INDIANA IIORTICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 515 



Mr. Thomas: We do not sell that way. We barrel and ship them. 

 Prof. Troop: You set tlicin as lar away from home as possible? 



Mr. Thomas: Do you mean the Keiffer? I regard the Keiffer in the 

 pear world to be what the Ren Davis is in the apple world. It is the king 

 of pears. I do not raise tljem to eat. I raise them to sell, as we do the 

 Ben Davis apple. And it is a seller; it is a shipper; it is a money-maker. 



Prof. Troop: Speaking of culiivating to prevent the blight of the 

 Keiffer, I suppose a good many of you have heard of the Stevens' Keiffer 

 pear orchard at Salem, where there are about eleven or twelve thousand 

 Keiffers in one orcluird. and I tliink they have been in grass ever since 

 they were planted, with one exception that was cultivated the first year- 

 orchard grass mostly— and I was told today that the whole twelve thou- 

 sand nearly are dead with the blight. 



Mr. Ritterskamp: 1 should like to speak a word for the Duchess. We 

 have the Duchess, the Garber and the Keiffer on .Judge Wellborn's place, 

 and if the Duchess does bliglit, it overcomes the disease more than any 

 other variety. The brandies may blight, and new branches come and 

 make a new tree. Tliere are trees thirty years old in Knox County that 

 were blighted and grew out again, and I know of one that was formerly 

 dwarf and is now forty feet high; and there are more Duchesses today on 

 •Judge Wellborn's and Smith's places than of the Iveiffer, or Bartlett, or 

 any other, and I believe the Duchess will take the place of the Iveiffer, 

 and it is a much better pear. 



Mr. Hobbs: I was about to elaborate on what Mr. Ritterskamp says 

 of the Duchess. It seems to be less susceptible to blight than many other 

 kinds, and has more power to overcome the blight; but I think there is 

 probably no variety under cultivation that is more immune from the 

 bligJit th.an the Tyson. It is a snuill pear, unfortunately, but a very good 

 one, and Ave have now trees twenty-eight years old tliat are in perfect 

 health, where Keiffer, Martin,' Garber, Flemish Beauty and many other 

 sorts have gone down all around it. It is practically immune against 

 blight. The Lawrence is anotlier. It is a slow-growing pear, and the 

 varieties that grow slowly and mature their wood well are usually less 

 susceptible to the blight. The blight is very capricious. You do not know 

 where it is going to break out. or wlien. I was lln-ough tlie Blue Brothers' 

 orchards, wlio have the largest pear orchards in Central Indiana -not far 

 from Indianapolis— and they are seriously affected with the blight, while 

 at our place and at Ben Davis, on heavy soil, where the trees grow slowly, 

 tliere is pra'-tirally no blight-not even twig blight— showing that (he soil 

 and situation has much to do witli this condition of alfairs. 



Dr. Wolfr-: When tlio bliglit once strikes, is there no remedy? 



