PEACH PEAR 169 



spring of 1899, when it pushes into vigorous growth; and in 

 the fall of 1899 the tree is ready for sale. Peach trees 

 which are more than a year old are scarcely worth the 

 buying. It is a common practice, when setting Peach trees, 

 to prune them back to a whip, leaving a stub bearing not 

 more than one bud where each branch is cut off. 



The three great enemies of the Peach are the borer, the 

 yellows and the curculio. 



The borer is best handled by digging it out every spring 

 and fall. Trees which are attacked by the borer have an 

 exudation of gum about the crown. If the borers are dug 

 out twice a year they will not get sufficient start to make 

 the operation very laborious. It is the only sure way. 



The yellows is a communicable disease, the cause of 

 which is not definitely known. It shows itself in the fruit 

 ripening prematurely, with distinct red spots which extend 

 through the flesh, and later by the throwing out of fine, 

 branching, twiggy tufts along the main branches. The 

 only treatment is to pull out the trees and burn them. 

 Other trees may be set in the same places. 



For a discussion of curculio, see the remarks under 

 Plum. 



Pear. No fruit plantation should be consid- 

 ered complete without trees of various kinds of Pears, ripen- 

 ing fruits from early in August till winter. The late varie- 

 ties are generally good keepers, and extend the season into 

 February, thus supplying fruit for six or seven months. 



As the Pear grows to perfection on quince, the dwarf tree 

 is peculiarly adapted to planting on small home grounds, 

 and is often used as a boundary plant, or to serve the pur- 

 pose of a screen. These dwarf trees should be set deep 4 

 to 6 inches below the union to prevent the stock from 

 growing. Dwarf trees may be set as near together as 10 

 to 16 feet, while the standard or tall -growing Pears should 

 be set 18 to 25 feet apart. Trees are planted when two or 

 three years old. 



