
GRAPE VINERY. 
Vines breaking should be kept syringed, 
morning and evening, in fine weather. Keep 
a moist, gentle heat, and as regular as possi¬ 
ble. Those started early will now have 
made good growth, and the temperature may 
be raised to 65° by night, and 70° by day, 
with sun-heat. Only one bunch should be 
allowed to remain on a shoot, as they will 
set much better than when more are left. 
The border must be carefully attended to, 
and a proper temperature kept up, in order 
to correspond tvith the interior. 
STRAWBERRIES. 
A succession should be kept up by placing 
some in a green-house, wherever there is 
room. 
SEAKALE AND ASPARAGUS. 
Plants may now be put in, and t.re’ated as 
the earlier ones. 
FRUIT TREES. 
Espaliers and other dwarf trees, should 
now be pruned and trained, if required. If 
the ground is poor, a good dressing of well- 
rotted manure should be applied to the sur¬ 
face, and, where opportunity offers, slightly 
forked in. 
HOT-BEDS. 
Manure may now be brought together and 
thrown up in form of a ridge, to become 
heated and prepared for use. 
GREEN-HOUSE. 
All plants requiring a shift, should now 
receive it, as a pressure of work coming.on 
in a few weeks, may prevent its being done 
at that time ; cleanliness must also be kept 
in view. All plants that require training 
should now be attended to. Admit air at 
every favorable opportunity. 
BEDDING PLANTS. 
Cuttings of the various bedding plants may 
now be taken, wherever the means are at 
hand. It should be borne in mind that one 
good plant is worth three bad ones at the 
the time of bedding out. W. 
Another Musical Pigeon. —The editor of 
the Lowell News, upon reading the para¬ 
graph which has been going the rounds of 
the papers about a pet pigeon which dances 
to the sound of the harp, recalls to mind the 
following: “ We remember seeing many 
years ago, a pigeon belonging to the late Dr, 
VVm. L.Richardson, of Boston, which was sin¬ 
gularly affected by the sound of a flute. If a 
person commenced playing a slow air upon 
this instrument, the bird would fly to the per¬ 
son’s head and remain there till the music 
ceased, unless the time was hurried or a 
more lively air commenced, in which case it 
would descend to the person’s shoulder and 
stretch out its neck toward the instrument, 
with evident delight. It made no difference 
with the bird if the flute was played by an 
entire stranger.” 
