234 PEAR GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



A carpfiil investigation of the subject of cross-pollination in the state 

 would no doubt show that these two eases cited are in no way excep- 

 tional and that the best results in growing Bartlett pears can not be 

 attained unless other varieties are planted with them in the orchard. 

 Despite the evidence that this should be done, there are thousands of 

 acres of Bartletts being planted in California each season with utter 

 disregard of the benefits that might be derived by planting one or more 

 varieties of another sort for cross-pollination. In certain new pear- 

 growing sections, the writer has recently seen thousands of acres of 

 Bartletts in blocks of five acres to more than one hundred acres each, 

 with no other varieties near, except possil^ly an occasional tree of some 

 favorite pear planted for home use. In some of these sections heavy 

 winds and extremes of heat and cold occur, making more necessary the 

 strictest attention to every detail that would tend to increase produc- 

 tivity. The fruit in general is good, and the trees everywhere have done 

 well. As far as it has been possible to determine, they are self-fertile 

 to a remarkable degree when the existing conditions are taken into 

 consideration, but it is safe to predict that there will be years of short 

 crops because of the absence of other pears, and the average produc- 

 tion of these sections throughout a series of years will be far below what 

 it w^ould be with other varieties planted along with the Bartletts for 

 cross-pollination purposes. There are older pear-growing sections of 

 the state where large areas of Bartletts have been planted by them- 

 selves and where the same arguments against the practice may be used. 



Without doubt, there wdll be those who will take exception to this 

 discussion on the need for pollinizers in the Bartlett orchard, and, in 

 defense of the system of planting this variety alone, will point to the 

 many good orchards in the state which have paid their owners a good 

 profit year after year. In answer, we can only say that while this is 

 true the evidence all points to the beneficial effect of cross-pollination, 

 and such orchards would have yielded uniformly better crops during 

 the same period of time and a greater production from a lesser number 

 of trees had other varieties been interplanted. 



A knowledge of the value of pollinizers for interplanting with the 

 .justly popular Bartlett makes it desirable that other varieties be care- 

 fully tested in the different pear-growing regions of the state in order 

 that the best commercial varieties that are good pollinizers may be 

 determined. There is need for carefully-planned experiments along this 

 line and the task is one that would require a great many years' labor. 

 Already something has been done. The California Nursery Company 

 at Niles has a test block of more than 80 varieties, while Mr. Wisker 

 has 80 varieties in his experimental orchard at Grass Valley. The state 

 is fortunate in having these two splendid experimental orchards and in 

 time better varieties than w^e have yet known may be found; at least 

 better from the standpoint of something that is well adapted for plant- 

 ing w'ith the Bartlett. 

 ^ The most popular variety for this purpose at present is the Winter 

 Nelis, and in many of the older orchards where some attention has been 

 paid to interplanting, this variety has been found. Hardy and Easter 

 Beurre have been used quite extensively in the past but most of the 

 trees of these varieties have in late years, been grafted to Bartlett. 



