PEARS 



1597 



them. The quince root is of such a char- 

 acter that it prefers the excess of mois- 

 ture, and the latter method serves to re- 

 tain moisture, while the former has a 

 somewhat drying effect. It is therefore 

 usually best in the dwarf-pear orchard to 

 continue plowing year after year toward 

 the trees, and depend upon the cultiva- 

 tion and cross-harrowing to level the land 

 again. If the tendency to ridge becomes 

 too pronounced, it may be obviated by 

 plowing two or three furrows toward the 

 tree row, and then back-furrowing in the 

 middle of the strip, leaving two small 

 dead furrows near the tree rows instead 

 of one in the middle. These small dead 

 furrows will be more easily filled by the 

 cross-harrowing. In the case of stan- 

 dards and Orientals, if the soil becomes 

 ridged, it will do no harm to plow away 

 from the trees to the level land. 



One point should always be borne in 

 mind in the cultivation of the pear or- 

 chard as compared with that of peaches, 

 apples, and other fruits: this is, that the 

 pear tree makes its growth very early in 

 the season. Most of the annual twig 

 growth on the trees, at least after the age 

 of three years, is made within four to six 

 weeks of the blooming time, and very 

 little of it is made during mid-season and 

 thereafter. Special attention, therefore, 

 should be paid to the early cultivation of 

 the pear orchard. Later in the season 

 cover crops may be grown, or, if compar- 

 atively free from weeds, the orchard may 

 be allowed to take care of itself. In case 

 of young trees, plowing should usually be 

 finished before the buds have swelled 

 sufficiently to be easily injured by the 

 horse when brushing past them. When 

 the buds are dormant the injury is very 

 slight; if, however, the buds are an inch 

 or so long, many of them may be brushed 

 off. It is often wise to plow the first two 

 or three furrows with the one horse plow 

 while the trees are dormant, and then 

 later, even though the buds may have 

 pushed out, to finish the plowing in the 

 middles with the two-horse plow. The 

 cultivator should, if possible, follow the 

 plow just before the buds have pushed out 

 appreciably. The one-horse five-tooth cul- 



tivator is suitable for this purpose. This 

 will mellow the ground and put it in a 

 finely pulverized condition, which at that 

 season of the year will enable it to retain 

 its moisture for a fortnight or more. If 

 possible, the trees should be allowed to 

 bloom and to start their twig growth be- 

 fore the cultivator, with its accompanying 

 danger to the buds, is again used. By 

 cultivating the trees on a dry day, when 

 the foliage and twigs are somewhat limp, 

 the minimum amount of injury will be 

 done. At least four or five cultivations 

 at intervals of about ten days to two 

 weeks should be given to the young pear 

 orchard. In the meantime the other crops 

 planted between the trees may require 

 cultivation, but the cultivation of the 

 pear orchard should proceed independ- 

 ently in case these crops are not ready 

 for it. 



In the bearing orchard the plowing in 

 spring is, of course, the same, but the ab- 

 sence of other crops between the trees 

 renders the cultivation much simpler and 

 more economical. Having plowed the or- 

 chard, the cultivator, spring-tooth harrow, 

 or some other form of harrow should be 

 passed over at such a time that it will be 

 most effective. The land can then be left 

 until after the trees have bloomed, when 

 a second harrowing, preferably in the op- 

 posite direction from the first, should be 

 given. The ground should then be har- 

 rowed over about once in ten days, five 

 or six times, keeping the soil in a finely 

 pulverized state. If heavy rains occur, 

 liounding the ground and compacting the 

 surface, the crust which forms on drying 

 out should be promptly broken before the 

 soil becomes too hard. 



It will hardly be possible to mention 

 the many implements useful in the culti- 

 vation of the pear orchard. The disk 

 harrow, the cut-away harrow, and the 

 snading harrow are very useful types, and 

 in certain conditions of the soil are very 

 effective. The spring-tooth, the ordinary 

 spike-tooth, the Acme, and even the 

 weeder, are very good implements. The 

 weeder, however, is not as desirable in 

 the pear orchard as it is among peach 

 trees, for the reason that the pear is 



