THE KIEFFER PEAR. 



as the fruit is picked it is carted to the 

 packing-house ; here it is turned out in- 

 to trays containing canvas bottoms to 

 prevent bruising. It is then sorted 

 carefully into the different grades as 

 required for market. Four and eight- 

 quart baskets are used largely in which 

 to pack the first early fruit ; later, twelve- 

 quart and bushel baskets are used as the 

 fruit becomes more plentiful. 



Unfortunately for Essex peach growers 

 the three weeks of unusual severe wea- 

 ther in February 1899, without any snow 

 to protect the roots, was fatal to the 

 peach orchards in that county, and not 

 only there but also did immense dam- 

 age to peach orchards even in the 

 Niagara district. Mr. Hilborn wrote 



(see page 198) that one man in Essex 

 had lost 2100 bearing trees, and the 

 damage seemed universal except where 

 the roots where protected by some cover 

 crop About Hamilton the peach 

 growers are checkered with dead trees 

 and from many quarters we hear a simi- 

 lar tale of evil. 



Michigan peach orchards have suffered 

 very severely, from which State large 

 quantities of peaches are annually ship- 

 ped into Canadian markets. It's an ill 

 wind that blaws naebody good," so per- 

 haps those growers whose orchards have 

 escaped injury will this year make up 

 for the unprofitable seasons which they 

 have recently passed through. 



THE KIEFFER PEAR. 



' 7 HAVE been a close observer of the 

 Kieffer and have had opportunity to 

 test it from most of our Missouri 

 soils, beside those of many other 

 States and am free to say that I have 

 never sampled one that could be called 

 good that did not grow on such land as 

 we call poor, or where the subsoil is 

 red, such as is found in most of the 

 Ozark's regions. 



If the Kieffer pear is planted on such 

 soil and the trees are not allowed to 

 bear too full, but the fruit is properly 

 thinned at the proper time, and picked 

 when not quite ripe, and each specimen 

 wrapped in paper and packed in barrels, 

 or bushel boxes and stored in a cellar 

 with a temperature of not more than 50 

 degrees, that will lower a little later 

 to 40 degrees, and allowed to remain 

 there until towards the holidays, and 

 then submitted to a temperature of 



about 60 degrees for a few days, they 

 will be ripe, will colored, sweet and 

 juicy, and almost as good as a Bartlett. 

 Now if these pears grown under favor- 

 able conditions are so much improved 

 by this treatment, of course those grown 

 under other conditions would be im- 

 proved in proportion under like treat- 

 ment, besides the advantage of going 

 on to the market at a time when ihey 

 are wanted, and would sell for a good 

 price. Unless something of this kind 

 is adopted, we may some day wish we 

 had not planted so many Kieffer. On 

 the other hand, if even a part of the 

 growers adopt this or some similar plan, 

 we will find our market supplied with 

 luscious, juicy Kieffer pears in midwin- 

 ter and selling at a profit to the grower. 

 Will those who are growing this pear 

 take the hint? — J. C. Evans, Mo. 



251 



