HORTICULTURE 81 



of the tree and its root system maintained, biennial crops will be less 

 likely and annual crops will be more common. Orchardists in gen- 

 eral are coming to believe that the reason for the biennial crop in 

 many orchards is due to the fact that during the crop year the trees 

 are allowed to overbear and that their vitality is therefore so much 

 reduced that it is impossible for them to carry a satisfactory crop the 

 succeeding year. The thinning of the fruit, with the result that a 

 crop is borne each year, has convinced practical growers that over- 

 bearing is the cause of the biennial fruit production. 



Pruning the Pear. What has been said of the apple applies 

 equally well to the pear ; but, since pears are grown both as standards 

 and dwarfs in commercial orchards, a consideration of the pruning 

 of both classes is necessary. 



Forming the Head. A low-headed pear tree is quite as desir- 

 able as a low-headed apple tree. In forming the head of the pear, 

 however, more branches may be left than in the case of the apple. 

 While three is given as the ideal number for the apple, as many as 

 four or five may be retained by a well-grown pear tree. These should 

 be distributed about the body so as to give practically an equal space 

 between them, and, if possible, they should stand at different heights 

 upon the main stem. The number of branches to be left upon any 

 particular tree must, however, be determined by the condition of the 

 root. If much root has been lost, a smaller number of branches 

 should be retained, and those retained should be shorter than in the 

 case of a well-developed root. In general, however, the three, four, 

 or five branches left upon the young pear tree should be shortened 

 to about 10 or 12 inches in length. Each of these should, at the close 

 of the first season, be treated as though it were a separate plant, and 

 the number of shoots which it has developed be reduced to either two 

 or three, and these in turn shortened to at least 12 inches in length. 

 This operation should be repeated from year to year until the tree 

 comes into full bearing, when less shortening will be required. In 

 fact, as the tree grows older it will be found that, instead of retaining 

 the original length of the annual shoots, they will reduce themselves 

 in many cases to 6 or 8 inches in length. This is due to the fact that 

 the energy of the root is distributed through a large number of 

 branches, rather than to a few. By adhering to this system of prun- 

 ing a symmetrical, broad-headed tree can be secured, and as fruit 

 bearing increases the framework branches will tend to become more 

 and more drooping. 



Control of Blight. In addition to modifying the form of a tree 

 by pruning, another and equally as important a factor can be con- 

 trolled by this means. As is well known the pear ordinarily suffers 

 severely from the pear-blight, but the work of Mr. M. B. Waite, of 

 the U. S. Department of Agriculture, upon this disease has fully dem- 

 onstrated the possibility of controlling it by judicious methods of 

 pruning. 



The pear-blight gains entrance to the tree in a majority of cases 

 through the flowers, and as the flowers are borne upon spurs, and as 

 these spurs are developed from wood which is one or more years of 



