PEARS THINNING AND PROTECTING THE FRUIT. 143 



especially the bullfinch and great titmouse, with occasionally the assistance of sparrows ; 

 and the means given on pages 191 192, Vol. I., must be had recourse to in proper 

 time. 



Protecting the Blossom. Pear blossom expands so early in spring and in many 

 varieties is so tender as to be damaged by frosts ; hence the crops are frequently 

 thin and sometimes absent. Nothing less than efficient protection of the blossoms 

 against frosts can insure constant and full crops of fruit. Various means of affording 

 shelter to the blossom, adaptable to the several forms of pear trees, are given in 

 Vol. I., pages 193-197. 



Thinning the Fruit. Growers like to see their trees heavily laden with fruit. This 

 may be of three kinds : 1, an overcrop of worthless fruit exhausting the trees ; 2, a 

 heavy crop unthinned, and the fruit of second or third-rate quality ; 3, a full crop thinned, 

 all the small and ill-shapen fruits removed early, so that those left attain a full, even size. 

 There is no reason why English pears should not be at least equal in size and quality to 

 those of other countries. It is only a question of thinning and culture. It is sheer folly 

 to leave a bushel of fruit on a tree that is only capable of bringing a peck of the choicest 

 to perfection without prejudice to the succeeding year's crop. One reason why imported 

 pears are large is because thinning has been attended to, while home-grown fruits are 

 absurdly small because thinning has been neglected. To secure fine fruits the number 

 left on each tree must be adjusted to its strength and the assistance the grower gives in 

 bringing the crop to perfection. As to the number of fruit to leave, 1 pound per square 

 foot of wall surface may be taken as a maximum crop, that is, six to eight fruits of the 

 small, three to five of the medium, two or three of the large, and one of the very large 

 varieties. Quality is the cardinal property in a pear, and two or three well-grown fruits 

 are more profitable than a dozen small ones of the same variety. 



In thinning, the fruits should be cut off with scissors, and in removing all from a 

 cluster, care must be taken to preserve the leaves, for these small, long, narrow leaves 

 have incipient buds or spurs nestling around their base, and, thus relieved of feeding the 

 fruit, their energies are concentrated on those buds, plumping them so as to insure a 

 good prospect of fruit the following year. Moderate cropping means perpetuating 

 fruitfulness. 



Protecting the Fruit. Special care must be taken of the fruit as it approaches maturity, 

 especially the summer and autumn varieties, for birds are addicted to pecking the stem 

 end of the fruit when the ripening process commences and often spoil the best part of the 



