WINTER MEETING. 265 



comprise all the wormy fruit, the knotty specimens, the small and the 

 braised. I allow no wormy or knotty fruit to go into the first or 

 second grades." 



COLD STOKAGE. 



"What has been your success in keeping pears in cold storage f 

 "I have kfept Bartletts four weeks in a room kept cold with ice. It 

 was profitable to do so, but it would not have paid to have kept them 

 there longer. I rented a cold storage house for this purpose. I did 

 not have pears enough to fill the cold room, therefore it cost me 50 

 cents per keg to store them there for one month. Had I been able to 

 fill the cold room completely, it would not have cost me over 15 cents. 

 The Bartletts went to market after being removed from the cold room 

 in splendid condition. If I had sold as soon as picked, I should have 

 accepted 60 cents a bushel, whereas I received $2.25, after having 

 stored them a month. Another year's experience might not have re- 

 sulted so profitably." 



DISCUSSION ON PEARS. 



Polster Bros., Wright City, Mo. — We planted a pear orchard which 

 consisted of about 1,200 trees ; about 900 were KeiflFer, the balance were 

 part Garber, Bartlett, Duchess, Howell, Clapp's Favorite, Flemish 

 Beauty, Smith's Hybrid, Lawson, Le Oonte, Sheldon, etc., etc. The 

 trees all did well the first year and second year. The third year some 

 blighted, but not of KeifiFer nor Garber, and Keififer were replaced where 

 others died, and Keitfer bore in three years from planting out a fair crop. 

 Other varieties kept dying, and we kept replacing withKeiffer, until we 

 now have nearly all Keififer in orchard. In 1896 other varieties blighted 

 so bad that we got discouraged with them. So we used the ax, cut them 

 off and grubbed them out, even trees that were not so bad effected, and 

 replaced with Keiffer. Think if we never would have planted anything 

 but Keiffer and Garber we would have never had any blight on our 

 place. We are now losing some every year, even of Keiffer. 



Our first orchard was planted out in 1887 ; three years ago we 

 gathered 1,500, two years ago 700, and last year 500 bushels. Only 

 about one-half of trees bore last year; the fruit was good, but drouth 

 effected it some this last year. 



We think the Keiffer pear is among pears what the Ben Davis is 

 among apples, but it is thought the quality of the Keiffer is much bet- 

 ter on some soils than on others, and then they must be picked at the 

 right time and ripened in the right temperature to bring them to per- 

 fection that is nearly equal to Bartlett in flavor. We last year wrapped 



