TO an inquiry in the Southern Cultivator, for a preventive of rotting of the pear upon the tree, and to cause it to ripen up, W. A. James, Btsbopville, S. C, says, "strip the bark entirely off the bodies of his pear trees, on the 20th of June, be will find that most, if not all, the crop upon them will ripen that season. Be careful not to scratch the wood with the instrument used in starting the bark, as it will make an ugly soar in the new bark, which will form in a few days after the old one is removed. I generally start about two feet from the ground, and strip both up and down, letting it run up the limbs as far as it will, and as deep into the ground as it can. There will be no risk of killing the trees, if done at the time indicated.

"I stripped the bark from a pear tree on the 20th June, 1854. It was still living when last heard from. I have performed the operation repeatedly, but the new bark grows back so soon and the tree looks so natural, that unless you particularly mark it, it would be impossible ever to tell it again. I once had a large nectarine tree that bore full invariably, but never matured any fruit, until after it was barked. That year it ripened all the fruit. The next year it was full of healthy fruit again, but a storm during the summer up-rooted it, and I lost it. I hardly think the barking process will shorten the life of a tree, but if it did, it would be better to enjoy some fruit than none at all."