THE PEARS OF NEW YORK IO5 



dead and dying wood, when the seasonal growth is short and slender, 

 when the crops are small and the pears lack size, or when trees are weakened 

 by disease, a healthy condition may oftentimes be restored by severely 

 cutting back some branches and wholly removing others. In such priming 

 the following rules ought to be observed : 



Weak-growing varieties are pruned heavily; strong-growing kinds, 

 lightly. 



Varieties which branch freely need little pruning; those having few 

 and unbranching limbs should be pruned closely. 



In cool, damp climates, trees produce much wood and need little 

 pruning; in hot dry climates, growth is scant and trees need much pruning. 



Rich, deep soils favor growth; trees in such soils shovdd be pruned 

 lightly. In light or shallow soils, trees produce few and short shoots; the 

 pruning of trees on such soils should be severe. 



A good deal is said about pruning for fruit. It is doubtful, however, 

 whether unfruitful pear-trees can be made more fruitful by the pruning 

 recommended for this purpose. When barrenness is caused by the produc- 

 tion of wood and foliage at the expense of fruit-buds, as possibly sometimes 

 happens, summer-pruning may check the over-production of growth and 

 cause flower-buds to form. There seems to be no definite experiments to 

 prove this theory in America, nor do pear-growers generally practice this 

 kind of pruning which has been preached so long and so often. To follow 

 the rules in this operation, summer-pruning should be done when the growth 

 for the season has nearly ceased. If done earlier, the shoots cut back start 

 again and the pruning has been useless. If done too late, there is too 

 little time for the production of fruit-buds. In the unequable climate 

 of this country it is most difficult to know when to prune in the summer 

 to meet the requirements of the theory urged so strongly by European 

 pomologists. A weighty objection to summer-pruning in America is that 

 the wounds might and probably would become centers of infection for 

 blight. 



There is no attempt to give a full discussion of pruning in this text. 

 Such details as making the cut, covering the wounds, pruning paraphernalia, 

 filling cavities and the amount to prime, belong to texts on pruning. 

 Perhaps two minor details important in growing pears shotdd be mentioned. 

 Suckers or water-sprouts form so freely on branches of pears that they 

 often seriously devitalize the tree, and usually are centers of blight. They 

 should therefore be removed promptly whenever and wherever found. The 



