74 



the suckers off, I don't believe you Avould have any trouble. 

 But I think it will hurt the tree to cut off those suckers be- 

 fore the graft gets well up. 



A ^MEMBER : I would like to say a word about varieties. 

 I have had some considerable experience in selling, and I 

 believe that for an all-around pear, if you are near a local 

 market, the Bartlett is the best you can grow. I feel safe in 

 stating that 75% of the consumers of your home trade would 

 prefer to have the Bartlett. jMr. liittinger stated that the 

 California pears-come in. You might find them at a reduced 

 price over the pears we grow here, but I believe customers 

 will usually take the Bartlett even at a little higher price, 

 and 1 think the Bosc is the next best for eating and keeping 

 and selling. A great many will buy that for eating. I 

 think you won't take any risk in growing more Bartlett;^ 

 than any others, especiall}'' if you can get in touch with the 

 consumer instead of the commission man. 



MR. STOCKWELL: Well, doesn't the speaker expect 

 to get more than 12 or 15 years for the life of a pear tree^ 



MR. HITTINGER : Yes, you could get 100 years out of 

 a pear tree if you got the right stock at the start, but with 

 the trees you get to-day, I don't believe you can get twenty 

 years, 



QUESTION: How about dwarf stock? 



MR. HITTINGER: The Duchess and the Louis Bon were 

 pretty good pears years ago. 



THE PRESIDENT: It doesn't seem to me that we need 

 to be any more afraid of the California Bartletts than of the 

 Northwestern apples. I don't see why we should be, be- 

 cause ours are going to be so much better. 



MR. HITTINGER : Years ago the way we used to do was 

 just before the time to pick them, — a couple of weeks, — we 

 would pick off the largest Bartletts and ship them down into 

 the Provinces, and get ten or twelve dollars a barrel, and 

 that would give the others a chance to grow, and they used 

 to do first rate. But those times have gone by. 



]\IR. FROST: I would like to state to you the advice I 



