: ESPALIER TRAINED TREE CUT BACK FOR GRAFTING--THE GRAFTS
INSERTED AND CLAYED OVER]

OLD STANDARDS

Old Standards that have ceased to produce good fruit should be cut down
to within a few feet of the stem. The young wood will soon bear better
quality. The trunk should be well cleaned and washed.

IRRIGATION

Wherever possible, irrigation should be applied in dry weather. An
aero-motor pump or engine of some kind may raise the water to a tank. It
should be allowed to run over the ground for some distance to be warmed
and aerated. Apply in strong soil only when the growing season is over.

LABELS

Labels add greatly to the interest and pleasure of a garden. Acme labels
are popular. Those sent out by John Smith, Label Factory,
Stratford-on-Avon, are also good. They may be attached by his copper
wire, but those of the form of the rose labels with the name affixed at
the top of a long spike are less likely to be lost.

AMERICAN PEARS

The chief pear in the States is the Bartlett, corresponding with our Bon
Chretien. A schoolmaster named Wheeler, of Aldermaston (Berks), raised
it about 1770. A nurseryman named Williams brought it out. In 1799 one
Enoch Bartlett, of Dorchester, near Boston (U.S.), introduced it into
America, and now it is cultivated so widely that it is on sale for three
or four months in the year, and exported also to England. Seckle, a good
October pear, but small, we have from the States; the original tree is
said to be near Philadelphia, about 100 years old. Clapp's Favourite
(August) comes from Dorchester, Massachusetts; Dana's Hovey, "a
veritable sweetmeat" (November and January), also comes from the same
State. It is sometimes called Winter Seckle. Most of our good sorts are
grown in the U.S., and Californian pears are now coming to us in great
quantities. They are sent in wooden boxes, properly graded and packed.
Every fruit is in paper, with the name of the grower on it, and the name
of the variety on each box. The excellent quality and careful packing
ensure a good demand at a high price. Good American sorts are Lawson or
Comet, Block's Acme, Sugar Pear, Bloodgood, and others. Our growers may
learn a useful lesson from Californian pears in the London market.

NOTES ON VARIETIES

Emile d'Heyst is said to be equal to Marie Louise in quality, to be
hardier, and to be a better bearer. It is not a grand grower on the
Quince, nor does the fruit keep long (October, November).

Althor