FRUIT TKEES 187 



The railroad worm, the small white maggot that eats 

 winding channels all through the Porter apple, can be 

 held in check only by picking up all fruit that falls ; 

 this pest cannot be reached by spraying. If the apples 

 are permitted to remain on the ground, the maggots 

 will crawl into the ground and change to pupae ; the 

 following season they will produce flies that will lay 

 their eggs beneath the skin of the young apples. 



PEARS 



Varieties should be selected that will ripen from 

 August until late in the fall. The pear does best on a 

 loose, strong, clayey soil. A dressing of coarse manure 

 is beneficial when the tree is planted. Wood ashes may 

 be applied in the spring. Too much fertilizer has a tend- 

 ency to produce pear blight. Give the soil thorough 

 cultivation after the trees are set out. Pick pears just 

 before the fruit is ripe. Plant and prune like apple trees. 



If pear blight appears, cut off the affected branches 

 and burn them. The treatment for pear scab is the same 

 as for apple scab. 



PEACHES 



Set out yearling trees and trim off all the branches, 

 leaving them in the form of switches. Rub off all buds 

 during the summer except such as are needed to form a 

 well-balanced head. Set trees ten or twelve feet apart 

 in rows twenty feet apart. Plant new ones at intervals ; 

 the old ones need to be taken out about once in ten 



