FRUIT CULTURE. 19 



the best general satisfaction for market is as follows : — Red 

 Astrachan, Williams Favorite, Alexander, Gravenstein, Fall 

 Pippin, Famcuse, Ilubbardston, R. I. Greening, Baldwin 

 and Roxbury Russet. 



The Peak. 



1875. No. of trees, 203,229 ; yield, 59,259 bush. ; value, $118,302. 

 1885. " » 356,991; " 153,374 " " 147,0.13. 



The pear will not succeed upon such a variety of soils as 

 the apple ; it grows best upon a deep, rather moist, rich 

 soil. Like the apple, for the best results, it must have an 

 abundance of plant food. 



For this and all other kinds of fruit, if well decomposed 

 stable manure is not to be had, nothing will give better 

 results than from five hundred pounds to one ton of bono 

 and potash (five parts of bone to one of liigh-grade muriate 

 of potash) to the acre. 



One of the greatest obstacles to overcome in the cultiva- 

 tion of the pear is the liability of the tree and foliage to bo 

 attacked by blight. The pear blight is more destructive in 

 wet, warm seasons, especially when the trees have become 

 weakened from any cause. Among the causes that may 

 render trees liable to the disease are over-bearing, late culti- 

 vation or the application of fertilizer or manure late in the 

 spring. 



If the trees do not mature their wood in the fall, the 

 destruction of many of the cells is almost certain by tho 

 cold ; and during the warm, close weather of spring or 

 early summer rapid fermentation will set in, and destroy tho 

 tree or a part of it. Sudden changes of temperature during 

 the summer, or excessively moist weather, may also bring 

 on both the leaf and fire blight, as it is called. 



To avoid this disease we must cultivate and manure so as 

 to keep the trees in a healthy condition. To this end, all 

 manures or fertilizers used must be applied late in the fall 

 or very early in the spring, and cultivation should cease 

 early in August. 



It is claimed by some investigators that this disease is 

 contagious, and that it may be transmitted to healthy trees. 

 This may be the case, but we generally find it confined in 



