Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1879-03-05


nurseryman at Lacon, Marshall Co.,
Ill.,, writes in PRAIRIE FARMER that
he considers it morally wrong for
nurserymen.to raise pear trees for this
part of the country. He says during
the past twenty years he has sent out
1000 pear trees, and to-day they are
not worth 1000 cents. 1 have during
the past two or three years made ex-
tensive inquiries to learn the real cause
why in some portions of this! country,
both North and South, the pear tree is
lsng-iived, healthy tree, and in other
places a failure. In every place where
they are success have learned they
grow where there is kind of mari or
fine sand mingled with clay, with good
artificial or natural drainage. Gov.
Holbrook, OF Brattleboro, VT, informs
me that he has seen in Missouri, large
healthy bearing pear trees 200 years
old, set cut by the French missionaries
from New Orleans, growing upon soil
largely mingled with clay. Hence, as
an experiment last year, 1 obtained
clay from our river bank and set out
about 20 pear trees in this soil. But
being an old man it seemed long
time for me to wait for these small
trees to grow, and recollecting when
boy oftwelve, seeing small pear limb
full of pears, growing from quite a
large apple tree in Vermont, l con-
ceived it a good idea to raise some pears
in my apple trees. In the mean time
wrote Elwanger & Barry, who for 40
years have the most extensive nurseries
in this country, for advice, and they re-
piled informing me that the pear would
grow in the apple, but could net tell
how it would pa y, for they had no ex-
perience in this direction. This last
spring grated about 1000 pear cions
in my own and my neighbOrs' apple
trees. from eight to thirty years old, and
all the gratis have grown finely during
the last summer. Since doing so have
been highly encouragedlby valuable IN
formation from those who have expert
mented from twenty-five to forty yeals
raising pear on the apple. Our village
attorney, during the past twenty-five
years near neighbor, informed me shat
twenty years ago he grated one
Bartlett pear cion into a sweet apple
tree, and for many years he took the
premium at Kane county fair for the
best Bartlett pear, which was a third
larger and Of better quality than will
grow on the pear or ounce standard.
Last summer near neighbor, three
doors from me, showed me in his lot
one pear limb growing IN an old apple !
tree then full of pears. He said this
one cion was put in about twenty-five
years ago. Mr.. Z. L. Coriell, Of Mar
shall, Mich, an old acquaintance, long
engaged in selling cur wind mills, was
in oui village last summer, when he
informed me that he grated the tops
of two of his large apple trees with
the pear which bore fruit the third |
year from grating and, if | would |
come to Marshall, could then see his
apple trees full of pears, | have
letter recently received from a very
highly respectable citizen of Te-
cumseh, Mich, Mr.. w. W. Tllton,
ESQ, who informs me he settled on a
farm in this town about forty years
ago. and when he set ont his orchard
Of Seeding apple trees he grated both
apples and pears. placing the pears in
the centre as a protection from being |
broken off by the winds. The pear,
he says, grows much faster than the
apple, aud he has never failed during
the last thirty-fvc years, to raise
fine crop of pears in his apple trees
every year, and has grown some
splendid pear trees by cutting off
young apple trees Below the surface
and grating with the pears which, he
thinks, 10 time take root from the
gears. From the above facts, which
are well established as the trees can
be seen as above by any one who
chooses to visit them, am quite sure
the pear will flourish in the apple far
better than in the pear, ounce or any
other standard that has yet been tried
in the Northwest, and may prove best
in any part of the United States where
it cannot have an abundance of clay
mingled with the surface soil, and the
trees will be longer lived and far less
liable to the blight,
With the above facts before US what
folly to procure hundreds of thousands
of dollars worth of pears from Califor-
MIA which are far inferior in quality
TO the best we can raise on what are
now thousands Of barren, worthless
apple trees IN almost every part of the
country. l am not a farmer or prac
teal nurseryman, but have spent a
long life in manufacturing. | have
now retired from active business, and
having taste for gardening and fiuit
culture, devote most of my time to
these pursuits If two years ago |
could have had one number OF you
paper with the above facts stated in
it. should have valued this one pa
per more than the subscription price
for 20 years l certainly would not
now part with the knowledge [ have
gained during the two past years for
hundreds OF dollars; and | feel quite
sure if the above facts can but be very
generally known throughout this !
whole country, the real benefit must
be estimated by hundreds ofthousands
or even millions Let no one say he
has no faith in cLltivating the pear on
the apple as some have told me, for
A., haca eoor a 1orOo op,,lo fr,a ,.,..f |