PEARS 



1603 



to leaving fruiting brandies. As the top 

 of the tree develops, after the fifth year, 

 of course very many fruiting branches 

 will be formed, and later on all such 

 branches which have been left on the first 

 five years' growth should be cut away 

 entirely: but in order to avoid the loss of 

 fruit during the earlier bearing years 

 these branches may be allowed to form 

 temporarily and to bear several crops of 

 fruit, and may be disposed of when they 

 can be spared. After the fifth year it is 

 rarely possible to continue the ideal form 

 as far as each individual twig is con- 

 cerned. The general shape and style of 

 the tree is determined entirely by the 

 previous pruning. Efforts should be 

 directed simply to keeping the tree in the 

 form already attained. 



The pruning must vary considerably 

 with the variety of the tree, and is nat- 

 urally different in case of dwarfs, stan- 

 dards, and Orientals. The dwarf pear, 

 with its usual tendency to overbearing, 

 should be continually headed back to 

 about 8 to 10 inches of annual growth. If 

 an excessive number of fruit spurs de- 

 velop on top of the tree at the expense of 

 vegetative shoots, the vegetative tendency 

 of the tree may be promoted by cutting 

 back even into 3-year or 4-year-old wood. 

 This will remove some of the surplus top 

 and cause the tree to throw out strong, 

 vigorous sprouts, which may be headed 

 the next year. In heading back old wood 

 on bearing trees, if possible the branch 

 should be cut off where a new young 

 sprout or branch extends outward, as by 

 so doing the new branch will take the 

 place of the old one, and will receive the 

 tremendous stimulus caused by the con- 

 centration of the sap into the smaller 

 twig. In this way a continual renewal 

 of the bearing wood can be kept up. In 

 the case of standard trees, if the main 

 twig growth exceeds a length of 18 inches 

 it is usually best to head back everything 

 above that length. In this way long, 

 slender, drooping branches can be avoid- 

 ed and the branches made stocky and 

 strong and capable of bearing a very large 

 load of fruit. Trees like the Kiefter, If 

 allowed their own way, develop fruit 



spurs in abundance. These form on the 

 ends of long branches as well as in the 

 body of the trees, and in a favorable sea- 

 son the tree loads itself down with fruit. 

 The result is disastrous, for the slender 

 branches are unable to support the tre- 

 mendous load, and break off within about 

 a foot of the trunk. The heading back 

 will entirely prevent this destruction and 

 tend to keep the tree in continuous bear- 

 ing. 



The Pyramidal Form 



The pyramidal form is a much simpler 

 and easier form in which to train most 

 varieties of pears, because it conforms 

 essentially to the natural tendency of the 

 trees. It is usually best to head the trees 

 to a straight cane in planting them out, 

 as previously described, though this is 

 not necessary if the head has been formed 

 in the nursery at the point desired by the 

 orchardist. This is very rarely the case, 

 however, as most nursery trees are head- 

 ed too high. If the tree is headed at the 

 proper height in the nursery, it will sim- 

 ply be necessary to cut the leader back 

 to about six inches and to trim three or 

 four of the secondary branches to about 

 three inches. The tree may then be 

 allowed to go during the season with very 

 little pruning. It may be necessary to go 

 over the trees after six or eight inches of 

 growth has been made and pinch off an 

 occasional shoot which has not developed 

 in conformity with the pyramidal form. 

 Sometimes two leaders will form nearly 

 equal in size. One of these should be 

 pinched back and the other allowed to 

 remain. 



In the winter pruning the central leader 

 is first selected and cut back to the height 

 at which the next whorl of limbs is de- 

 sired. In the dwarf pear this should be 

 about 12 inches; in Bartletts and other 

 standards about 14 to 16 inches; in strong- 

 growing Orientals, like the Kieffer and Le 

 Conte, 18 to 20 or even 24 inches ma.v be 

 proper. The lower whorl of main limbs 

 is then examined and about three or four 

 branches are selected. These are cutback 

 to a length of about 12 to 18 inches, or 

 about two-thirds the length of the leader. 

 .\11 other branches or twigs interfering 



