THE PEAR 175 



Physicians tell us that the all-important thing 

 in warding off bacterial infections in the human 

 subject is the inherent vitality and resistance of 

 the patient himself. In the last analysis, this is 

 the prime essential. A thoroughly rugged or- 

 ganism may be immune to almost every type of 

 bacterial disease. We are told that almost no one 

 escapes infection with the germs of tuberculosis. 

 The ones who show no evidence of the disease are 

 simply those whose tissues are so resistant that 

 the attacks of the bacilli are thwarted. 



The horticulturist must take a lesson from the 

 experience of the physician, in particular with 

 regard to the malady we are now considering; 

 for, as we have just seen, the analogy between the 

 pear blight and human infections is almost per- 

 fect. So the ideal at which the plant experi- 

 menter must aim is the development of a tree that 

 will be immune to the attacks of the bacillus, how- 

 ever freely the germ finds access to it. 



My new hybrid pears, thanks to their oriental 

 heritage, seem to fulfill this condition. The same 

 thing appears to be true, at least in some meas- 

 ure, of the other hybrids that have the oriental 

 strain. So there is every reason to hope that we 

 shall be able to develop races of pears, having all 

 desirable qualities of fruit for the different 

 markets, that will be free from the pest that 



