FRUIT ON THE FARM. 263 



Pears. The one great drawback to the cultivation of 

 pears is the blight. Probably the most successful pear grower 

 in the West, if not in the Union, is N. Ohmer, of Dayton, 0. 

 He has planted since 1868 over 3,500 pear-trees, and made the 

 growing of pears profitable. He recommends, a deep, well 

 underdrained, rich clay soil, and that no manure be used; that 

 planting be shallow, and the earth worked to the trees, so as to 

 give surface drainage. Cultivate three years, and then seed to 

 clover and allow the second crop to decay on the ground. After 

 this the orchard is not cultivated, but the grass allowed to come 

 in and take possession. 



Mr. Ohmer is quite sure that to stimulate the growth of 

 wood by either manure or cultivation increases the danger of 

 blight. In proof of this he cites the following examples : In 

 1869 he planted an orchard of seven hundred Bartletts, and 

 cultivated it for five years, losing more or less each year, till 

 more than one hundred were dead. He then seeded it to grass, 

 and the blight disappeared in two years. Another orchard, 

 which had not blighted, but had a heavy sod, was plowed up, 

 thinking it would improve the fruit, and the blight appeared, 

 and many of the trees died. He also recommends that the 

 trees be headed low, so that the branches shall shade and pro- 

 tect the trunk. I have referred thus at length to Mr. Ohmer's 

 experience, because his twenty-five years of success in the 

 business give weight to his suggestions. He does not believe 

 that blight can be avoided entirely by following the directions 

 given above, but that its evils may be mitigated. 



My own experience in pear culture extends over twenty-five 

 years, during which time I have planted about three hundred 

 trees. I have found the Buffum, Flemish Beauty, Seckel, and 

 Tyson free from blight, but have lost about half the Bartletts; 

 but notwithstanding the blight, I have found pear culture fairly 

 profitable. 



The following list is given as embracing the best varieties 

 for family use: Bartlett, Osband's Summer, Sheldon, Tyson, 

 Seckel, Clapp's Favorite, Lawrence, Bloodgood. Mr. Ohmer 

 recommends for an orchard of one thousand trees, 150 Bartlett, 



