April, 1914 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



9' 



Orchard of W. Palmer, near Victoria/^B. C, in 1903 



■iMrhe trees aj« aucib' mere whips as to be i>ractlc aily indistlnguistiable. 



Where growth is liable to be too rank, 

 and thus reduce color, as it usual on low 

 or damp g-round, or where dormant prun- 

 ing has been too severe, manuring too 

 heavy, or cultivation too long continued, 

 better color for any one season may be 

 obtained by summer pruning. 



SECURE PROPER SIZE 



Obtain size by those methods that give 

 strong leaf and twig growth, and by 

 thinning; but, in so doing, avoid produc- 

 ing that extreme rankness of growth 

 which detracts from color of fruit. Do 



this by (a) securing a fertile soil, (b) by 

 retaining moisture by mulching or by 

 cultivation and cover crops, (c) by re- 

 placing removed fertility and organic 

 matter by commercial fertilizers, manure 

 and cover crops, especially the legumes, 

 (d) by stimulating growth when needed 

 b\' dormant pruning, and (e) by thinning 

 early and vigorously, and (f) by keeping 

 the leaves healthy through spraying with 

 proper insecticides and fungicides. 

 Healthy leaves mean large, healthy, late 

 fruit. 



Pears and Pear Culture 



A. W. Cook, O.A.C., Guelph, Ont. 



IF one were to listen to a fruit grower 

 giving his experiences with twig or 

 pear blight, the sad experiences that 

 had spelled disaster, one would naturally 

 be under the impression that there was 

 not the least chance to make pear grow- 

 ing profitable. The writer remembers 

 very clearly listening to such an experi- 

 ence. The grower said: "Why, do you 

 know, the thing kills them in a night," 

 ' and it does as far as their knowledge is 

 [concerned. The truth, however, is that 

 ; rK'ar blight can be controlled, and is be- 

 ing kept in check to-day. Those who 

 ; contemplate growing pears should not 

 i start unless they do so with a thorough 

 knowledge of this bacterial disease, and 

 a strong determination to control it. If 

 ore does this, (here is monev to be made 

 , in pears. 



The pear situation is taking on bright- 

 er prospects. In the past fifteen years 

 pear growing has been a doubtful busi- 

 ness for many an average grower, sim- 

 ply lxx:au.se of their neglect to give pro- 

 per attention to the work. We do not 

 (hear of pear orchards being planted to 

 ; such a large extent as some of the other 

 fruits that are not nearly so popular with 

 the consumer. This i,s on account of 



there having been a very suspicious sen- 

 timent held against this industry because 

 of a few negligent fruit growers. This 

 condition is diminishing. Fruit growers 

 have begun to awaken to the fact that 

 there is money in pears when judicious 

 care, systematic pruning and thinning, 

 and the proper food elements are given 

 to the producing tree. 



The pear is a fruit that will grow in a 



large geographical area. In Ontario 

 there is hardly a section in the older por- 

 tion of the province where the pear will 

 not thrive. I cannot vouch for the abili- 

 ty of this fruit to withstand the severe 

 low temperature of the northern parts. 



There is nothing to be gained by plant- 

 ing a large number of varieties of pears. 

 The consumer should be encouraged to 

 purchase nothing but the best, and the 

 grower should strive to produce a high 

 class article. There is a steadily grow- 

 ing demand for the very best, and it 

 should be the ideal of every grower to 

 produce this grade and place on sale this 

 grade only. There is nothing to be gain- 

 ed by the man who tries to undersell a 

 man who has a good uniform article, no 

 matter what the competition may be. The 

 best article will always command the 

 very highest price, and sell first. 



Plant just a few, well selected varie- 

 ties, that are strong, hardy trees and 

 which bear uniformly every year. The 

 Ijest to plant would include pears that 

 would bear one after the other, so that 

 all the crop would not have to be har- 

 vested at once. Among the varieties 

 that are .seemingly the best, judging from 

 the experience of various growers, are 

 such varieties as Rartlett, Kieffer, An- 

 jou, Duchess, Rose and Clapp's Favor- 

 ite. 



Like many other lines of agriculture, 

 the pear should be chosen to suit the 

 market, location, and the demand from 

 outside sources. Some markets have 

 very little use for certain varieties, while 

 for export or canning purposes there is a 

 steady demand for such varieties as the 

 Kieffer. For the city trade there is some 

 demand for an early fruit, which would 

 naturally be the Clapp's Favorite. If one 

 wants a g(xid all-round pear that is a uni- 

 versal favorite with the purchasing pub- 

 lic and a profit producer for the grower, 

 there is nothing like the Bartlett. It has 

 one strong characteristic that distin- 



The Orchard of Mr. W. Palmer in 1913 



Note the differeiico in tun years in the sruwth ol tho tree<i. 



