208 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



tion productiveness, regularity of bearing, time of ripening, free- 

 dom from "knots," perishableness, and quality of fruit. If the 

 pears are to be grown for market, external appearance must also be 

 given due weight. Some varieties bear well, but the fruit is unfit 

 for food, while other varieties produce good fruit, but in too small 

 quantities. (Ariz. E. S. B. 51.) 



Commercial Classification. From the standpoint of the com- 

 mercial orchardist and for cultural purposes pears may be divided 

 into three groups: Dwarf, standard, and Oriental. The dwarf 

 pear consists mainly of European varieties propagated on the quince 

 root, the principal stock used for this purpose being rooted cuttings 

 of a vigorous variety called the Angiers. The trees so propagated 

 are dwarfed in habit, and are usually very productive and precocious 

 in bearing. In case of certain varieties, conspicuously the An- 

 gouleme, the fruit is improved both in quality and quantity. On 

 the other hand, the quality of the Seckel is not so good on the 

 quince. Occasionally we have the anomaly of a pear* growing 

 naturally as a dwarf when propagated on the pear root, an example 

 of this being the Japan Golden Russet ; but ordinarily speaking, the 

 dwarf pear means the pear on the quince root. The second class, 

 standards, consists of the European varieties propagated on the pear 

 root. The stocks for this purpose may be either European pear 

 seedlings, Japan pear seedlings, or rooted cuttings of some of the 

 Oriental pears. The third group, Orientals, comprises those pears 

 which are partly or wholly of Chinese or Japanese origin. Only a 

 small part of the commercial plantings are pure Oriental pears. 

 Most of the important commercial varieties in this group are half- 

 and-half hybrids between the Oriental and the European pears. 

 The Oriental blood, however, which is in them gives them such a 

 strong constitution and makes them such vigorous growers that 

 they stand out very distinctly from the European tribe. In all 

 orchard considerations these three types of pears must be kept con- 

 tinually in mind, as their requirements are usually quite different. 

 -(Y/B.1900.) 



COMMERCIAL PEAR CULTURE. 



Picking and Marketing. The methods used in marketing pears 

 vary so greatly in different parts of the country that it would be 

 impossible to describe them all in detail. It is only possible, there- 

 fore, to give certain general considerations in regard to the matter. 



The season of the year, whether summer or winter, the distance 

 from market, the purpose for which the fruit is intended, as well as 

 many other conditions peculiar to the markets of different cities, all 

 have their effect in determining the methods used by the success- 

 ful pear grower. The California grower packs his pears, mostly 

 wrapped in paper, in neatly constructed boxes, shipping them in 

 carload lots to New York, Boston, or other Eastern cities, or per- 

 haps to London. The fruit is sorted and packed directly after it is 

 picked from the trees, and is expected to ripen in transit and open 

 up in prime condition for eating 3,000 miles or more from the 

 orchard. The grower of the Le Conte and Kieffer pear in the Gulf 



