16 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



in a room where an even temperature, and the right degree of 

 moisture can be maintained, seems to give the most satisfactor}' 

 results of an}- method with whicli I am acquainted. The manner 

 in which early pears thus treated will color, is truly wonderful. 



It is often desirable to lengthen the season of the ripening of 

 some of our early pears ; especially' is this the case where the Bart- 

 lett — which seems to be the standard summer *i)ear for marketing 

 purposes — is the main crop. This ma}' be readily done, by making 

 two or more pickings from each tree, with several weeks between 

 the first and the last picking. The largest and ripest should be 

 picked first — as soon as the windfalls will ripen and be good — and 

 the smaller and greener ones should be left to receive the additional 

 sap which the earlier ones would have appropriated. Sometimes 

 one side of a tree will be much earlier than the other, in which 

 case the earliest side should be picked first. 



This early picking should be ripened off' at once by the process 

 already described, only observing that the greener the fruit the 

 higher temperature it will require, and a more humid atmosphere 

 will be needed to prevent their shrivelling. Having ripened and 

 disposed of this earl}- crop, another picking should be made and 

 served in a similar way, leaving the greenest on the trees as long- 

 as they will keep green. Mulching and, where practicable, water- 

 ing, will help to prolong their season by keeping up the vigor of 

 the trees. Most summei- and fall pears may be kept best by leav- 

 ing them on the trees as long as they will hang and keep green. 

 I have tried keeping them on ice, but while it checked their ripen- 

 ing, it induced decay and destroyed the life of the pear, if I may 

 be allowed such an expression. Certainly, keeping pears a long 

 time at a low temperature injures their ripening properties. By 

 making early and late pickings as described, we may obtain a larger 

 crop from each tree and sell it at better prices, because we can put 

 part of them into market early, before the bulk of the crop is 

 received, and we can keep a part of the crop until quite late and 

 sell when the rush is over, thereby obtaining better prices. Splen- 

 did specimens for exhibition purposes may be obtained by leaving 

 a few of the largest and fairest specimens on the tree and picking 

 all others early ; then, when fully grown, pick and ripen between 

 papers or blankets, as the weather and degree of ripeness they have 

 attained on the tree may require. 



A great many people pick their pears too green. Such pears 



