April, 1920 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 23 



Pear Culture at Home and Abroad 



By C. I. Lewis 



FOR n number of years there has 

 been a steady increase in interest 

 in pear culture in the Paciiic Northwest. 

 This interest is (kie to a number of 

 causes. One of these is that 'California 

 developed the pear industry until it 

 became the leading state in the I'nion 

 in the production of this fruit, while 

 the Rogue River Valley in Southern 

 Oregon has become noted the world 

 over for the high class pears which it 

 produces. Again, there is the fact that 

 while many states are planting apples 

 very heavily, statistics show that very 

 few states are giving the pear any at- 

 tention, consequently more and more 

 growers are favoring the pear above 

 the apple. Pear culture in Europe has 

 for a number of centuries attracted a 

 great deal of attention. In fact the 

 pear has in the past received, and is 

 now receiving, more attention than the 

 apple. In the early part of the last 

 century Van Mons, the Belgian plant 

 breeder, attracted world-wide attention 

 by introducing a large number of new 

 pears. The blight, which is the great- 

 est scourge of the pear in this country 

 being an American disease, was un- 

 known to the Europeans. 



The French have contributed more 

 literature on pear culture than any 

 other nation. Thousands of varieties 

 are described by such men as Du 

 Hamel, Decaisne, Le Roy and Mas. 

 Many of these works give colored plates 

 and very full descriptions of varieties. 

 The early American books gave a great 

 deal of space to pear culture and de- 

 scribed many varieties of pears. Dur- 

 ing that period of American history 

 when nurseries were few and far apart 

 and the farmers planted seed for their 

 orchards, many new varieties of fruit 

 originated. During this epoch our lead- 

 ing varieties of apples were produced, 

 and likewise many pears. Such varie- 

 ties as Howell and Seckel are of Amer- 

 ican origin. During the early part of 

 the last century the blight was raising 

 such havoc among the orchards that 

 pear growers were becoming very much 

 discouraged. This gloom was bright- 

 ened somewhat, however, by the intro- 

 duction from Europe of the leading va- 

 rieties of pears, and our American 

 pomologists like Barry, Downing, 

 Thomas and Warder became decidedly 

 enthusiastic over these importations. 

 The pears that were introduced into 

 this country in the early days were of 

 the European blood (Pyrus communis). 

 A little later some of the sand pears 

 (Pyrus cinensis) were introduced. They 

 attracted, hov^'ever, very little attention 

 because the quality of the fruit was 

 about eipial to that of a raw potato. 

 However, they hybridized with the 

 former and as a result the Kieffer and 

 later hybrids were produced. These 

 hybrids were not so susceptible to 

 blight and they extended pear culture 

 .southward, as the Oriental pear would 

 -Stand warmer climatic conditions than 

 the European pear. 



What is the present status of pear 

 culture in this country? Investigation 



will show that only two or three states 

 are gaining in acreage, a few are barely 

 holding their own, while the great ma- 

 jority are losing ground. We find the 

 pears of pure European blood succeed 

 best where the trees make a moderate 

 growth, and where the combination of 

 climate and soil produces a firm wooded 

 and hardy tree. For the Eastern States, 

 New York, New England and Michigan 

 seem to offer the best conditions for 

 successful pear growing, and on the 

 Pacific Coast California, Western Wash- 

 ington and Western Oregon are espe- 

 cially adapted for the production of 

 this fruit. Those regions of the Pacific 

 Coast that have rather warm climatic 

 conditions during the growing season 

 and must depend largely upon irriga- 

 tion, will be able to grow pears only 

 by using the greatest care in retarding 

 tlie growth of the trees. The blight 

 will probably always be a problem, 

 but scientilic methods of control will 

 doubtless go a long way towards mak- 

 ing pear culture successful in such re- 

 gions. Concerning the growing of such 

 pears as the Kielfer many of the Middle 

 Western and Southwestern States are 

 growing this variety successfully. 



In choosing a location for a pear 

 orchard the ideal conditions will be, 

 first such climatic factors as produce 

 slow growth; second, good air drain- 

 age so as to reduce the frost damage; 

 third, the selection of congenial soil, 

 and fourth, the planting of well adapted 

 varieties. Having favorable climatic 

 conditions and good air drainage, the 

 question of the adaptability of the vari- 

 eties to the soil is one of the most im- 

 portant factors. It has long been known 

 that certain varieties of pears will grow 

 on very heavy land — on land that is too 

 heavy for apples. This has led many 

 people to believe that any marshy or 

 swampy land, which their farm con- 

 tains, which is unadapted to any other 

 crop, will grow pears successfully; and 

 while it is true that some varieties of 

 the pear will grow on very heavy land, 

 it is essential, however, that this soil 

 be drained if best results are to be 

 hoped for. Standing water on the soil 

 is not conducive to the best vigor and 

 growth of the tree. 



The question of variety and adapta- 

 bility is largely a local one, and it will 

 be some time before each community 

 can satisfactorily answer this question. 

 The Bartlett seems to be a variety 

 which adapts itself to a great many con- 

 ditions, growing well on many soils, 

 from the heaviest to the lightest. The 

 Bosc is doing well on heavy soils. The 

 Howell, while doing well on some of 

 the lighter loams, is showing indication 

 that it will do even better on heavier 

 soils. The Winter Nelis requires a 

 strong, rich soil and prefers the moist 

 loams to the dry, light loams. The Anjou 

 and Comice seem to prefer lighter loams, 

 although many fine Anjous are gathered 

 from rather heavy soils. Here in the 

 Pacific Northwest very few varieties of 

 the pears are being grown. The (-lair- 

 geau is about the only variety not men- 



tioned that is being grown commer- 

 cially. There are undoubtedly many 

 varieties of pears which will succeed 

 with us. To the pear grower I would 

 suggest that he try a few varieties 

 that are not now commonly grown, 

 advising, of course, that the expi riraent 

 be on a limited scale. Among tlic pears 

 that I would advise him to look up and 

 experiment with are Glout Morceau, 

 President Druard, Duchess Bordeau, 

 P'orelle, Santa (]laus and Charles 

 Ernest. 



The question of stocks to use is one 

 which is largely in the experimental 

 stage. Up to very recently our nursery- 

 men were using what is known as the 

 French seedling stock almost exclusive- 

 ly. This is of Pyrus communis blood. 

 Recently, however, many Pacific Coast 

 nurserymen are discarding this stock 

 and are using the sand or Japanese 

 pear. The reasons are that the French 

 stock is attacked by the root louse, 

 whereas the sand pear is not, and the 

 latter is also more resistant to the blight. 

 Where dwarf pears are to be used, the 

 Angers Quince is the best stock. The 

 Portuguese can be used, however, to 

 good advantage where the climate is 

 very mild. The ([uince .should be 

 worked to either Koonce or Angouleme, 

 and these in turn are worked over to 

 whatever varieties are desired. 



Winesap, Delicious, 



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Bartlett Pears 



Italian Prunes 



Elberta, J. H. Hale, 



Slappey Peaches 



Bing, Lambert, Royal Ann 



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