The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-12-02
Pear CuIture.


i, Pear Culture.
At the October meeting of the Mont
gomery County horticultural Society, Mr.
Ramsey read an essay on the above sub.
ject from which we make the following
extract: @E sis
OF course the writer does not presume
to instruct those whose knowledge Of pear
growing ar surpasses his own, but an ex-
perience of more than twenty years in this
department of horticulture may enable him
to throw out some suggestion Of value to
the young who are desirous of engaging in
the cultivation of this delicious fruit, either
for pleasure Or profit. To the novice,
then, he would say, let your site for the
orchard be elevated--let the ground be
sufficiently rolling to secure perfect surface
drainage, as that is an indispensable
requisite to success. Another point of
equal Importance is undertakings, as upon
the perfect attainment of these two ends
will the freedom of your trees from blight
largely depend.
These two points secured, and your
trees three years from the bud, properly
planted, we would advise a moderate de-
gree Of cultivation to be given them while
young, but whatever amount they do re-
ceive, be sure they get it early in the sea-
son, as whatever tends to promote o late
growth is an invitation to the attack of
disease, and should be studiously guarded
against. There will be little now to re-
quire the special attention of the orchardist
for some years, except, perhaps, now and
then to cut off branch or two here and
there, and to encourage the growth of 9TH
ers. for the purpose OF regulating the sym.
metry of the head.
But after the tree shall have attained age
and size, and o succession of heavy crops
shall have been removed, they will begin
to approximate somewhat the condition of
an animal which has been tethered to sim
gle spot, which, having consumed all the
forage within its reach, would perish for
want Of food, were itnot provided by arti-
fetal means.
1t is precisely thus with fruit tree it
is tethered to single spot, and after
lapse Of series of years it will have con-
sumed, or transformed into wood, bark
and fruit, most Of the inorganic elements
with which the soil within the reach of it's
roots was originally supplied, and like the
animal confined to single spot, must suf-
fer for the want of proper aliment, unless
artificially supplied, for the fruit grower
has no more right to expect his trees to
furnish him year after year with great
loads of fine fruit, without properly feed
ing them, than the stock raiser has to ex-
pect that his animals will thrive and grow
fat, without giving them similar treatment.
"But, what shall we feed our trees 2"
inquiries the anxious and puzzled young
pomologist. An important query. truly,
for many a valuable fruit tree has been
killed by too much OF a good thing. 1t IS
here that sound judgment is required. Ag-
ricultural chemistry, however, comes to our
assistance in answering this question; in
other words, shook farming'' kindly steps
forward and aids the practical cultiyator
in his dilemma, for chemical analysis dis
closes the fact that in every one hundred
parts Of the ash of the pear wood, twelve
are lime, twenty-seven are phosphate OF
lime, and twenty-five are potash and in
the bark, thirty are lime.
Here, then, the pear grower is fur
nished with most valuable hint as to the
nature Of the food or fertilizer with which
his trees should be furnished. Should his
soil not contain these ingredients naturally
in sufficient quantities, they must be fur
nished artifically, else he can never expect
them to form healthy wood, and produce
large crops of fine fruit.
The requisite quantity of potash can be
cheaply and conveniently furnished in the
form Of wood ashes; the phosphate of
lime, &c., in the form of crushed or I'M
crushed bones. In the application of
these and all other fertilizing materials,
the golden rule, as to quantity, should be
moderation; too much at one application,
even Of an essential ingredient, may prove
fatal this is particularly true in regard to |
the application of the whole family of the
alkalies. In all cases, rich, unfermented |
stable manure is to be avoided as too pro-
motive Of seculent, immature growth of
wood, which is extremely liable to disease.
In reference to the pear blight generally,
the widespread prevalence of which has |
40 discouraged planters, the writer believes I
ia the applicability of the truth of the |
old aphorism, that an "ounce of preven-
ton is worth pound Of cure.o Hence
he would urge every grower to use all the
means within his power to prevent late |
growth Of imperfectly ripened wood his
success here will be the measure of his im-
munity from this disease the ensuing season.
But be his loss from this cause what it
may plant out, we advise, enough annually
to take the places of those dying. remem-
bering, in the language of an enthusiastic
pomologist, that every fruit tree is a
silent preacher in the cause of temperance;
formidable ally in religion, morality, and
philanthropy"