48 INSECTS AND DISEASES. 



early or late, and must be prepared to do either as his best judg- 

 ment shall dictate. 



Preserving. — Summer and Autumn varieties cannot be pre- 

 served much beyond their natural season without considerable 

 expense, but late fall and winter kinds may be kept in the same 

 manner as the apple. For shipping to a distant market, the bar- 

 rel is the best package, unless the fruit is soft, when they must 

 be sent in crates or baskets. For storing and keeping the fruit, 

 shallow boxes are much better than the barrel. Until the ripen- 

 ing process begins, the fruit should be kept in a cool, airy place, 

 as they are less liable to decay than if in a close atmosphere. 



Insect Pests. — All the insects described as injurious to the 

 apple, with the exception of the canker-worm, are more or less 

 injurious to the Pear, and the same remedies should be applied. 



In addition to the above, are the Pear-tree Psylla {Psylla pyri). 

 This is a very minute insect that punctures the branches 

 and leaves in May, causing an exudation of juice which attracts 

 numerous ants, flies and wasps which feed upon the juices that es- 

 cape. The exudation dries and becomes sticky, and the particles 

 of dust in the atmosphere adhere to the shoots and leaves, so that 

 during the latter part of summer the whole tree has a blackened, 

 dirty appearance. A diluted emulsion of kerosene and soft soap 

 is an effectual remedy. This is described by Prof. Riley, as fol- 

 lows: Take two parts of kerosene and one of soft soap, and 

 churn or stir imtil a kind of butter is produced. This prepara^ 

 tion may be diluted with ten, twenty or fifty parts of water, 

 according to the delicacy of the plant or the insect to be 

 destroyed. 



A few other insects are slightly injurious to the Pear, but a 

 description is not deemed important in so condensed a work 

 as this. 



For a detailed description of all insects injurious to fruits and 

 fruit trees, the reader is referred to Saunders' " Insects Injurious 

 to Fruits." 



Diseases. — Fire Blight. — This disease is often very destructive 

 to the Pear, and its effect is to cause the leaves, shoots, and some- 

 times the entire tree — but more often only a portion of it — to 

 turn dark brown or black, as if scorched by fire. It always fol- 

 lows some cause of weakness, as a late growth in the fall, caused 

 by the use of coarse manure or late cultivation, when the shoots 

 are injured by cold; or after bearing a heavy crop of fruit; or it 

 may result from an exhaustion of the soil, or from the unnatural 

 g'-owth caused by plowing after the land has been in turf for some 

 time; or from seeding down witli a grain crop. In almost every 

 case that has come under my observation, some reasonable expla- 

 nation may be given for iits appearance. The disease is of a 

 fimgoid or algoid nature, and only attacks trees that have become 

 weakened in some way. 



The only remedy is, first, to cut away the diseased parts as soon 



