THE -MOXTllLV HLLLETIX. 



4'J 



than one-third the value of ours. The statistics of the industry for the 

 three states are as follows: 



Collectively these states produce nearly half the pears of the entire 

 nation. 



Assuredly these figures warrant the assertion that if it pays to fight 

 pear blight in any part of the country it will pay doubly well to do so 

 here, where the industry is more profitable than in either of the other 

 states where production approaches that of California. 



The absolute eradication of pear blight cannot be hoped for, but 

 blight control is a reasonable and practical expectation. Splendid work 

 is now being done by scientific and practical investigators in the study 

 of both preventive and remedial measures. The first named appear to 

 be of greatest promise and much research work is in progress to discover 

 and to breed varieties of high quality which shall be strongly blight- 

 resistant in root, in trunk, and in branch. It is along this line that 

 eventual deliverance from blight will be found, but some years must 

 elapse before horticulture can reap the benefit of the work now in hand. 

 In the meantime blight problems will continue to arise, and it is the 

 purpose of this paper to deal particularly with our present knowledge 

 of blight-resistant roots, since the elimination of blight in the under- 

 ground parts of trees must ever remain the first and most important 

 step toward pear blight control. 



Probably 80 per cent of all pear trees grown in the United States 

 are either budded or grafted on seedlings of Pyrus communis, the wild 

 pear of Europe, commonly called by nurserymen the French pear. 

 This is the ideal root for the nurseryman, since it has perfect affinity 

 for all the commercial varieties, is satisfactory to ' ' work, ' ' and if prop- 

 agation is done by budding a high percentage of buds "take" if the 

 work is properly performed. 



However, from the standpoint of the orchardist Pyrus commu)iis has 

 three serious faults : it root-suckers profusely from plow injuries, is 

 subject to great injury from the root aphis, and is particularly suscep- 

 tible to the bacteria of pear blight ; more so, in fact, than any other root 

 used in pear propagation. For these reasons the securing of a satisfac- 

 toiy substitute becomes a matter of great importance. 



It is known that the pear can be grown on seedlings of the hawthorn 

 and the mountain ash, yet very few have been thus propagated, and 

 little is known of the behavior of trees thus produced. However. Dr. 

 Bailey states that good dwarfs can be grown on the thorn and that there 

 is reason to believe that some of the thorns will be preferable to quince 

 stocks for dwarf pears in severe climates, while the mountain ash has 

 been used where tlie soil is excessively sandy, and is believed to be 

 fairly resistant to blight. 



