132 State Horticultural Society. 



PEARS ONCE MORE. 



(J. H. G. Jenkins, Eugene, Mo.) 



Pear growing may not be a popular subject. If the ruling of Dr. 

 J. C. Whitten be that of a former President of this Society, I hardly dare 

 tell why. 



If I mistake not, J. C. Evans, one of our best men, declared at a 

 meeting like this: "Politics and pear-blight are two things that cannot 

 be discussed here while I'm President." 



Knowing the tendency of trees to blight, some fruit growers will not 

 cultivate pears. Nevertheless, they are the most delicious of all fruits, 

 and pear culture, judiciously managed, is certainly a remunerative busi- 

 ness. Some of the most luscious sorts, however, are the worst blighters ; 

 hence, great care should be exercised in the selection of varieties. I lost 

 over a hundred trees in a single year, most of them heavily loaded with 

 fruit, but I sold pears at $2.50 to $3.00 per bushel. So, notwithstanding 

 my own loss, and the bitter experience of others, having seen 300 Keififers 

 in one orchard "black as a pot" with blight^yet, amid all these heart- 

 rending scenes and sad disappointments, I am not despondent. 



The Lincoln may be blight-proof in Illinois, the Sudduth in many 

 localities and even the Keiffer in South Missouri, though, personally, I 

 cannot vouch for any of them. So far as my own experience and obser- 

 vation extend. Duchess (Angouleme) in this locality is exempt from 

 blight, and is one of the very largest and best pears grown. Anjou comes 

 next. Not one Duchess in my orchard was affected by blight, though 

 everything else perished. Several years ago I sold Duchess and Anjou 

 trees by request of a certain nursery company. If any of said trees ever 

 became diseased, I am not apprised of the fact, though I see them often. 



Judge Samuel Miller once said: "The Duchess pear on Angers 

 quince will live and bear fruit regularly for twenty-five years." I know 

 a tree that has borne constantly for about thirty years. 



In conclusion, if I were going to plant 100 trees I would set sixty 

 Duchess, fifteen Anjou (both dwarf), twenty Keififer, five Garber (last 

 two standard). These I would cultivate about two years, then sow to 

 blue grass or clover, using such fertilizers as the nature of soil required — 

 lime salt and bone meal, mostly — cutting back nearly half of each year's 

 growth on dwarfs, and pinching ofif all surplus blossoms, cutting out 

 instantly and burning every blighted twig; spraying, annually, with 

 Bordeaux. 



