FIG. 31—PYRAMID PEARS IN A GERMAN ORCHARD
It is often said that dwarf pears should be planted deep in the ground when they are set out. The rule is to put them deep enough so that the bud union will be buried beneath the surface of the soil. With such treatment the pear itself often throws out roots and eventually establishes a feeding system of its own, becoming independent of the quince stock. It is then no longer a dwarf tree except by the authority of the pruning knife. It is probably true that many varieties of dwarf pears are longer lived when treated in this way. In planting, therefore, it becomes a question whether one desires chiefly a long-lived tree or a strictly dwarf one. The ease with which dwarf trees are replaced makes longevity a less important factor than in commercial orchards of standard trees.
Of course, it is understood that if the dwarfest form is to be maintained, the tree must be planted high enough to leave the union out of the ground, thus preventing the pear from throwing out roots of its own.
The varieties principally grown in this country as dwarfs are Angouleme, Bartlett, Anjou, and Louise Bonne.
In European nurseries the list of pears propagated on quince roots is much larger. The following varieties are recommended for England by Mr. Owen Thomas, and are said to be particularly good for training on walls: