226 THE CHIEF SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL CROPS 



become dry and tasteless, while others soften and rot 

 at the core, thus becoming worthless. 



Like the apple, pears are subject to the attacks 

 of the codling moth and also to a scab fungus. These 

 may be controlled in the same way as suggested for 

 apples by spraying with Bordeaux mixture just before 

 and with Bordeaux and Paris green just after bloom- 

 ing. 



San Jose scale attacks pears in common with the 

 other deciduous fruit trees and should be treated as 

 previously indicated. 



Pears are also subject to a leaf-spot fungus (^Ento- 

 mosporium) which does much damage by causing the 

 premature falling of the leaves. Some varieties are 

 very susceptible and are often completely defoliated 

 by midsummer. This prevents the formation of 

 fruit buds, and the crop for the following ^^ear is lost. 

 Other kinds show a marked degree of immunity and 

 are usually but little injured. The spraying with 

 Bordeaux recommended for scab will do much to 

 hold this disease in check also. 



Blight, or as it is sometimes called, fire blight, is by 

 far the most serious disease of pears. It is caused 

 by bacteria which attack the tender growing tissues, 

 especially of the cambium, Avhich lies between the 

 bark and the wood. The stigmas of the open 

 flowers are also very liable to attack and in the 

 great majority of cases infection takes \)\^q,q in this 

 way through the flowers. The usual course of the 

 disease is as follows : when the sap first stirs in the 

 spring on certain old blighted areas, where the disease 

 has held over from the previous year, the bark 



