1248 



PEAR 



PEAR 



8th. Dig the hole in which a tree is to be planted 

 deep enough to receive 2 or 3 inches of fine soil, before 

 putting the tree in place, making it large enough to 

 allow the roots to be spread out in their natural posi- 

 tion. 



9th. See that good, friable surface soil is well filled 

 in beneath, among and over the roots. 



10th. Should the soil be dry, with no immediate pros- 

 pect of rain, it will be well, after nearly filling the hole 

 with earth, to apply a pail of water, and after it shall 

 have settled away, to fill up the hole] with earth and 



1689. Duchess Pear, the most popular variety for growing 

 quince roots. (See page 1243.) 



tramp it down firmly. Staking will rarely be found 

 necessary, except, possibly, in the case of trees old 

 enough to have been already branched, but such stake 

 must be watched and the tree protected against injury 

 by rubbing against it. 



11. Subsequent Cultivation, (a) Newly planted trees : 

 Ground occupied by young trees must be kept well 

 cultivated during the spring and early summer. If hoed 

 crops are planted larger quantities of manure will be 

 required, but in either case cultivation should cease as 

 early as the beginning of August in order to hasten the 

 ripening of the young wood. This process should be 

 continued during at least five or six years, after which 

 green crops may be grown and plowed under as a 

 means, in part, of maintaining the fertility of the soil. 



(6) Mulching: Especially during the first few years 

 after planting, in case of hot, dry weather during the 

 growing season, mulch may be applied to check evap- 

 oration from the soil and to keep it cool, but it should 

 not be permitted to take the place of cultivation. The 

 soil should be well pulverized before applying it. 



(c) Manuring: As stated under that head (5), manures 

 should be applied sparingly but regularly, preferably 

 in late autumn, and should be plowed under, or other- 

 wise mixed with the soil at that time or in the early 

 spring, as a means of promoting early growth and the 

 thorough ripening of the wood in advance of severe 

 cold. Thorough maturing of the wood should also be 

 assisted, as already said, by ceasing cultivation the 

 early part of August. 



12. Gathering and Ripening the Fruit. All selected 

 Pears, whether intended for the market or for use at 

 home, should be carefully hand-picked. 



(a) Gathering summer and autumn Pears: With very 

 few exceptions all Pears acquire a higher quality if 

 gathered before they are fully ripe. The generally ac- 

 cepted rule is to gather the crop when an occasionally 

 full grown, wormy specimen is ripe, or when there is a 

 perceptible change in the color of the maturer speci- 

 mens, or when the stem parts readily from the branch 

 if the fruit is slightly lifted. 



(&) Ripening summer and winter Pears: When gath- 

 ered the fruit should be placed in a cool room devoted to 

 the purpose, and spread upon shelves, or in lack of a suit- 

 able room they may be placed in shallow boxes or 

 drawers, where in due time they will acquire their full 

 color and flavor. Since this fruit parts with moisture 

 quite freely, it, and especially the later ripening varie- 

 ties, should be protected from a drying atmosphere, par- 

 ticularly from drafts of air, which will cause the fruit 

 to shrivel and become tough and leathery. It is also 



true of at least very many varieties that even if blown 

 off or gathered when but two-thirds grown, the fruit if 

 put away as already described will usually acquire a 

 satisfactory quality. Fruits thus gathered and ripened 

 are found to have less tendency to decay rapidly at the 

 core. 



(c) Gathering and ripening of winter dessert Pears: 

 These should remain upon the tree as long as practi- 

 cable without danger from frost. When gathered, they 

 should be placed in a cool, frost-proof room, and it will 

 be well also to wrap each separately in soft paper. 

 Some varieties are found to ripen perfectly 

 without further attention, but the quality of 

 most kinds will be much improved if they are 

 brought into a temperature of 00 or 70 a fort- 

 night before their usual season of maturity. 



(d) Winter cooking Pears: These should be 

 gathered and put away in close packages in a 

 cool, frost-proof room, in the same manner as 

 russet apples, like which they will shrivel, and 

 become tough and leathery, if left exposed to 

 the air. They may remain in this condition 

 until needed for use. 



13. Packing and Marketing. In America, 

 Pears are generally packed for market directly 

 from the tree, without awaiting the process of 

 ripening. Barrels are largely used as packages, 

 although this fruit is frequently put up in half- 

 barrels and sometimes in bushel, peck and even 

 n in half -peck baskets. American growers rarely 



ripen their fruit before marketing it. This, if 

 done at all, is more generally accomplished by 

 the dealer, doubtless with decided profit, since in the 

 larger cities fully fifty dollars have been known to be 

 paid for a single barrel of selected fruit, and yet the 

 same fruit ripened and offered in quantities to suit cus- 

 tomers has been sold at two or three times the original 

 cost. The marketing of unripened Pears is obviously 

 unprofitable so far as the producer is concerned. 



In Europe, the choicest fruits are carefully selected 

 and house-ripened. When approaching their best con- 

 dition the fruits are separately wrapped in soft paper, 

 and are then put up in packages of perhaps one or two 

 dozens, and sent so as to appear upon the market when 

 in the best possible condition. Such fruits command 

 prices quite in excess of what they would have realized 

 had they been offered in an immature condition. 



14. Varieties. Since the popular and desirable va- 

 rieties of Pears may be found fully described in stand- 

 ard pomological works, such descriptions here are not 

 deemed necessary. Among the very numerous varieties 

 of Pears described in such works there are doubtless 

 many possessing high quality and other valuable char- 

 acteristics, which, for some unexplained reason, have 

 failed to attract the attention of growers. 



Since varieties vary in their season of ripening with 

 change of latitude, and often, to some extent, with 

 change of location, even in the same latitude, the desig- 

 nation of such season becomes a matter of more or less 

 difficulty. In the following lists the season given will 

 be approximately that between the forty-second and 

 forty-third parallels of north latitude. 



(a) Amateur Pears : It is as true of the Pear as of most 

 other species of fruits, that very many varieties are of 

 small size, unattractive appearance, or of such delicate 

 texture when ripe as to disqualify them for the market, 

 although they may possess, in an eminent degree, the 

 peculiar characteristics which render them desirable, 

 and to persons of cultivated taste, indispensable for the 

 supply of the family. Such are termed amateur Pears. 

 The following is a list of a few of the most popular of 

 these, arranged approximately in the order of maturity: 



Name. Season* Remarks. 



Madeleine m. e. July Earliest good Pear. 



Summer Doyenne e. July 



Bloodgood e. July. m. Aug. 



Giffard m. Aug Excellent, but very per- 



Dearborn m. e. Aug. [ishable, 



Rostiezer m. Aug. m. Sept. 



Manning Elizabeth e. Aug. 

 Brandy wine e. Aug. b. Sept. 



*e, early; m, middle; b, beginning. 



