MR. S. D. WILLARD'S ORCHARD. 



RS. W. W. STEVENS, be-,1 

 fore the Indiana Horticul- 

 tural Convention, described 

 her visit to the home of Mr. 

 S. D. Willard, of Geneva, N. Y., and 

 spoke of his Kieffer pear orchard. The 

 trees are kept very small and are headed 

 in at about three feet. Each year's 

 growth is cut back to two inches The 

 entire crop can thus be gathered from 

 the ground. Only the best fruit is rais- 

 ed. After the pears have set the crop 

 is thinned so as to produce specimens 

 of large size and fine quality. These 

 small trees have several advantages. 

 They are not affected by winds, the 

 fruit is easily gathered, and more trees 

 can be grown on a certain amount of 

 spa.ce. 



The trees live long and are very pro. 

 fitable. In one orchard they are i6 x i6 

 feet, while in another they are 8 x i6 

 feet, and the results are entirely satisfac- 

 tory. The ground is cultivated shallow 

 and highly fed. No barnyard manure 

 is allowed, as Mr. Willard thinks it is 

 conducive to fungous diseases. Of Japan 

 plums, Mr. Willard thinks Burbank can 

 hardly be improved upon. The trees 

 headed low and are kept narrow from 

 side to side. Black Diamond plum is a 

 good bearer and considered a desirable 

 variety. 



In addition to pears and plums, Mr. 

 Willard grows large quantities of apples, 

 cherries, gooseberries, currants, grapes, 

 etc. His orchard is kept in the finest 

 possible condition. Every bit of space 

 is utilized. The ground is highly fer- 

 tilized. Contrary to the belief of many, 

 this kind of management pays. Along 

 one side of the orchard was a row of 



sunflowers which Mr. Willard explained 

 was to furnish food for the fowl?, which 

 were raised in connection with fruit, for 

 he stated, insect pests are likely to be 

 less troublesome where there are chick- 

 ens. The poultry also pays a profit in 

 the production of eggs. 



Mr. Willard sells direct to the con- 

 sumer in original packages. He puts up . 

 two grades of fruit. No. iandNo.2. Poor 

 grades are sold to canners or are put 

 upon the market upon merit and with- 

 out brand. Nothing but the best is 

 packed. 



Orchards and small fruits are culti- 

 vated perfectly clean. The ground is 

 kept level and well stirred. Of com- 

 mercial fertilizers, hardwood ashes are 

 considered best, but are usually so 

 scarce that other kinds have to be sub- 

 stituted. Mr. Willard's practice briefly 

 stated is : Plant carefully, prune se- 

 verely, and feed liberally. In the dis- 

 cussion following this paper the merits 

 of the Kieffer pear were pretty thorough- 

 ly discussed. Unless properly handled 

 it is not at all satisfactory, being hard, 

 gritty, and almost tasteless. About the 

 first of October gather from the trees, 

 place in a cool, dark room, and allow to 

 ripen three or four weeks, cover' ng with 

 old carpet or some similar material. 

 With such treatment this pear sells rea- 

 dily and is very satisfactory. It was the 

 sense of the convention that Kieffer 

 pears could profitably be planted in In- 

 diana. At least they are very remunera- 

 tive at present. So many have been set 

 during recent years that there is a pos- 

 sible danger of over-production — Alle- 

 gan Gazette. 



466 



