Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1860-04-21
MISCELLANY.
From the Worcester (Ms.) Spy.l
PEAR CULTURE.


creased ability of the people to supply them
selves with the comforts and convenicnces-to
say nothing of the luxuries-of life, the de-
mand for fruits naturally increases. Fruit is
the natural food OF man. To all ages and all
conditions of life, it is alike desirable. 1t fur
nishes convenient article of diet. which may
be used in a great variety of modes. 1t gives
the highest zest to the appetite, and is almost
indispensable to health. 1t is no wonder, then,
that attention is, so much more than formerly,
directed to its culture. There is demand for il
both in the families of the growers and in the
market With judicious culture, it pays well
with injudcious, it often fails to be either pro-
ductive or remunerativc.
The pear is growing to be the favorite fruit
of the temperate regions. The strawberry is
delicious in its season, but somewhat uncertain,
Is expensive, and lasts but a short time. The
peach is unrivalled in excellence, when well
grown and gathered at the proper time but
the tree is short lived, very subject to disease
and casualties, such as winter killing and spring
killing by the frosts and the fruit, at best lasts
only about six weeks in the year. The pear, on
the other hand, if the varieties are judiciously
selected, and put upon soil adapted to their
growth, is comparatively hardy, is almost uni
formly productive, is hardly second in quality
to any other fruit that is grown, and may very
easily be had in eating for at least eight months
in the year.
While tbc ;ud;ciors o,,e-rr,s ,o orl,;,o,o ,h;s
luscious fruit have uniformly been successful, as
hundreds of cases in and about this city and
the neighborng towns will witness vet there
have been failures, also. These have proceeded,
chiefly from four causes:
/. Bad trees. Thousands and tens of thou
sands Of utterly worthless trees have been
thrown upon our market within the last fifteen
ries in Rhode Island and Nov VII ,raes
which have boer cuIlod Gror, L,. ,,roha.ous IN
What romo;ned uero a hleu,;sh = r,ba ,,',rsa,;na
and nm cyc-sore 70 tho nronr;o,ors y,han ,ho,'
were scnt off IN he GOT rid of Thousonds cf
these have been boneht at low ra,es bv ,necu.
lotors. who travel about tbe country ond soil
them to the unsusnecting and unwarv. of,en
carving with them books with colorod drawings
of magnificent fruits. TO show the kinds that
their trees will hear, At other times these
worthless trees are sold nt auc,ion and often
bring more than the regular nurseryman's nrice
for good trees.
3. Ignorance and neglect. Many have i'm
agned that if they got a tree-no matter what
sort of one. and stuck the root into the ground
no matter where. il was all they had to do
except to wait A little while for the fruit The
soil might he rich or il might he moor !, m;ob,
be so drv and arid that tbe root wonld dry nn
and perish, or SO wet and heavy that it would
rot in the ground; it might be well cultivated
or it might not; if manure was opnlied' il
might. as likely as not. be such as was in;urious
rather than beneficial. and finally il myght he
neglected entirely and left to he browsed down
by cattle. rooted nm by hogs or turned over bv
the share of the careless nlowman, Ea;lure
under such circumstances is n nccessitv If
course.
3, Unsuitable soil Pear trees cannot be ox-
rao,oJ 90 ,hr;,.o 4, = r.o,.al ~ Ss :. E.,L.
thin. sandy loan. underlaid with gravel In n
Joa,, ,,o,.,,, ID, - -, ,sa Il