774 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



once in ten days, taking out bruised or decaying specimens. No vegetables should be stored 

 in the same room with pears, for the latter are sure to acquire the flavor of the former.&quot; 



Where pears are cultivated in abundance on a farm, a fruit room devoted to the purpose 

 of ripening the fruit will be almost a necessity, so important is the ripening of it off the trees 

 in a dark, dry place. Such rooms require to be filled up with shelves in tiers, upon which 

 the pears are laid ; also to be kept dry and at a cool temperature. When such a room is not at 

 command, shallow drawers may be used for storing the pears for ripening, putting in the 

 bottom of each drawer a cloth or paper, then a layer of pears and a layer of cloth, thus 

 keeping the pears from touching each other. Woolen cloth is the best for this purpose. 

 Winter pears should be allowed to hang on the tree as long as possible, in order that the 

 fruit may be perfectly mature, or until the nights become frosty. Such fruit will bear more 

 cold than grapes or apples, but should never be exposed to a severe frost. Pears should 

 always be gathered in dry weather. Each specimen of fruit should be wrapped in paper, be 

 packed in kegs, barrels, or boxes, and put in a cool, dry room, but should not, however, be 

 exposed to frost. About two weeks before the time of using, winter pears should be brought 

 into a warmer room, as this will cause them to become mellow and juicy, and less tough than 

 if ripened entirely in a cold room. 



Improving the Color of Pears. AH fruit will be more highly colored when 

 grown in a sunny exposure, and pears are no exception to this rule. The color of many 

 varieties of pears may, however, be greatly improved by placing layers of the fruit between 

 woolen blankets and allowing it to be packed in this manner for a few days. Fruit to be 

 marketed will frequently bring a much higher price when of a rich color than otherwise. 



Retarding the Time Of Ripening Pears. Many varieties of pears will command 

 a much higher price in market if the ripening process is delayed from four to six weeks. 

 This can be easily accomplished by placing the fruit in clean boxes, crates, or barrels, directly 

 upon ice in an ice house, and covering the boxes or crates fully a foot deep with sawdust. The 

 fruit should be treated in this manner when quite hard, and before it has commenced ripen 

 ing. Removing to a warmer temperature would be necessary, in order to complete the 

 ripening process. Fruit of all kinds, even when fully ripe, will keep much longer by placing 

 whatever contains it upon ice. Pears should never be allowed to freeze, nor be placed in too 

 warm a room. 



Yield of Pears, Marketing, etc. Most varieties of pears are usually good 

 bearers; the yield will of course be according to the variety and the size of the tree, the 

 dwarf trees yielding considerably less than the standards. Consequently the yield of a single 

 tree may be from a bushel up to two or three bushels or more. In some orchards the fruit 

 product will average a half barrel to a tree, in others a barrel or more. Good fruit will 

 always command a good price, and it will pay to raise no other. Some fruit growers who 

 supply the market state that from a number of dwarf pear orchards of choice varieties that 

 have been planted from five to twelve years, they have known the fruit to bring some years 

 from $500 to $1,500 per acre; and from standard trees to from $400 to $1,000 per acre, 

 although $200 per acre is the more usual price. Pears grown on dwarf trees are frequently 

 extra large in size, and in consequence being an extra high price in market. 



In marketing pears they should always be securely packed in boxes, crates, or barrels, 

 in order to prevent them from shaking about and becoming bruised in transportation. They 

 are usually shipped when partially ripened, or rather green, according to the distance of 

 transit. The finest colored specimens will bring the best prices if first wrapped when 

 partially ripened in clean paper, and placed in small packages, such as boxes, crates, or flat 

 market baskets. 



