PEAR GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



333 



foothills of the Sierras, snowstorms come late in the season and some- 

 times, being accompanied by frost, are dreaded by the growers who 

 have orchards in those sections. The pear, being somewhat late in 

 blooming, and being more resistant to frost than any other deciduous 

 trees not excepting the apple, very often escapes when other trees suffer. 

 Somewhat characteristic frost injury is shown in Figs. 136, 137 and 

 138. Sometimes a common form of injury, which consists of a heavy 



FIG. 138. Russeting of pears caused by freezing in the spring. 



brown russeting, affects the calyx end only and at other times it 

 assumes the form of a very characteristic band around the fruit at the 

 point of greatest diameter. Various distortions result from severe 

 injury and frequently the fruit that was affected by frost in the earliest 

 stages of its growth is seedless. Frost-injured pears are never high 

 grade and sometimes are of such poor quality that they are scarcely fit 

 for packing in any grade. 



FROST PROTECTION. 



Location is one of the important factors in frost prevention. There 

 are localities in frost-subjected areas where crops are destroyed with 

 considerable regularity, while in other locations nearby they are seldom 

 injured. The question of air drainage and slope enter into this problem. 

 Orchards on lower lands are generally more subject to frost injury, 

 while a northern slope may be colder than a southern. Bodies of water 

 have an appreciable influence on frost and the presence of water, even 

 when used for irrigation, may prevent the destruction of a crop of fruit. 



In sections where frosts occur quite regularly in the spring to the 

 serious detriment of fruit growing, orchard heaters or fire pots may 



1:5 



