CHAPTER III_The pears of New York

PEAR CULTURE

The common pear or some of its hybrids with the oriental pear is grown

for a home supply of fruit, if not for the markets, in every part of

North America where hardy fruits thrive except in the extreme north and

south. But commercial pear-growing on this continent is confined to

a few regions, and in these is profitable only in carefully selected

situations. Perhaps the culture of no other fruit, not even of the

tender peach nor of the capricious grape, is more definitely determined

by environment than is that of the pear. A study of the regions in

America in which pears are successfully grown for the markets furnishes

clews to the proper culture of this fruit in New York, and shows with

what regions this State must compete in growing pears for the markets.

The location of the pear regions in America is readily determined by

figures showing the number of trees and their yield in the various

fruit regions of the country.

PEAR STATISTICS FOR THE UNITED STATES AND NEW YORK

Six states produced over 65 per cent of the pears grown in the United

States in 1919. The census of 1920 shows that in the preceding year the

total crop of the country was 14,211,346 bushels, of which California

produced 3,952,923 bushels; New York, 1,830,237 bushels; Washington,

1,728,759 bushels; Oregon, 761,063 bushels; Texas, 637,400 bushels; and

Missouri, 430,828 bushels. Trees in all other states yielded 4,870,136

bushels. There were according to this census 14,646,995 bearing trees

and 6,051,845 not of bearing age. The yield of fruit was 60 per cent

greater than in 1909; the number of bearing trees 3 per cent less;

and the number of non-bearing trees 28 per cent less. Compared with

other tree-fruits, according to this census, the pear occupies fourth

place in value of product, the apple, peach (including the nectarine),

and plum (including the prune), in order named, outranking the pear.

Probably the orange, grape, and strawberry yield greater value to the

country than the pear, although the acreage of each of these three

fruits is smaller. Commercial production cannot be segregated from

the total, but without question the increase in plantings is due to

commercial activities; for the development of the canning industry,

refrigerator service, and better transportation have greatly stimulated

trade in this fruit.

In the states in which pear-growing is a commercial industry,

commercial orchards are confined to localities in which climate,

soil, and transportation combine to favor the pear. In New York, for

example, pears are grown for market on a large scale in only ten of the

sixty-one counties. These, with the number of trees in each, according

to the last census are as follows: Niagara, 620,743; Monroe, 384,374;

Orleans, 377,371; Columbia, 308,298; Wayne, 305,239; Ulster, 304,158;

Greene, 208,885; Oswego, 154,576; Ontario, 121,934; Orange, 96,456.

Over 77 per cent of all the pear-trees in the State are in these

counties, and 79 per cent of the pears grown in the State are produced

in these ten counties. The production of pears in New York for the

eleven-year period from 1909 to 1919, inclusive, show the increase and

fluctuation in the production of pears in the State for this period.

The figures for 1909 and 1919 are from the thirteenth and fourteenth

census reports, while those of the intervening years are estimates

from the Bureau of Crop Estimates of the United States Department of

Agriculture. The yields run in bushels for the eleven years as follows:

1,343,000, 1,530,000, 1,886,000, 1,128,000, 2,016,000, 1,298,000,

1,375,000, 1,675,000, 1,708,000, 1,352,000, and 1,830,237.

Bartlett and Kieffer are conspicuous leaders among varieties in

number of trees and in production for the whole country. In the great

commercial pear-growing regions of New York and California, Bartlett

is the favorite variety, but Kieffer is grown largely also, especially

for canners. In the South and in the Mississippi Valley, Kieffer is

the leading variety because it is relatively resistant to blight and

withstands extremes in climate better than other varieties. For many

years after its introduction about 1870, Kieffer was over-praised by

both fruit-growers and nurserymen. Fruit-growers liked it because of

its resistance to blight and great productiveness, and nurserymen

preferred it to other sorts because it is the easiest of all varieties

to grow in the nursery. It is, however, so universally condemned for

its tasteless fruits that it is losing its popularity, and is not now

as largely planted in competition with Bartlett as it once was. Seckel,

Clapp Favorite, Winter Nelis, Beurré d'Anjou, Beurré Bosc, Howell,

Sheldon, Beurré Clairgeau, and Garber for the South, are the standard

varieties following Bartlett and Kieffer in popularity.

Bartlett is far in the lead of commercial varieties in New York. At

present, Kieffer probably holds second place in this State, but its

popularity is fast waning and Seckel is nearly as commonly planted,

if, indeed, it does not now surpass Kieffer in number of trees. Clapp

Favorite, Beurré d'Anjou, Beurré Bosc, Beurré Clairgeau, Duchesse

d'Angoulême, Howell, Lawrence, Sheldon, Vermont Beauty, and Winter

Nelis are all planted more or less in commercial orchards, and are

the favorites for home use. All of these varieties are susceptible to

blight, are a little too tender to cold, and have other faults of tree

and fruit, so that pear-growers in New York anxiously look forward to

better varieties. It is hardly too much to say that pear-growing can

never become a great industry in New York until better varieties take

the place of the unreliable sorts that must be planted now.

To some extent, man-governed agencies determine where pears may be

grown profitably if the planter is growing for the markets. Pears do

not keep long and are easily bruised, and transportation must not

take too great toll; therefore, handling facilities must be suitable,

markets must not be distant, and transportation must be cheap and

efficient. But in the culture of this fruit, natural agencies outrank

those depending on man, two of which determine very largely where pears

are to be grown commercially in both the country and the state. These

two, climate and soil, have been mentioned before, but must now be

discussed somewhat in detail.

CLIMATE

The ideal climate for a cultivated plant is one in which the plant

thrives as an escape from cultivation wholly independent of care from

man. The apple, cherry, plum, and peach are often found wild in one or

another part of America, but the pear almost never. The pear does not

naturally become inured to the American climate, and in the orchard

is not well acclimated even in the varieties which have originated in

the country. In particular, as a young tree and until well advanced

toward maturity, the pear shows the bad effects of maladjustment to

climate, but as an old tree it seems to be far less susceptible to the

extremes of climate to which fruit trees are subjected in most parts of

America. Both of the two chief constituents of climate, temperature and

rainfall, are determinants of regions and sites in pear-growing.

Extremes in temperature, more particularly of cold, are the only phases

of temperature that pear-growers need consider in New York. The pear is

not nearly as hardy as the apple, and Bartlett, the foremost variety

in the State, is almost as tender to cold as the peach. The limits of

commercial pear-culture are set in this State by the winter climate.

The pear cannot be grown profitably where the temperature often falls

below -15° F., for while winter-killing of the wood does not always

occur at this temperature it sometimes does, and even occasional

injury to the tree is almost fatal to the profitable growing of fruit.

Fruit-buds of the pear are a little more tender to cold than the wood,

and a season's crop is often ruined when the temperature drops to -10°

F. Pears in the nursery are more tender to cold than trees in the

orchard, and unless the wood is thoroughly mature or protected by a

heavy covering of snow, nursery stock is likely to be injured by any

temperature below zero. The injury of nursery stock is manifested in

the well-known "black heart" of young pear-trees subjected to severe

cold.

Happily, there is some flexibility in the constitutions of varieties

of pears, as with all fruits, and a degree of cold that will kill a

variety under one set of conditions may not under another. While,

therefore, it is not safe for commercial fruit-growers to gamble with

the weather, those who grow pears for their own use may do so with

the expectation of losing trees or crop now and then but of having

them in most seasons. A little can be done to prevent winter injury by

carefully selecting sites protected from prevailing winter winds, and

by planting on warm soils on which the wood matures more thoroughly

than on cold soils. Careful cultural methods, especially the use

of cover-crops, may be helpful. Not much can be done in the way of

coddling pear-trees from cold. They cannot be laid down as is sometimes

done with peach-trees, nor can they be grown low enough, even as

dwarfs, to count on much protection from deep snow.

Happily, also, there are varieties of pears endowed with constitutions

fitted for very different climates. Varieties of pears from central

and northern Russia show remarkable capacity in resisting cold, heat,

dryness, strong winds, and other peculiarities of the climate of the

Great Plains, and some of them can be grown in the coldest agricultural

regions of New York. A few hybrids, as Kieffer, Le Conte, Garber,

Douglas, and others of their kind can be grown in the Gulf States

where the common pear cannot withstand the hot summers. Cincinis, Le

Conte, and Garber thrive as far south as central Florida and southern

Texas. There is considerable variation in the hardiness of the common

pear. Tyson, Flemish Beauty, and Beurré Superfin are much hardier than

Bartlett, Seckel, or Clapp Favorite, and may be chosen to extend the

culture of this fruit to any part of New York in which the Baldwin

apple can be grown. It is most surprising to find occasionally these

hardiest of the common pears growing in some of the coldest parts of

the State, usually as demonstrations not only of superior inherent

hardiness but also of hardiness brought about by conditions which

enable the trees to enter the winter with unimpaired constitutions.

The pear is seldom injured by heat in the summers of New York.

Occasionally fruit and foliage suffer from long-continued heat in the

dry weather of a hot summer. More often the trunks of pear-trees are

injured by a blazing sun in late winter or early spring, especially

when the sun's rays are reflected by ice or snow and strike the tree

intensified. Indeed, sun-scald so produced is one of the common

troubles of the pear in New York. With the pear, as with all other

fruits, there is a sum total of heat units above a certain temperature,

put by most experimenters at about 43° F., the awakening point of

growth, necessary to carry the crop from blossoms to proper maturity.

Of the number of units necessary to mature a crop little is known.

Many varieties do not ripen in New York in a cold season, but come to

perfect maturity in warm seasons. A study of phenology would throw much

light on the failure of pears to ripen properly.

The average date at which the last killing frost occurs in the spring

helps to determine the limits in latitude and altitude at which the

pear can be grown in New York. The pear blossoms early, and while both

in bud and blossom the reproductive organs seem able to stand more cold

than those of the peach and sweet cherry, yet even in the most favored

regions for growing this fruit in New York a crop is occasionally lost

from killing frosts, and there are few years in which frost does not

take toll in some part of the State. Damage from frost must be expected

when the commonly recognized precautions in selecting frost-resistant

sites are not recognized. Little or nothing can be done in New York

to prevent injury from frost once trees have been set. Windbreaks,

whitewashing, smudging, and orchard-heaters are all failures in

frost-fighting in this State.

The pear-grower should know how the blooming time of the varieties

of pears he plants agrees in time with spring frosts. To do this he

must have weather data and must know the approximate date of blooming

of varieties. He ought also to be able to synchronize three of these

phases of climate--spring frosts, fall frosts, and the length of the

summer--with the ripening dates of varieties. Data as to the average

dates of spring and fall frosts can be obtained from the nearest local

weather bureau. The accompanying table gives the blooming and ripening

dates of pears grown at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station.

Blooming and ripening dates vary in different parts of the State, and

to make use of the data from this Station the grower must compare the

latitude, altitude, and local environment of his orchard with those of

the Station. Data for the Station is as follows:

BLOOMING SEASON AND SEASON OF RIPENING OF PEAR-VARIETIES

==========================================================================

| Blooming season | Ripening season

----------------+-----+-----+------+----+----|-----+-----+------+----+----

----------------+-----+-----+------+----+----|-----+-----+------+----+----

Abraham | | * | | | | | | | |

Alamo | | | * | | | | * | | |

André Desportes | | | * | | | * | | | |

Ansault | | | * | | | | | * | |

Appert | | | * | | | | | * | |

Bartlett | | | * | | | | | * | |

Belle Lucrative | | | * | | | | | | * |

Beurré d'Anjou | | * | | | | | | | * |

d'Arenberg | | | * | | | | | | |

Beurré Bosc | | * | | | | | | | * |

Beurré Clairgeau| | | * | | | | | | * |

Beurré Diel | | * | | | | | | | * |

Beurré Giffard | | | * | | | | * | | |

Beurré Hardy | | | * | | | | | * | |

Beurré de Jonghe| | | * | | | | | | |

Beurré Superfin | | | | | | | | * | |

Bihorel | | | * | | | | * | | |

Bloodgood | | * | | | | | * | | |

Bordeaux | | | * | | | | | | * |

Buffum | | | * | | | | | * | |

Canner | | * | | | | | | * | |

Chamogea | | | * | | | | | | |

Cincincis | | * | | | | | | | | *

Clapp Favorite | | | * | | | | | * | |

Cocklin | | * | | | | | | | * |

Colonel Wilder | | | | | * | | | | * |

Columbia | | | * | | | | | * | |

Craig | | | | * | | | | | * |

Dana Hovey | | | * | | | | | | * |

Dearborn | | | * | | | | * | | |

Diamyo | | * | | | | | | | | *

Dorset | * | | | | | | | | | *

Douglas | | | * | | | | | | * |

d'Alençon | * | | | | | | | | * |

Doyenné Boussock| | * | | | | | | * | |

Comice | | | | * | | | | * | |

d'Angoulême | | | * | | | | | | * |

d'Orléans | | | * | | | | | * | |

Monceau | | | | * | | | | | * |

Early Harvest | | * | | | | | * | | |

Easter Beurré | | | * | | | | | | * |

Eastern Belle | | | * | | | | | * | |

Elizabeth | | | * | | | | * | | |

Fitzwater | | | * | | | | | * | |

BLOOMING SEASON AND SEASON OF RIPENING OF PEAR-VARIETIES -- _Continued_

==========================================================================

| Blooming season | Ripening season

---------------------------------------------|----------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flemish Beauty | | | * | | | | | | * |

Fontenay | | | | | * | | | | * |

Fox | | * | | | | | | * | |

Frederick Clapp | | | * | | | | | * | |

French | | | * | | | | | * | |

Gansel-Seckel | | * | | | | | | | * |

Garber | | | * | | | | | | |

Glou Morceau | | | | * | | | | | * |

Golden Russet | | | | * | | | | | | *

Grand Isle | | * | | | | | | * | |

Guyot | | | | | | | | * | |

Hemminway | | | * | | | | | * | |

Howell | | * | | | | | | | * |

Japan | | * | | | | | | | | *

Jargonelle | | | * | | | | * | | |

Jones | | * | | | | | | | * |

Malines | | * | | | | | | | * |

Kieffer | | * | | | | | | | * |

Koonce | | | * | | | | * | | |

Krull | | | * | | | | | | | *

Lady Clapp | | * | | | | | | * | |

Lamartine | | * | | | | | | | * |

Lamy | | | * | | | | | | * |

Lawrence | | * | | | | | | | * |

Lawson | | * | | | | | * | | |

Le Conte | * | | | | | | | | * |

(Van Mons) | | | * | | | | | * | |

Lemon | | * | | | | | * | | |

Liegel | | * | | | | | | | * |

Lincoln | | | * | | | | | | * |

Lincoln Coreless| | | * | | | | | | | *

Longworth | | * | | | | | | | * |

Jersey | | | * | | | | | | * |

Louvenjal | | | * | | | | | | * |

Lucy Duke | | | | * | | | | | * |

Madeline | | | * | | | | * | | |

Magnate | | | * | | | | | | * |

Margaret | | | * | | | | * | | |

Marie Louise | | | * | | | | | | * |

Mongolian | * | | | | | | | | * |

Mount Vernon | | | * | | | | | | * |

Nickerson | | | * | | | | | | * |

Ogereau | | | | * | | | | | |

Serres | | | * | | | | | | | *

Onondaga | | | * | | | | | | * |

Osband | | * | | | | | | | |

P. Barry | | | | * | | | | | * |

Peffer | | | * | | | | | | * |

Pitmaston | | | * | | | | | | * |

BLOOMING SEASON AND SEASON OF RIPENING OF PEAR-VARIETIES -- _Concluded_

==========================================================================

| Blooming season | Ripening season

---------------------------------------------|----------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pound | | * | | | | | | | | *

Drouard | | | * | | | | | | * |

Président Mas | | | * | | | | | | |

Raymond | | | * | | | | | * | |

Reeder | | | * | | | | | | * |

Riehl Best | | | * | | | | | | * |

Ritson | | | * | | | | | | * |

Romain | | * | | | | | * | | |

Roosevelt | | * | | | | | | * | |

Rossney | | | * | | | | | | |

Russet Bartlett | | | * | | | | | * | |

Rutter | | | * | | | | | | * |

Seckel | | | * | | | | | | * |

Seneca | | | * | | | | | * | |

Sha Lea | | * | | | | | | | | *

Sheldon | | | * | | | | | | |

Siebold | | | * | | | | | | * |

Souvenir de | | | | | | | | | * |

Congrès | | | * | | | | | * | |

d'Espéren | | | | * | | | | | * |

Sudduth | | | | * | | | | * | |

Summer Beauty | | * | | | | | | | |

Summer Doyenne | | | * | | | | * | | |

Treyve | * | | | | | | | * | |

Triumph | | | * | | | | | | * |

Tyson | | | * | | | | * | | |

Ulm | | | * | | | | | * | |

Vermont Beauty | | | * | | | | | | * |

White Doyenné | | * | | | | | | | * |

Wilder Early | | | | * | | | * | | |

Winter Bartlett | | | | | * | | | | * |

Winter Nelis | | | | * | | | | | * |

Worden Seckel | | | * | | | | | * | |

The latitude of the Smith Astronomical Observatory, a quarter of a

mile from the Station orchards, is 42° 52' 46.2"; the altitude of the

orchards is from five hundred to five hundred and twenty-five feet

above the sea level. The soil is a loamy but rather cold clay; the

orchards lie about a mile west of Seneca Lake, a body of water forty

miles in length and from one to three and one-half miles in width and

more than six hundred feet deep. The lake has frozen over but a few

times since the region was settled, over a hundred years ago, and has a

very beneficial influence on the adjacent country in lessening the cold

of winter and the heat of summer and in preventing early blooming.

The blooming period is that of full bloom. The data were taken from

trees grown under normal conditions as to pruning, distance apart, and

as to all other factors which might influence the blooming period.

There is a variation of several days between the time of full bloom of

the different varieties of pears. These differences can be utilized in

selecting sorts to avoid injury from frost. In using blooming-time data

it must be kept constantly in mind that varieties of fruits may not

bloom in the same relative time. In very warm or very cold springs the

usual relations of blooming-time may be upset.

Rainfall, moisture, and cloudiness are most important in growing

pears. England, Belgium, and northern France, regions where the pear

finds the climate most congenial, have much cool, moist, cloudy

weather with much less variation in temperature than is the case in

the United States. The climate of New York and the states bordered by

the Great Lakes where most of the pears of eastern America are grown,

is cooler, moister, and cloudiness is more prevalent than in other

eastern states. The summer climate of the Pacific slope is not moist

but is equable and, in the best pear orchards, moisture is supplied

abundantly by irrigation. From these considerations we may assume that

the pear requires more moisture than most other fruits. The pear in

New York more often suffers from too little than from too much rain.

The exception is when pears are in bloom, at which time the crop is

sometimes lost or badly injured by cold, wet weather. Warm, moist

weather is favorable to both fire-blight and the scab fungus, the two

most dreaded diseases of the pear.

Several other weather problems should be studied before selecting

a region as a site for a pear-orchard. The direction, force, and

frequency of prevailing winds both in winter and summer are important

considerations. Unfavorable winds in winter favor winter-killing; in

blooming time prevent the proper setting of fruit; and at ripening time

make many windfalls. Hail storms are more frequent in some parts of New

York than in others and may be a deterrent in selecting a site. Lastly,

drouths, so fatal to the pear, are more common in some parts of the

State than in others.

LOCATIONS AND SOILS FOR PEARS

Pears thrive in a great diversity of soils, provided, almost always,

that there is depth for proper root-run. A few varieties may be grown

in comparatively shallow soils, but most pears are deep-rooted. The

common pear is rather averse to sand, gravels, and light soils in

general, and does best in rather heavy loams, clays, and even in

silts. Many varieties show preferences for the several types of loam

and clay, and the commercial grower must see to it that the varieties

he plants are suited in their particular soil preference. Hybrids

between the common pear and the oriental pear--the Kieffer and its

kin--grow well in much lighter soils than pure-bred sorts of the common

pear, and, as a rule, find sands and gravels more to their liking than

clays and heavy loams. Pears will stand rather more water in the soil

than any other of their orchard associates, but a soil water-soaked

for any great length of time in the growing season is a poor medium

in which to grow pears. If, therefore, a soil is not sufficiently dry

naturally it must be tile-drained.

Pear soils must be fertile. All varieties of this fruit refuse to

produce good crops in soils lacking an abundance of the several

chemical elements of plant nutrition. Even the light soils on which

Kieffer, Garber, and Le Conte seem to do best must be well stored

with plant-food. This means that good pear land is costly. Soils that

grow good pears usually grow good farm crops. Pears planted in a poor

soil do not live but linger. Who has not seen short-wooded, rough,

malformed, dwarfed, starved trees which have come to their wretched

condition because planted on land not fertile enough for this fruit?

The land-skinner who grows grass in his orchard usually comes to grief

quickly. Pears start best in a virgin soil from which the forest has

not been long removed; on the other hand, they are often hard to start

on senile soils even though they have been heavily fertilized. Plenty

of humus seems to stimulate pears. There is a prejudice against soils

too rich, some holding that on overly rich land the growth is soft and

sappy and therefore a good medium for the multiplication of the blight

bacteria. This is mostly prejudice, but certain it is that culture and

fertility should not be so managed that the growth continues late, and

the trees go into the winter soft and tender to cold.

Soils seem to have a profound influence on the flavor and texture of

pears. In uncongenial soils the fruits are often so sour or astringent,

dry or gritty, that the product is poor in quality; whereas the pears

of the same variety in a soil to which it is suited are choicely good.

A few varieties, as Bartlett, Clapp Favorite, and Seckel, grow well and

produce fine fruit in a great diversity of soils, but most sorts do so

much better in one soil than in another that it becomes a matter of

prime importance in pear-growing to discover the particular adaptations

of the varieties to be planted. To discover an ideal soil for a variety

is about the highest desideratum in pear-growing.

Some varieties are made to grow in uncongenial soils by grafting them

on stocks better adapted to the soil. Thus, on certain soils some pears

grafted on quince stocks do better than on pear roots. This is a great

field of future discovery and one in which discoveries are being made

as experimenters try new stocks to secure greater resistance to blight.

In all of this work, pear-growers must know not only how well the stock

resists blight, but also how well the cion takes to the stock and the

stock thrives on various soils.

The pear is easy to suit in matter of site for the orchard so far as

lay of land is concerned. Altitude, exposure, slope, and local climate,

all so important in choosing sites for the more tender peach, plum,

and sweet cherry, need receive little consideration in planting the

pear. A site somewhat higher than the surrounding country gives the two

great advantages of soil drainage and air drainage. Good air drainage

is a prime requisite with pears, as it helps to reduce the danger from

frost, and neither pear-scab nor fire-blight are as virulent as on

trees planted on sites where there is little movement of air. Rolling

land, so often recommended for all fruits, seems not to be essential

for pears, as many splendid orchards of this fruit are on flat lands,

which, however, usually have an elevation above the surrounding country

on one or more boundaries. The influence of large bodies of water, so

favorable to the peach, is not as necessary with the pear, although the

best pear regions in the State are near the Great Lakes, the Finger

Lakes, or along the Hudson. There are no successful pear-orchards in

the State surrounded by higher land. Frosts, freezes, pear-blight, and

fungi would soon play havoc with pear-trees in such a situation.

The shelter of hills, forests, or of apple-orchards, provided they do

not shade the pear-orchard too much, may be a valuable adjunct to a

site. Such shelter, however, is desirable only when so situated as to

protect against unseasonable winds and storms. Tree and fruit suffer

greatly when loaded branches are whipped about by strong winds. The

advantages of artificial windbreaks, whether of evergreen or deciduous

trees, are usually more than offset by disadvantages. The direction in

which land slopes is greatly over-emphasized by horticultural writers

if orchards in New York are considered. The only important aspect of

exposure for pears in this State is that the land slope toward the

water when near a large body of water that the orchard may secure in

full the effects that come from planting trees near the water.

Economic considerations are becoming more and more important in

choosing sites for all fruits in New York. Transportation facilities,

including good roads, markets, labor, and packing and selling

organizations are now more important in the pear regions of the State

than the natural determinants of soil and climate, since these are so

favorable in any of the fruit regions in which pears are largely grown.

Natural advantages are more common than man-made ones, and the pear

may be grown on vast areas of New York lands so far as climate and

soil are concerned, but which are wholly unsuited because the economic

factors are unfavorable. Sites for pear-orchards should be sought

for in localities where there are pears enough grown for a central

packing association; near a shipping center where the haul is short and

over good roads; the freight service should be prompt, regular, and

efficient, with low freight and good refrigerator service; labor should

be abundant and not too expensive; and the markets should be several

and so located that they are not controlled by growers in regions more

advantageously situated.

The pear-grower is becoming more and more concerned with the kind of

stock upon which his trees are grafted. One or more of several objects

is sought in working a pear on roots other than its own. The stock

may be chosen, and most often is, with the single purpose in view of

perpetuating a variety; it may be selected to dwarf or magnify the

size of the cion; very often the stock is better adapted to the soil

than the cion would be on its own roots; the quality of the fruit is

sometimes improved by the stock; lastly, some stocks are much more

resistant to fire-blight than others. It is this last character of

the stock that is now receiving most attention. Stock and cion are

united either by budding or grafting, with budding coming more and more

in use. More than with any other fruit, _double-working_ is used in

propagating pears. For example, the quince stock is often preferred to

a pear stock. But some varieties of pears do not unite well with the

quince, in which case a sort which makes a good union with the quince

is first budded or grafted on the stock, and when this cion has grown

to sufficient size, it is top-worked to the desired variety. According

to the size of the mature plant, pear-trees are designated as _dwarfs_

and _standards_, the difference in size being brought about by the

stock. Dwarf trees are usually grown on quince stocks; standards, on

pear stocks.

Dwarfing pear-trees is an old practice, having been in use in Europe

at least 300 years. During this time the use of quince stocks to

dwarf the pear has been a common practice in France and England. For

a century, dwarfing the pear by growing it on the quince has been

common in America. Dwarfing is recommended to secure several effects.

Dwarf trees are more manageable than standard trees when the orchard

area is small; dwarfing stocks are shallow rooted, and dwarfs, as a

rule, do not need a soil so deep as do standard trees; pears grown

on quince stocks are often larger, handsomer, and better in flavor

and texture than those grown as standards; the trees come in bearing

earlier. Dwarf pears, never very common on this continent, are not

planted as much now as they were some years ago. At one time, orchards

of these dwarfs were a familiar sight in New York. A dwarf orchard

and even a dwarf tree is now seldom seen. The faults that have driven

them out of New York are: The stocks used in dwarfing are not uniform,

consequently the trees vary in vigor, health, habit of growth, and in

time of maturity; nurserymen find that the stocks vary greatly in ease

of propagation either from cuttings or layers; the quince stocks are of

several varieties, difficult and expensive to obtain and, therefore,

the orchard trees are expensive; dwarf trees require much more care in

pruning, training, and cultivation than do standard trees; the cost of

producing pears in a dwarf orchard is greater than in a plantation of

standard trees, and the fruit does not command a much higher price;

dwarf trees are commonly rated as less hardy than standard trees and

are much shorter-lived; left to themselves, or if planted too deep,

the cions take root and the trees are but half dwarf. Some of the

objections to dwarf trees could be done away with by obtaining a

variety of the quince which would dwarf the pear satisfactorily, which

could be grown easily from cuttings or layers, and upon which most

pears could be easily worked. A quince of this description is not in

sight.

There is great difference of opinion among growers as to what varieties

may be successfully grown on quince stocks. Probably all will agree

that the following, few indeed, are the best dwarfs in America: Beurré

d'Anjou, Duchesse d'Angoulême, Howell, Lawrence, Louise Bonne de

Jersey, Elizabeth, and White Doyenné. All other sorts, if to be grown

on dwarfs, grow better when double worked.

Almost all of the pears grown in America, as has been said, are

standard trees. The stocks for these standard pears are nearly all

imported from Europe under the name French stocks, although on the

Pacific slope seedlings of oriental species are being used more and

more. The French stocks are seedlings of vigorous forms of the common

pear, _P. communis_. Efforts to grow stocks of this species in America

usually fail because leaf-blight is so destructive as to make their

culture unprofitable. Leaf-blight can be controlled by spraying, but

other deterrents, as high price of labor and losses from dry summers,

added to the cost of spraying, make American-grown stocks expensive.

Stocks raised in this country are usually seedlings from imported seed.

Seedlings of the Sand pear, _P. serotina_, and its hybrids have been

tried extensively in the South and West to obtain cheap stocks more

resistant to pear-blight than the French stock, but they do not seem to

be much more resistant to blight, and many of the best varieties do not

take on these stocks, so that they are generally considered a failure.

New types of stocks are needed badly. The ideal stock must be vigorous

and hardy; fairly immune to leaf-blight and fire-blight; it must

come from a species which seeds freely, and the seedlings from which

are uniform; this ideal stock must be adapted to all pear-growing

regions in the country; a large percentage of the seedlings must make

first-class stocks; the budding season must be long; congeniality with

all cultivated varieties must be great or very nearly perfect; the

consort of stock and cion must make a long-lived tree.

Quince stocks are obtained from cuttings or mound-layers. Layering

is considered the better method of the two. Stocks from the oriental

hybrids, of the Kieffer and Le Conte type, are often grown from

cuttings in the South. These are made in the spring from mature wood

of the preceding year's growth, and are treated much as are grape

and currant cuttings. Long cuttings, a foot in length if possible,

should be used. These stocks are of little value for varieties of

the common pear, but are better than French stocks for the oriental

hybrids, since these, in the South at least, usually overgrow French

stocks. Own-rooted trees of these oriental hybrids are often grown from

cuttings.

While of doubtful utility, stocks from other genera may be used for the

pear. Some of the thorns are occasionally used as dwarfing stocks. The

mountain ash is sometimes used to adapt pears to light sandy soils.

Occasionally one hears of pears grafted on sorbus. The pear on the

apple is short-lived, but old apple-trees top-worked to pears sometimes

give abundant crops for a few years. Apple roots may be used as a nurse

for pear cions. To be successful, the pear cion should be long, when,

if grafted on short apple-roots and set deeply, the pear sends out

roots and eventually becomes own-rooted.

PEAR ORCHARDS AND THEIR CARE

Perhaps no tree-fruit is more exacting in care than the pear. Young

trees, in particular, must be well cared for and more or less coddled

if any factor in environment is adverse. Almost any young orchard of

this fruit becomes moribund if the owner settles down to self-satisfied

complacency. As the trees come into full bearing, the several items

of culture need not be so intensive. A perfect pear-orchard is about

the consummation of good fruit-growing. But a perfect orchard of this

fruit is seldom to be found, for, sooner or later, blight is certain

to take its toll. Because of blight, the culture of no other fruit is

attended with more frequent or keener disappointments. Today a man may

walk in his orchard with adoration, as an artist walks in a beautiful

landscape. Tomorrow, blight may blast the fairest trees. Pear-growing,

thus, becomes a good deal of a gamble, and the boundaries within which

a fruit-grower's ambitions must be confined as to acreage must be more

closely drawn than with other fruits. In most pear regions, the risks

are too great to venture all in the culture of this fruit.

It is an uphill task to grow pears on land not well fitted before

planting. A young pear-tree is about the least self-assertive of any

of the tree-fruits. For the first year or two young pears seem to have

almost no internal push, and are unable to get much of a start out of

any but land in the best of tilth. A bare, stony, starved soil is no

place for a young pear. The ground should be well tilled almost or

quite to the depth the trees are to be planted, otherwise the roots

seek the upper layers of earth where there is least resistance and food

is most available. If the drainage is faulty, subsequent treatment

is well-nigh useless. Sometimes retentive soils in which drainage is

good most of the year but slow at planting time may be brought into

condition by plowing a back-furrow along the line of each row in the

direction of surface drainage to carry away the surface water. Under

no circumstances should a tree be planted in a hole in which water

is liable to stand about the roots. If possible, the land should be

prepared a year in advance by putting in a hoed crop, after which it

should be plowed deeply in the fall and pulverized well in the spring,

and the trees planted as promptly as possible.

Land suitable for growing pears does not need to be fertilized for

young trees. It is not too much to say that land which will not grow

good wheat or corn is hardly fit for pears, although lighter soils

fertilized as the trees come in bearing grow some varieties very well;

but even on these the young trees will start as well without as with

fertilizers. Commercial fertilizers, at least, are not wanted by young

trees. Stable manure, usually priceless in orchard regions, often puts

an atmosphere in an orchard not to be had by any other means, chiefly,

probably, because it helps to put the land in good tilth rather than

because of the plant food supplied.

Present practices in the use of fertilizers for mature pear-trees are

very diverse. Until experiments in fertilizing pears are carefully

carried out, the pear-grower may well follow the practices of

apple-growers, since a considerable number of long-time experiments

have thrown light on the fertilizer requirements of apples in the

several great fruit regions of the country. The pear, however, requires

a richer soil than the apple; but, on the other hand, it is pretty

well agreed that the blight bacterium finds readier entrance and a

better medium in which to grow in the soft wood of a luxuriant growth

than in the more compact wood of slow growths. Whatever fertilizer is

used should be applied early to promote early growth and so permit

thorough ripening of wood well in advance of severe cold. Many growers

maintain that blight is less virulent in orchards laid down to grass.

It is doubtful if this is true and if true the produce is so scant

and the pears so small that an orchard grown in grass is about as

often a liability as an asset. When the pear is set in grass, however,

nitrate of soda applied very early in the season in liberal amounts is

a necessary adjunct to the grass-mulch. In any pear orchard, when the

foliage is off color, small, sparse, or hangs limp, nitrate of soda is

a sovereign rejuvenator.

This discussion may be closed with advice as to how one may know

when his trees need fertilizers. If the trees are vigorous, bearing

well, the fruits of proper size, the foliage a luxuriant green, the

growth plump, the buds turgid, he may well assume that his trees need

no additional plant-food. If the trees are not in the condition of

well-being indicated, one ought to be well assured that drainage,

tillage, and health are as they should be before applying expensive and

uncertain fertilizers. Nothing is more satisfactory than making sure

that one is not putting chemicals in the ground for nothing in the use

of fertilizers. A simple experiment to obtain positive evidence as to

whether a pear-orchard needs fertilizers is easily carried on and gives

assurance where before there was doubt.

The following is an example of such an experiment: (1) Acid phosphate

to give about 50 pounds of phosphoric acid to the acre applied to one

plat; (2) phosphate as above and muriate of potash to give 100 pounds

of potash to the acre on another plat; (3) phosphate and muriate as

above and nitrate of soda and dried blood to give 50 pounds of nitrogen

per acre on a third plat; (4) six tons of stable manure on a fourth

plat; and (5) one plat left unfertilized as a check.

Planting practices vary so greatly from place to place and from time

to time, and each method at the place and time seems so justifiable,

that one can hardly advocate particular methods and can only state what

they are. Thus, pears have been set in accordance with all of several

planting plans, and at distances ranging from sixteen to twenty-five

feet apart. At present, pear-orchards are usually laid out in meridians

and parallels at intervals of eighteen and twenty feet; when the first

distance is used, one hundred and thirty-four trees are planted to

the acre; if the second, one hundred and eight trees. It is patent to

the eye of every passer-by that these distances are more often too

small than too great. Certainly on rich soils and with varieties the

trees of which are spreading, the distance might often better be put

at twenty-two or twenty-four feet. A poorly-colored pear is usually a

poorly-flavored pear; and color and flavor are largely dependent on

sunshine and air which are hardly to be had in closely-planted trees.

Perfect alignment is imperative for convenience in working and pride

of appearance. Dwarf trees in New York should be set at least fifteen

feet apart each way, one hundred and ninety-three trees to the acre,

although it is a common practice to set them closer.

Until recently one of the discouragements in pear-growing was the

failure of fruit to set, even though the trees bore an abundance of

blossoms. The discovery that failure was often due to self-sterility in

a variety, and that it was necessary to set another variety near-by to

furnish pollen to fertilize the self-sterile blossoms has removed much

of the uncertainty in growing pears. We now know that self-sterility

has a most important economic aspect in the planting of pears. Some of

the varieties most profitable when planted to secure cross-pollination,

are so unfruitful as to be quite unprofitable when a tree stands

alone or when the variety is set in a solid block with no other sort

near. Under most conditions Bartlett and Kieffer, the mainstays of

American pear-culture, both need pollen from another variety to insure

a full set of fruit. Under some conditions both may be sufficiently

self-fertile. From these two statements it is seen that self-sterility

is not a constant factor in a variety.

Self-sterility and self-fertility are greatly influenced by the

condition under which a variety is grown. Thus, a variety is often

self-sterile in one locality and not in another. Occasionally Bartlett,

usually nearly or quite self-sterile, and other varieties as well,

set fruit one season and not the next. All pears, the Bartlett in

particular, seem to have a greater degree of self-sterility in eastern

pear regions than on the Pacific slope. In general, the better the

adaptation of a variety to its environment the better it sets fruit

with its own pollen. It is obvious, therefore, that it is not possible

to give lists of self-sterile and self-fertile varieties. Such lists

can be made out only for regions and localities. Some varieties,

however, more often fail to set fruit because of self-sterility

than others. Among standard pears, Bartlett, Beurré d'Anjou, Beurré

Clairgeau, Clapp Favorite, Howell, Kieffer, Lawrence, Sheldon, and

Winter Nelis appear to be most often self-sterile. Beurré Bosc, Flemish

Beauty, and Seckel are usually self-fertile.

A self-sterile variety usually sets fruit when another variety is at

hand to supply pollen. Several considerations determine the selection

of varieties to interplant. Thus, the two varieties must blossom at the

same time if cross-pollination is to be effective. The table on pages

88 to 90 shows the sorts that bloom at the same time, or nearly enough

so to make cross-pollination possible. Under normal conditions, the

blooming time of varieties overlaps sufficiently for cross-pollination

excepting those that bloom very early and very late. If the table is

used for regions much to the north or to the south of this Station,

allowance must be made for a shorter blooming period the farther

north; a longer one the farther south. That varieties of pears have

sexual affinities is another consideration that merits some attention.

That is, one variety will fertilize another sort very well, while

pollen from a third may not be at all acceptable. "Affinities" can be

determined only by hand crossing. Probably the importance of affinities

is over-rated. The distance between varieties set for cross-pollination

must not be too great--not more than two or three rows apart. For

convenience in harvesting, varieties should be selected in relation

to ripening. Only commercial varieties should be interplanted, as

the wastage is too great if comparatively worthless sorts are set to

fertilize a standard commercial variety.

Some disadvantages attend the setting of mixed orchards of pears,

and these must be weighed and overcome as far as possible. There are

many current statements to the effect that all varieties, whether

self-sterile or self-fertile, are more fruitful and produce better

fruit with foreign pollen than with their own. To old pear-growers,

this seems to be putting it rather strong, but the statements come from

accurate experimenters and observers and should have consideration.

Cross-pollination, be it remembered, is not a cure-all for failures to

set fruit. Unseasonable weather, lack of vitality in trees, various

fungi, and no doubt other agencies, may be the cause of unfruitfulness.

As to commercial varieties, the tale is soon told. Only a half-dozen

sorts are generally planted in New York orchards. These, about in

order of importance, are: Bartlett, Kieffer, Seckel, Beurré Bosc,

Beurré d'Anjou, and Winter Nelis. To this short list may be added

the following grown more or less for local markets: Clapp Favorite,

Sheldon, Beurré Clairgeau, Lawrence, Howell, Tyson, and Mount Vernon.

A list for the home orchard should include all of these and many more

to be chosen from the major varieties described in Chapter IV. The pear

flora of the country changes very slowly, and there are now almost no

new sorts on general probation in the country.

Perhaps with no other tree-fruits is it more important to begin with

good trees, as even with the best it is often difficult to get a good

start toward a pear-orchard. Black-heart, caused by winter-killing, is

a sign that must be heeded, and a tree badly blackened in its pith,

especially if the surrounding wood is discolored, should be discarded.

Crown-gall on tap roots affects the tree deleteriously. Trees marked

by hail or insects are often worthless. Other marks that commend or

condemn trees are: A short stocky plant is better than a tall spindling

one. A tree with many branches is better than one with few branches.

The roots should be much branched rather than sparsely branched. A tree

with smooth, bright bark is better than one with rough, dull bark. Both

trunk and branches should be plump and show no signs of shrivelling. A

poor pear-tree in the nursery seldom makes a good tree in the orchard.

There is great variation in varieties as the trees come from the

nursery, a fact to be considered. In New York, two-year-old trees are

best.

A good deal of the success that attends the culture of the pear depends

on properly setting the young trees and the right care of the young

plants. It is superfluous to discuss these operations in detail, but

a statement as to proper setting and care will serve as reminders. In

this State, pear-trees should always be set in the spring. A young

pear-tree should be set in the soil about as deep as it stood in the

nursery; in light soils the roots might well be planted a little

deeper, and in heavy soils not quite so deep. The soil must be packed

firmly about the roots--best done by tramping. Watering is necessary

only when the land is parched with drought. When necessary, water

should be used liberally. Puddling the roots by dipping them in thin

mud before planting serves very well for watering. The surface soil

should always be left loose. Rank manure about the roots of young trees

is plant infanticide. During the tender nonage of the young pear,

cultivation should be intensive; insects and fungi should be kept off;

and plants that refuse to grow well must be marked for discarding.

A catch-crop grown between the rows of pears is a profitable adjunct

to the pear-orchard for the first four or five years. Few indeed are

the pear-orchards in New York that cannot be made to sustain themselves

for the first few years by inter-cropping. The crops should be hoed

crops, such as potatoes, cabbage, beans, tomatoes, and nearly all

crops in demand at the canneries. Along the Hudson, small-fruits are

often planted in young pear-orchards, but in Western New York these

are not looked upon with favor. Grass and grain are deadly in a young

pear-orchard, and no right-minded man would plant them there. This

brings us to cultivation.

Cultivation should be the rule; sod mulch, the exception, in growing

pears in New York. After pear-trees come into bearing they may be made

to produce crops if kept in sod. The grass in sodded orchards should

be kept closely mown to form a mulch about the trees. Commercial

fertilizers as well as mulch are needed in sodded orchards, and of

the several chemical fertilizers nitrogen is most requisite. The man

who grows pears in sod must not expect as much fruit, as the crop is

lessened in both number and size of the pears. On the other hand, the

pears may be better colored, and the trees may be freer from blight.

Tillage is begun in the spring by plowing the land. This operation is

followed by cultivation with smoothing-harrow, weeder, or cultivator.

There are several reliable guides to tell when and how often a

pear-orchard should be cultivated. When the soil becomes dry it should

be tilled. A heavy rain should always be followed by the cultivator

to prevent the formation of a crust on the surface. At this time, he

tills twice who tills quickly. Cultivate when there are clods to be

pulverized. Usually a pear-orchard should be cultivated once in two or

three weeks until time to sow the cover-crop in midsummer. The depth

to till is governed by the season and the nature of the soil. Heavy

soils need deep stirring; light soils, shallow stirring. Till moist

soils deeply; dry soils, lightly. The time to stop tillage depends on

the soil, the climate, and the season. The fruit should be nearly full

sized when tillage is stopped and the cover-crop sown.

The cover-crop seed is covered the last time the cultivator goes over

the orchard. Clover, vetch, cow-horn turnip, rape, oats, rye, and

buckwheat are all used as cover-crops in this State. Combination crops

are not popular because of too great cost of seed. The quantity of

seed sown is the same as when the crops are grown as farm crops. The

crops must be changed from time to time in whatever rotation seems

most suitable for the soil. The weather-map must be watched at sowing

time to make sure of a moist seed-bed. Whatever the crop, it should be

plowed under in the fall or early spring, and under no circumstances

should it stand late in the spring to rob the trees of food and

moisture. In moist, hot seasons, the cover-crop should be sown earlier

than in seasons of slow growth, when, possibly, it acts as a deterrent

to blight, and certainly makes more certain thorough ripening of the

new wood.

The double nature of pruning must be kept in mind whenever a pruning

tool is taken in the pear-orchard. Fruit-trees are pruned to increase

the quantity and quality of the crop--this is pruning proper; and

to give the trees such form that they are easily managed in the

orchard--this is training. Pruning tools are used first when the trees

are set, and they should be used every year thereafter as long as the

tree lives. The pruning at setting time is particularly important with

the pear, since newly set pears are slow and uncertain in starting, and

linger in growth for a year or two after going into the orchard. The

pruning is much the same as with other trees, but must be done with a

little greater care.

The top of the young plant must be pruned to enable the injured

root-system to supply the remaining branches with water. The less the

roots are injured, the less the top need be cut. Some cut back all of

the branches; some remove whole branches and do not head back those

that remain. The latter is the better plan for this reason: The top

buds on branches are largest and develop first, and the newly set tree

will grow best if it develops a large leaf-surface before hot dry

weather sets in. Young trees usually have surplus branches; remove

those not needed, leaving three, four, or rarely five to form the

framework of the tree. A pear so pruned will start growth and acquire

vigor more quickly than if all branches are cut back.

A choice must be made when planting as to whether the tree is to be

low- or high-headed. The habit of growth of varieties differs so

greatly that there can be no rule to determine how high the head of

a tree should be started. One can generalize to this extent: The

heads of varieties with spreading tops should be started higher than

those having an upright or pyramidal top. Without question, the choice

should be for a low-headed pear-tree. The trunks of pear-trees suffer

terribly from blight and sun-scald. The less trunk and the more it is

shaded by branches, the less the tree suffers from these two troubles.

Also, low trees are more easily sprayed and pruned; the crop is more

easily thinned and harvested; crop and tree are less subject to injury

by frost; the top is more quickly formed; and a low-headed tree bears

fruit soonest. By low-headed is meant a distance from the ground to the

first limb of two feet.

Two shapes of tops are open to choice--the open-centered and the

close-centered. In the open-centered, or vase-form top, the tree

consists of a short trunk, surmounted by four or five main branches

ascending obliquely. In the close-centered top, the trunk is continued

above the lower branches and forms the center of the tree. The

close-centered pear-tree produces more fruit and is most easily kept to

its shape. No doubt it is best for most varieties. The open-centered

tree, with its framework of several main branches, has the advantage

when trees are attacked by blight, since if one or two branches are

destroyed by the disease a part of the tree may still be saved. The

head should never be formed by two central leaders forming a crotch, as

the trunk is liable to split and ruin the tree.

For several years after planting, the pear needs to be pruned only

to train the tree to the height of head determined upon and to form

the top. Exceptions are the sorts which produce few branches and thus

form straggling heads. This defect is overcome by cutting back some of

the branches in the spring, an operation which increases the number

of branches. A few other sorts, as Winter Nelis and White Doyenné,

have drooping, twisting, wayward branches which can be trained into

manageable shape only by cutting back or tying the branches in place.

Pear-growers as a rule prune young trees too much. Over-pruning

increases the growth of wood and leaf too greatly, and thus delays the

fruiting of the plant. A good deal might be said about the use and

abuse of heading-in pears--that is, cutting back the terminal growths

from year to year. Dwarf pears must be headed-in severely to keep the

trees down, but standard trees should be headed-in only to make the

tops thicker and broader--a desirable procedure with some varieties.

Old trees often need to be pruned to increase their vigor. Such pruning

is often spoken of as _pruning for wood_. When the tops of pear-trees

have dead and dying wood, when the seasonal growth is short and

slender, when the crops are small and the pears lack size, or when

trees are weakened by disease, a healthy condition may oftentimes be

restored by severely cutting back some branches and wholly removing

others. In such pruning the following rules ought to be observed:

Weak-growing varieties are pruned heavily; strong-growing kinds,

lightly.

Varieties which branch freely need little pruning; those having few and

unbranching limbs should be pruned closely.

In cool, damp climates, trees produce much wood and need little

pruning; in hot dry climates, growth is scant and trees need much

pruning.

Rich, deep soils favor growth; trees in such soils should be pruned

lightly. In light or shallow soils, trees produce few and short shoots;

the pruning of trees on such soils should be severe.

A good deal is said about _pruning for fruit_. It is doubtful,

however, whether unfruitful pear-trees can be made more fruitful by

the pruning recommended for this purpose. When barrenness is caused

by the production of wood and foliage at the expense of fruit-buds,

as possibly sometimes happens, summer-pruning may check the

over-production of growth and cause flower-buds to form. There seems

to be no definite experiments to prove this theory in America, nor do

pear-growers generally practice this kind of pruning which has been

preached so long and so often. To follow the rules in this operation,

summer-pruning should be done when the growth for the season has

nearly ceased. If done earlier, the shoots cut back start again and

the pruning has been useless. If done too late, there is too little

time for the production of fruit-buds. In the unequable climate of

this country it is most difficult to know when to prune in the summer

to meet the requirements of the theory urged so strongly by European

pomologists. A weighty objection to summer-pruning in America is that

the wounds might and probably would become centers of infection for

blight.

There is no attempt to give a full discussion of pruning in this

text. Such details as making the cut, covering the wounds, pruning

paraphernalia, filling cavities and the amount to prune, belong to

texts on pruning. Perhaps two minor details important in growing

pears should be mentioned. Suckers or water-sprouts form so freely

on branches of pears that they often seriously devitalize the tree,

and usually are centers of blight. They should therefore be removed

promptly whenever and wherever found. The time to prune the pear is

important. If the work is done too early in the winter, injury may

result to the tissues near the wound from cold or from checking. If

done late in the spring when sap is flowing, the wound becomes wet and

sticky and is a suitable place for the growth of fungi and the blight

bacterium.

The pear is as easily grafted as any other pome, and the operation

is more certain and more often desirable than with any of the

stone-fruits. Almost any method of grafting used with orchard fruits

is successful with the pear. But the pear is not often grafted in this

State after the tree has been set in the orchard. The great objection

is that the vigorous growth made by grafts is nearly always nipped by

blight. Possibly the lack of affinity between different varieties is

more pronounced than with other pomes. The common European varieties

cannot be inter-worked without experimental knowledge of how one

variety will grow on another, and it is almost impossible to intergraft

common varieties with the oriental hybrids. The temptation is strong in

this State to graft such sorts as Bartlett and Seckel on Kieffer. This

combination is seldom successful; nor, as a rule, can other European

pears be grafted on Kieffer, although some growers have succeeded

fairly well in growing Seckel on Kieffer.

Thinning the fruit is not a common practice in pear-growing in this

State. There is no doubt but that much might be done to improve pears

in both size and quality by thinning, for be it remembered that large

size of fruit and high quality are usually correlated in pears.

Thinning often saves the vigor of the tree, and it is often good

orchard management to destroy insect- or disease-infected fruit by

thinning. The objection is high cost. Most growers, however, find that

it pays to thin. Thinning is usually done as soon as possible after

the June drop. It is most difficult to tell, when thinning, what will

prove superfluity at harvest. A skilled grower adjusts the size of the

crop to the variety, the vigor of the tree, fertility and moisture in

the ground, the season, and insects and fungi. Thinning should begin in

the winter with the removal of what seem to be superfluous branches,

for even at this time fruit-prospects for the ensuing season are

fore-shadowed.

HARVESTING AND MARKETING

Fruit-growing is made up of several quite distinct phases of activity;

as, propagation, culture, pruning, pests, harvesting, and marketing.

Treated in detail, each of these several operations constitutes matters

quite sufficient for separate treatises. In a manual such as this only

outlines of present practices are in place. Perhaps of all deciduous

fruits the pear needs as particular attention in the various operations

which conduct it from the orchard to the table as any other, if,

indeed, it is not the most difficult of hardy fruits to handle after it

leaves the orchard. The several operations that should be treated in a

discussion of handling the pear crop, no matter how brief, are picking,

grading, packing, storing, shipping, and marketing.

The time of picking is most important in handling pears. Pears are

picked, especially for the markets, long before they are ready to eat

out of hand. So harvested, almost without exception, all pears acquire

higher quality than when they ripen on the tree. Moreover, when the

necessary percentage of sugars and solids has developed to give full

flavor the pears are too easily bruised to be shipped. Just how green

pears can be harvested and afterward have the rich shades of red and

yellow and the delectable flavor of ripe pears develop seems not yet

to have been determined.[22] No doubt the stages of development differ

somewhat with the variety. In New York, the generally accepted rule is

to pick when the stem parts readily from the branch if the fruit is

lifted. Some wait until there is a perceptible yellowing of the maturer

fruits; others until full-grown, wormy specimens are ripe; still others

until the seeds begin to change color. But on the Pacific slope and for

the cannery in this State, pears are picked when much greener than in

any of the conditions named and yet seem to ripen well. As a matter of

economy, the fruits should be left until they attain nearly or quite

full size.

The directions just given apply more particularly to the main-crop

pears and early and fall sorts. Winter pears in this State should be

left on the trees until in danger from freezing. Even so, the season

is too short for some choice winter sorts. No matter what the season,

pears should be shipped before they reach edible condition. A few of

the winter pears, suitable only for culinary purposes, never soften,

and change color little or not at all.

Picking pears is not the delicate business that picking the

stone-fruits is, but yet must be done with considerable care as a

bruise provides a place for subsequent decay. Few picking appliances

are needed, but these should be carefully chosen to insure speed

and careful handling of the fruit. A full complement of ladders is

necessary, and the picking receptacle, either bag, basket, or bucket,

should be chosen to fulfill most conveniently its purpose and yet not

be a source of danger to the fruit. From the picking receptacle, the

pears go to the crate or barrel for carriage to the packing-house; for,

unless the fruit is going to the cannery, pears should be graded and

packed in the packing-house.

Grading pears is a more difficult operation than grading apples, as

mechanical graders have proved of little use, and the work must be

done by hand. Only good fruit is worth grading. It follows, that the

higher the price and the more special the market, the more carefully

should the pears be picked and graded. Pears are usually graded in New

York into firsts, seconds, and culls. The State has no law governing

the grading and packing of pears as it has of apples and peaches, so

that pear-growers must establish their own grades. By common consent

of growers and dealers, Grade I consists of pears of one variety, full

sized, well formed, free from dirt, skin-breaks, worms, scale, scab or

other damage caused by insect or disease, hail pecks, or mechanical

injuries. Grade II differs from Grade I only in that the pears may not

be of full size nor perfect in form. A leeway of five to ten per cent

is allowed for variation incident to grading and handling. Culls are

pears which do not meet the requirements of the foregoing grades.

In putting up grades every effort is made to keep the fruit in a

package uniform in size. At the beginning of the season the sizes are

gauged by putting the pears through rings of the diameter desired.

But packers soon become expert in sizing, and with a little practice

perform the work quickly and accurately without rings. Of the larger

pears, such as Bartlett, Clapp Favorite, Beurré Bosc, and Beurré

d'Anjou, fruits are hardly worth putting in a good package that do not

measure two and one-fourth inches through the shorter axis.

Grading and sizing pears are greatly neglected, and most of the crop

goes to the market in this State wretchedly packed, for which reason

maximum prices are seldom received. The industry can never compete

successfully with western pear-growing until higher standards are

adopted in putting the New York crop on the market.

In common with grading and sizing, packages are neglected in marketing

New York pears. Some growers pack in bushel baskets; a few send the

crop to market in half-bushel baskets; a large size of the Climax

basket is occasionally seen in the markets filled with summer pears or

small Seckels; a keg holding about a bushel or more is less used; a

pear barrel holding a peck less than an apple barrel was formerly more

used than now; Kieffer is often sent to the market in apple barrels. A

very few New York growers ship in boxes, but these are few indeed. In

all excepting the boxes, the pears, having been graded, are carefully

put in the packages, sometimes in layers and sometimes hit or miss,

but the package is always faced. Good grades are usually labeled,

though the same attention is not given to labeling pears that is given

in putting up apples. Truth is, the packing of pears in New York is a

decade or two behind the packing of apples.

The commercial pear-grower now stores his pears in cold storage if he

keeps them any length of time after harvesting. A few varieties, of

which Beurré Bosc is most notable, do not keep well in cold storage,

but most of the mainstays in the pear industry keep fairly well in

artificial cold. There is, however, much to be learned about the

commercial storage of pears. There seems to be little information

that can be relied upon as to how low the temperature should go; how

humid the atmosphere should be; how long the pears can be kept in good

condition; and how different varieties behave under these several

conditions.

Perhaps a word should be said as to how the pear can be ripened best

in the home. After harvesting, the pears should be placed in a cool

sweet-smelling fruit-room in shallow boxes or spread upon shelves to

acquire in time full flavor and color. Most pears part with their

moisture readily, and the pear-room must not be open to draughts which

usually cause the fruits to become hard and leathery or to shrivel.

If the pears are to be kept long, wrapping in paper helps to prevent

shriveling. Nearly all pears ripen perfectly in cool or cold storage,

but a few late winter sorts ripen better if brought into a temperature

of 60° or 70° for two or three weeks before their season.

A large part of New York's pear crop is canned in commercial canneries.

Canners usually pay high prices, and the crop, when sold to them, need

not be so carefully picked, packed, and otherwise handled. It is a

mistake to assume that pears for the cannery can be shaken from the

tree or handled roughly otherwise. Neither do the canners want the poor

grades, after the good pears have been sent to the market. Large sizes

are usually preferred, and the fruits must be well formed, free from

serious insect, fungous, or mechanical injuries, and at a particular

stage of maturity which the canner specifies. The profits in selling to

canners are usually more certain, and are often quite as great as in

selling on the markets. The cannery is a splendid safety valve to the

pear industry in this State. Pears are not dried commercially in New

York as they are in California, although it would seem that here in the

center of the apple-drying industry of the world pears might also be

dried with profit.

Most of the pear crop of this region is now sold to local buyers or on

consignment to city dealers. Co-operative methods are just beginning

and promise much. There are several reasons why the pear, even more

than the apple, which is more and more going to the markets through

co-operative associations, should be handled by organizations of

growers. Thus, an association could load a car quickly, which few

individual growers can do; pears are not now, but would be, graded and

packed under one standard; more favorable transportation rates would be

secured; and, most important of all, the pear crop would be distributed

to the great markets of the country without the disastrous competition

that attends individual marketing. If the pear industry is to grow in

the State, pears must be largely marketed through the central packing

associations that are now being rapidly organized to sell fruits.

No reliable data can be obtained to show what the costs are in

growing pears in this State. It would be hard to obtain such data,

for pear-growing is now a game of chance from start to finish. Good

pear-lands are not hard to obtain, and the risks to tree and crop

attendant on weather are not great, but the trees are everywhere

subject to blight; which, despite the recommendations of plant

pathologists, cannot be controlled, and which annually destroys

thousands of trees, ruins others, and sooner or later upsets

calculations of costs and profits in almost every pear-orchard in the

State. Other pests, as psylla, the scab-fungus, and codling-moth beset

the pear and make profits uncertain. When all goes well, the costs are

about the same as in growing apples, while the profits are somewhat

greater.[23] But with blight to contend with, most of the economic

factors are inconstant, and calculating costs and profits is guessing

pure and simple.

DISEASES OF THE PEAR

The pear is attacked by a half dozen or more diseases in New York, of

which two, at least, need treatment every year, in every orchard, and

on nearly every variety. One, pear-blight, is about the most malignant

of the diseases of the orchard, for which there is no antidote and

no alleviation or preventive except by the most drastic sanitary

measures. The other, pear-scab, is always present but not always

destructive, although some varieties are always injured by it. The

scab, however, is amenable to treatment and at its worst only destroys

fruit and foliage, seldom endangering the life of the tree. The four or

five other diseases of the pear in New York are of minor importance and

are readily controlled by the treatment necessary to keep in check the

scab-fungus. Pear-blight merits attention first.

Pear-blight is a malignant bacterial disease, very contagious, usually

virulent and so terrible in its consequences as to warrant the common

name _fire-blight_. No part of the tree is exempt from destruction

by the malign bacterium that causes blight of the pear. Root, trunk,

branch, leaf, flower, and fruit are all attacked, turn black and wither

under the disease. Few plant diseases produce more disastrous results.

The pear competes with the apple in importance in Europe where blight

is unknown. In America it is a poor fourth to the apple, peach, and

plum, and takes fourth place instead of second because of the ravages

of blight. About the most important discovery to be made in pomology is

a race of blight-resistant pears. Failing in this, if the pear-industry

is to grow, or even continue in its present magnitude, blight-resistant

stocks must be found.

The symptoms of pear-blight are so characteristic that the disease

cannot be confounded with any other malady or condition of the

tree. It appears earliest in the season on the blossoms causing

blossom-blight. Attacked by blight, the blossoms wilt, and after the

petals fall, fruit and spur show the characteristic blackening of the

disease. Blossom-blight may escape the attention of the pear-grower,

but twig-blight, a succeeding form of the disease, can escape no

one who has the sense of sight. No other disease of the pear brings

on such palpable destruction to the tree as twig-blight. No other

disease causes such comfortless despair to the grower. Twig, branch,

or tree, as the case may be, in all affected parts, turns black, the

leaves droop, seeming to show the effects of fire. A marked symptom

is, if there can be doubt of those given, that the blackened foliage

clings most tenaciously to the dead branches. Twig-blight is the

most common manifestation of the disease. Another form of the blight

appears as a canker on the trunk and large branches--canker-blight or

body-blight. These cankers are dark, smooth, and sunken, with definite

margins marked by a crevasse in the winter; but as spring comes on

the advancing margins become raised and more or less indefinite.

Occasionally an opaque liquid oozes from lenticels newly attacked. On

branches, the cankers usually surround a smaller offshoot, sucker, or

spur. The disease spreads with great rapidity, by reason of which it is

easily told from winter-killing. Injury from cold is also more general,

and the foliage browns rather than blackens.

Pear-blight is an American disease, the history of which was briefly

given on page 51. Until recently it was confined to regions east of the

Rocky Mountains, but since about 1900 it has been a virulent epidemic

on the Pacific slope as well, and is now found from coast to coast

wherever pears are grown in North America. It seems not to be found in

the pear regions of other continents. It attacks the apple, quince,

and other pomes as well as the pear, and plant pathologists declare it

to be the most destructive disease attacking the pome-fruits. Trees in

the nursery suffer as well as those in the orchard. Every variety of

the pear bearing edible fruit is attacked. Fortunately, some sorts are

more immune than others. Kieffer, Seckel, Winter Nelis, and Duchesse

d'Angoulême are most resistant of standard varieties, while Bartlett,

Clapp Favorite, and Flemish Beauty are little resistant.

Pear-blight is caused by a bacterium, _Bacillus amylovorous_, the

discovery of which by Burrill in 1877 as a cause of this disease is

one of the landmarks in plant pathology. The organisms are dormant

during the winter, which they pass in the margins of blight-cankers

where moisture is sufficient to keep them alive. With the return of

vegetative growth, some sort of fermentation seems to set in and drops

of a thick, opaque liquid ooze out of the margins of blight-cankers.

These contain countless numbers of the blight bacteria which may

swarm into the healthy tissues adjoining, or be carried by any one of

the great number of kinds of insects which visit trees at flowering

time to the pear-blossoms, to growing tips, or to wounds in tender

bark. The pruner with his tools may be an unwilling agent in carrying

the bacteria from tree to tree. The organisms now multiply apace,

killing tissues wherever they find entrance and causing the several

manifestations of the disease described under symptoms. Were it not

that the bacteria are killed by sunlight and even brief periods of

drying, the life of the plants attacked would be the only limits of the

disease unless checked by man.

Theoretically, pear-blight can be controlled. Practically, pear-growers

fail to control it. Control consists in orchard sanitation whereby

the bacterium causing the disease is kept out of the orchard. This

proves all but impossible in the average orchard. Sometimes, without

doubt, the virulency of the disease is lessened. Possibly, if all

the recommendations of plant pathologists could be put in practice,

pear-growers would more often succeed in keeping blight down, but the

necessary sanitary measures require such watchful care and so great an

expense that few pear-growers can carry out the program for controlling

this disease. Of those who have studied methods of control and have

given advice on the subject, Hesler and Whetzel[24] are as reliable as

any and we quote herewith their recommendations:

"In attempting to control fire-blight, the following important points

should be borne in mind: (1) That the disease is caused by bacteria

which gain entrance to the host tissues only through wounds, or

punctures by insects, into succulent, rapidly growing tissues, or

through the nectaries of the blossoms. (2) That insects of several

kinds are the usual agents of inoculation. (3) That practically

all pome fruit-growing sections in North America are infested, and

therefore there is always a source from which the bacteria may be

disseminated. (4) That all known varieties of the hosts, on which the

blight organism occurs, are more or less susceptible; while some show

resistance, none are wholly immune. Therefore control consists chiefly

in the elimination of the pathogene from the infected trees. This is

accomplished by a strict application of the following operations: (a)

Inspect all pear trees in the autumn and again in the early spring

before the blossoms open, and cut out and treat all cankers in the

body and main limbs. With a sharp knife, or draw-shave, remove all the

diseased tissue, wash the wound with corrosive sublimate (one tablet

to one pint of water), and, when dry, paint the wound with coal-tar

or lead paint, preferably the former. The wound-dressing will need

renewal every year or so. (b) Throughout the summer, beginning with

the fall of blossoms, make an inspection every few days of the young

trees. Break out the blighted spurs and cut out diseased twigs, making

the cut at least six inches below the diseased portion. Disinfect the

cuts with corrosive sublimate. (c) Remove all watersprouts from the

trees two or three times during the season. (d) In the nursery remove

the blossom-buds, particularly of the quinces. Here inspection must

be frequent, particularly in susceptible stock, in order to keep the

disease under control. It is often necessary to inspect certain blocks

daily, the diseased twigs being cut out as soon as observed. When

budded stock of the first year becomes affected, the trees should be

dug out, since cutting below the diseased area causes the trunk of the

young tree to be crooked and therefore not marketable. (e) Control the

insects. The real point of attack lies in this phase of the problem."

Scab (_Venturia pyrina_ Aderh.), after blight, is the best-known and

most prevalent disease of the pear in New York. Like blight, it is

found wherever pears are grown in North America, and also wherever

pears are grown in foreign countries. It attacks the pear at all ages

from the youngest to the oldest plant. Twigs, leaves, flowers, and

fruit suffer. A closely related and very similar fungus attacks the

apple and causes the apple-scab, but the two fungi are not the same and

do not spread from the one fruit to the other.

The name describes the disease at maturity so that all may know it.

Black, canker-like lesions spot the fruit, leaf, and twig. These are

most characteristic on the pear. The scabs first appear on the fruit

as olive-green velvety spots; the young fruits may drop; if they

persist, growth may cease, the skin crack, or the fruit be distorted;

the fruit-stalk is often shriveled. The scab shows on the leaves much

as on the fruit and usually attacks the lower surface. On the twigs the

scab is not so conspicuous, but appears as a small round spot which

may or may not slough off and be replaced by healthy bark. Young twigs

are most often attacked, in which case the scabby spots suggest scale

insects.

Pear-scab is caused by a fungus. The chief life events of this fungus

must be known to control the disease. The organism passes the winter

in leaves on the ground. In the spring, the spores which have matured

in the spore-cases are forcibly discharged, and, being very light, are

carried hither and thither by the wind so that some of them reach the

opening flower and leaf-buds. If moisture and heat are sufficient, the

spores germinate, and an infection is started. A foothold secured, the

germ-tubes branch and form a dense mycelium--the velvety layer visible

to the unaided eye. From these masses of mycelium spore-stalks arise in

great numbers bearing countless spores which by one agent and another

are carried to other leaves, twigs, or blossoms for new infections. New

infections continue throughout the growing season. The black scab spots

on fruit and leaf are corky layers of tissue formed to heal the wounds

made by the fungus which has ceased to grow vigorously in these scabs.

The fungus may pass the winter on the twigs as well as in fallen leaves.

Different varieties resist the scab-fungus differently. Flemish Beauty

and Summer Doyenné are most susceptible and in seasons favorable to the

fungus seldom present fruits with a clean cheek no matter how careful

the treatment. Pruning off badly infected twigs and plowing under

scabby leaves are good sanitary measures. In New York, two applications

of lime and sulphur at the summer strength, if applied annually,

are usually sufficient to control the fungus. The first of these

applications should be made when the blossoms show color, a few days

before they open. The second should be put on when most of the petals

have fallen. In seasons favorable to the scab, a third application two

weeks after the second may be the means of saving the crop. The spread

of the disease is greatly favored by damp warm weather.

Pear-growers are plagued by two leaf-spots, one of which is also known

as leaf-blight. The leaf-spot here to be discussed (_Mycosphærella

sentina_ (Fr.) Schroet.) is sometimes called the ashy leaf-spot. The

disease is not often seriously troublesome in New York, but is capable

of doing great damage in both the nursery and orchard. The spots which

give name to the disease are conspicuous enough, but even when present

in great numbers are often not seen by the pear-grower until there is a

premature dropping of the leaves in August or earlier. The trees often

put out new growths, with the result that the wood does not ripen and

the tree is left in no condition to stand the cold of winter in this

northern climate.

As with nearly all diseases of plants, some varieties suffer more

than others. Sheldon, Seckel, and Flemish Beauty are more injured

than Kieffer, Lawrence, and Mount Vernon. Nursery stock is more often

injured the second than the first year set. Only the leaves suffer.

The fungus first shows its work in minute purplish spots on the upper

surface of the leaf. The mature spots measure about one-sixth of an

inch in diameter, are angular in shape, with well-defined margins, and

have an outer zone of brownish-purple, with a grayish center. Late

in the season, dots, the spore-cases of the fungus, appear in the

gray central area. The fungus passes the winter in diseased leaves

which fall to the ground in late summer. From these leaves spores

are discharged into the air to be carried to the leaves after growth

begins in the spring. The disease is usually controlled by the sprays

necessary every year to keep pear-scab in submission. In the nursery,

two-year-old trees are sprayed just after the new leaves open and twice

thereafter at two-week intervals. One-year-olds seldom need to be

sprayed.

Leaf-blight (_Fabræa maculata_ (Lev.) Atk.) is a common and destructive

fungus in pear-nurseries in New York and is sometimes troublesome in

orchards. The quince suffers even more than the pear from this fungus.

In the nursery, leaves and twigs are attacked, and in the orchard the

pears themselves sometimes suffer. The disease appears in the spring

as minute, reddish-brown circular spots on the upper surface of the

leaves, but the fungus penetrates through to the lower surface as

the disease progresses. Eventually the color changes to dark brown,

and later a coal-black, raised spot appears in the center. The spots

sometimes run together. Young leaves shrivel under the attacks of

the fungus; while old ones, if badly diseased, turn yellow and drop

prematurely. Twigs and leaf-stalks are frequently girdled, and the

lesions are more elongated. The spots are similar on the fruits to

those on the leaves. The fungus spends the winter in fallen leaves. In

the spring the spores are discharged from the fruiting organs of the

fungi and are carried to the tender leaf or twig of the pear or quince.

The parasite begins growth at once and in about a month a new crop of

spores develop. This fungus grows on various other pome-fruits which

complicates remedial measures. The treatment recommended for leaf-spot

should control leaf-blight.

As are all tree-fruits in New York, the pear is attacked by crown-gall

(_Bacterium tumefaciens_ Smith & Townsend). This disease, however, is

seldom a serious menace to orchard trees this far north, but the vigor

of nursery stock is sapped when the galls girdle the tap-root or the

stem at the collar. Moreover, trees affected by crown-gall are barred

in most states by inspection laws so that nurserymen can ill afford to

produce gall-infected trees. It is a wise precaution not to plant badly

diseased trees. The galls are tumor-like structures on the roots of

the plant, or often at the juncture of root and stem. They vary from

the size of a pea to that of a large egg, forming at maturity rough,

knotty, dark-colored masses. Another form of the disease appears as a

dense tangle of hair-like roots arising from callous-like galls. This

form passes under the name "hairy root." Neither preventive nor cure

is known. Orchard or nursery should not be planted on ground known to

have been infected as the disease is highly contagious. The brambles,

especially raspberries, are common carriers of crown-gall, and none of

the brambles should be planted as inter-crops in pear-orchards.

Brown-blotch (_Leptothyrium pomi_ (Mont. & Fr.) Sacc. var.) is another

fungus which is sometimes troublesome. The fungus causes reddish

blotches on the fruit which coalesce into rusty-brown patches often

covering the whole surface of the pear. Here, again, the Kieffer

suffers most although fruits of other varieties are often disfigured by

the blotch. The disease is most common on heavy soils and in densely

shaded trees. Pruning to let in the sun is usually sufficient to keep

the fungus in check, but a late application of lime and sulphur is

often necessary.

Black mold (_Fumago vagans_ Fr.), a fungus which grows in the honey-dew

exuded by the nymphs of the pear-psylla, sometimes causes a sooty

covering of the pears which spoils their sale. Twigs and leaves are

also covered with thin superficial growth of the fungus somewhat to the

detriment of growth. The remedy is obvious--control the psylla.

Pink-rot (_Cephalothecium roseum_ Cda.) sometimes does much damage to

pears in common or cold storage. The fungus seems able to enter the

skin of pears only through injuries, and when reasonable care is used

in handling the fruit the rot does little damage. Not infrequently it

is found on fruits unpicked, having entered the skin through ruptures

made by pear-scab, black-spot, or other fungi. This, of course, seldom

happens in well-sprayed orchards.

INSECTS ATTACKING THE PEAR

Several insect pests are very destructive to pear-trees, as many more

are often troublesome, while perhaps in addition to the dozen that must

always or occasionally be combatted some thirty or forty more have

been listed as pear-pests. Young pear-trees are very susceptible to

injuries of any kind and if beset by any of the common insect pests do

not prosper. As the trees come to maturity, life and vigor of the tree

may not be endangered by any but two or three of the worst pests, but

the crop is always cut short by infestations of insects on any part of

the plant which interferes with the normal life of the tree. The pests

most destructive to the pear in New York, about in order of importance,

are San Jose scale, psylla, codling-moth, pear-slug, and pear-leaf

blister-mite.

San Jose scale (_Aspidiotus perniciosus_ Comstock) is particularly

harmful to tree and fruit of the pear. The pears, possibly, are

malformed more and show the scales with their discoloration more

plainly than the product of any other fruit-tree. A scale-infested

pear-tree is easily recognized. Dead and dying twigs or branches and

moribund trees are evidences of the dreaded pest. Examination shows

the moribund parts to be covered with myriads of minute scales which

give the infected bark a scurfy, ashy look. A reddish discoloration

is discovered if the bark be cut or scraped. A foothold gained on

trunk or branch, fruit and foliage are soon infected. Reproduction is

continuous throughout the summer, and the scales increase by leaps

and bounds. Smooth-barked young trees succumb within three or four

years if the insects are unchecked; the rougher-barked old trees

survive the pest indefinitely, although the vigor is lessened to the

point of unproductiveness in many old orchards. Pear-growers find the

lime-sulphur solution applied in the dormant season the most effective

spray in combating San Jose scale. Several insect enemies of the scale

help to keep the pest down. A quarter-century ago, it was feared that

the pear industry of the State might be ruined by San Jose scale, but

no energetic fruit-grower now fears the pest.

Next to San Jose scale, psylla is the most feared pest of the pear

in New York. Indeed, this insect is much more difficult to combat

successfully than scale, and were it as wide-spread, the pear industry

in New York would be hard hit. The psylla is a minute, sucking

insect, wingless in its immature stages, but winged and very active

as an adult. They are nearly related to plant-lice, and like them

suck the juices of the buds and new leaves. Like plant-lice also

they reproduce very rapidly. The immature insects secrete a sticky

honey-dew which becomes blackened with a fungus, and the presence of

this blackish, sticky substance on foliage and branches is usually

the first indication of the pest. The adult is about one-tenth inch

long, with four membranous wings, the body dark in color and showing

brownish-black markings. Seen through a hand lens, the mature insects

look like tiny cicadas. The adults hibernate in crevices of the bark,

and at the time buds are swelling in the spring come out to lay their

eggs. The eggs hatch in two or three weeks, and there may be four

or five broods in a season. The pest is best controlled by spraying

with such contact insecticides as tobacco extract both to kill the

hibernating insects and later the immature psylla. The winter strength

of lime-sulphur solution will kill the eggs.

The apple-worm, the larva of the codling moth (_Carpocapsa pomonella_

Linnaeus), destroys great quantities of pears year in and year out in

New York, causing greater monetary loss to pear-growers than any other

insect pest. The worm and its work scarcely need description--all

know "wormy" apples and pears and the agent of the mischief. A

pinkish-white, fleshy worm eats a cavity within the pear, usually

through and around the core, and then eats its way out to the surface,

after which it finds suitable shelter in a crevice of the bark and

spins its cocoon. About the time apples blossom the larvae transform

into small brown pupae, from which small moths emerge in two or three

weeks. The moths are coppery-brown, small, with a wing expanse of about

three-quarters inch, and very inconspicuous as they rest during the

day on the bark of the pear-tree which they closely resemble; they fly

only at dusk. The moth lays its eggs on leaves or the fruit itself and

the young larvae immediately begin work on the nearest pear. Control

consists in spraying with arsenate of lead. Two and sometimes three

sprayings are necessary. The most important spraying is made just after

the blossoms fall, while the calyx-cup is still open, so that the

poison will lodge in the blossom-end of the upturned pear. Codling moth

was once a most serious pest of the pear, but is now easily kept under

control by seasonal applications of arsenate of lead.

The pear-slug (_Caliroa cerasi_ Linnaeus), a generation ago, before

spraying was common, did much damage to the pear in New York, but is

now a negligible pest except in the orchards of the indifferent or

slothful since it is easily controlled by spraying. The slugs are

small, dark green shiny creatures which eat the surface of the leaves

of pear, cherry, and plum. They devour the upper surface of the leaf

leaving the veins and the tissues of the lower surface, which turn

brown so that the infested tree has the aspect of having been scorched

by fire. The slugs molt and finally lose their shiny coat and dirty

green color, the full-grown larvae becoming clear yellow. The adult is

one of the numerous saw-flys. Eggs are laid within the tissues of the

leaves. There are two or three generations in a season. The slugs are

most common in the hottest part of the summer or late in the summer.

This pest is easily kept in check by applications of arsenate of lead.

The foliage of the pear, in common with that of the apple, is often

seriously injured by a mite (_Eriophyes pyri_ Pgst.) which burrows into

the tissues of the leaves. The mites attack the young leaves causing

reddish blisters which turn black. The blisters are thickened spots

which are found to have a corky texture. The young fruits are sometimes

attacked, in which case they are badly malformed. The mites are of

microscopic size and can be seen only by the aid of a magnifying glass.

They hibernate under the scales of the leaf-buds, and are thus ready to

attack the young leaves as soon as they unfold, which they do by eating

their way in from the under side and then by their work cause the

characteristic swellings. As they mature, the mites come out and move

to new places and start more colonies. In the autumn, they find their

way to the maturing buds and go into winter quarters. An application

of lime-sulphur solution at winter strength usually disposes of the

mites; that put on for San Jose scale suffices for this pest also.

Summer sprays do not reach the mites as they are then hidden within the

leaves. The pest was once a serious menace to the pear, but with the

advent of winter spraying has become of small importance.

Of the numerous other insects which occasionally become serious pests

of the pear, at least twenty have been troublesome at one time or

another in New York. Space does not permit a description of these minor

pests--they are named as a matter of record. It is not necessary to

give remedies for them, as all are controlled by the treatment of major

pests which in most orchards need annual applications of one spray or

another.

Several scale insects, other than San Jose scale, are more or less

pestiferous in the pear-orchards of this State; commonest of these

is the oyster-shell, which not infrequently does serious damage to

young and unhealthy trees. The scurfy scale found chiefly on the apple

sometimes becomes a pest on the pear. A hemispherical scale, about

one-twelfth of an inch in length, known as the terrapin scale, now

and then infests the pear, but is seldom if ever harmful. As a rule,

the treatment for San Jose scale keeps all other scales in check,

but all are more difficult to kill than the San Jose and in cases of

troublesome infestations may require drastic treatment with a contact

insecticide.

A great number of chewing insects, as distinguished from sucking

insects, defoliate the pear when given an opportunity, but are kept in

check by the treatment for codling moth. The much-dreaded browntail

moth and gypsy moth now have a foothold in the State, but as yet

can hardly be called pests although their advent threatens the pear

industry as it does all other orchard industries. The bud-moth, seldom

seen in well-cared-for orchards, is sometimes a vexatious visitor in

pear-orchards. Three species of caterpillars, all most striking in

appearance, the larval stages of tussock moths, infest pear-trees.

These are the white-marked tussock moth, the rusty tussock moth, and

the definite-marked tussock moth.

The pear-tree has its share of borers. A small, dark brown beetle,

about one-third of an inch in length, the apple twig-borer, sometimes

does considerable damage to young shoots of the pear. The flat-headed

apple-tree borer works in the sap wood of the pear as in the apple.

The shot-hole borer, a tiny insect, eats a small round hole in the

trunk of the pear, as it does also in several fruits, but does little

damage except in devitalized trees. The shot-borer, a tiny black

beetle, one-tenth of an inch long, bores into twigs or small branches

and sooner or later causes their death. None of these borers are

very harmful on the pear in New York, but all must be reckoned with

occasionally. All are difficult to control.

The pear thrips attack the newly opening flower- and leaf-buds and

when the insect, a small winged creature with sucking mouth-parts, is

abundant much damage is done. This pest in New York is chiefly confined

to the Hudson River Valley. The European grain aphis, closely related

to the destructive apple aphis, is sometimes a serious pest on pears.

Both of these pests are comparatively easily controlled by timely

applications of contact insecticides.

Lastly, there are several chewing insects which feed on the leaves of

the pear, which, unless checked, sometimes become major pests for a

season or two in an orchard here and there. All of them, fortunately,

are controlled by the arsenical poisons which are necessary to keep

the codling moth down. The pests are: Cigar case-bearer, green fruit

worm, pistol case-bearer, and oblique-banded leaf-roller. With these,

as with most of the other pests of the pear, cultivation to keep down

all foreign vegetation, and orchard sanitation, consisting chiefly of

the destruction of infested fruit, foliage, or wood, are essential

preventives.