THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



are superb apples ; and we wish we 

 could add Spy and King, but our expe- 

 rience in apple growing for thirty years 

 past would condemn them both for 

 planting, the former because it does 

 not produce well until fifteen or twenty 

 years planted, and the latter because it 

 never bears paying quantities. Both 

 are prime apples — the best in quality 

 for general uses, but what is the use of 

 quality if you cannot get enough of it 

 to be worth handling 1 We have an 

 orchard of Northern Spys, covering 

 about six acres of ground. They have 

 been planted twenty-five years, and 

 have only given us two good crops ! 

 We have an orchard of Kings about 

 thirty-five years planted, which have 

 never given more than three good crops 

 and several small crops. 



Pears for Export. 



1043* Sir, — I intend planting, next 

 spring, a large number of pear trees, and 

 have decided that for export varieties the 

 Duchess d'Angouleme, Beurre Clairgeau, and 

 Beurre d'Anjou, are as good as any. 



The only question that undecides me is, 

 whether they are sufficiently prolific, to pay 

 as well as others. If planted, they will be in 



food strong clay soil, well drained, and will 

 e carefully cultivated. 

 Now will some kind friend, who can speak 

 from sweet or bitter experience, please let me 

 know, through these columns, as soon as pos- 

 sible, if these varieties yield a good paying 

 crop, under the treatment spoken of above ? 



Also, I would like to know, from an expe- 

 rienced man, whether Mountain Ash is a de- 

 sirable stock on which to graft pears ? 



W. B. Stephens, 

 Owen Sound, Out. 



The experience thus far gained in 

 exporting pears to the British market 

 is so small and limited, covering only 

 two years, and that chiefly from one 

 section, and a limited number of varie- 

 ties — that it is quite too soon to give 

 a settled opinion regarding the best 

 for the purpose. We have had excel- 

 lent success exporting the Bartlett in 

 cold storage, for when it arrives in good 

 condition, it sells well. This last sea- 

 son we received from 50c. to $1.25 net 

 for y$ bushel cases, or about $3.50 per 

 bushel for the very finest — but they 



need great care in storage, or they will 

 arrive rotten and be a bill of expense. 

 We cannot therefore recommend this 

 pear for general planting for export. 



Fine Duchess pears always do well, 

 if well grown. They usually do better 

 as dwarfs than as standards, growing 

 to a finer size. In the Grimsby section 

 the Duchess orchards have not been 

 bearing well for several years, we do 

 not know why, for the tree has the 

 character of being productive. If this 

 variety does well in Simcoe county, it 

 may be planted with confidence that 

 a fine quality will bring a good price in 

 the British market. 



Clairgeau is a fine-sized pear of 

 beautiful appearance, and a good ship- 

 ping kind. Well grown and well col- 

 ored it is a variety of great excellence, 

 and should do well for a distant mar- 

 ket. It may be grown either as a dwarf 

 or standard. 



Anjou is one of the finest, and no 

 pear, that we sent over, brought prices 

 equalling it. Some bushel cases sent 

 over in 1897 sold for $3.75 each. In 

 our experience at Grimsby, however, 

 this variety is a poor bearer as a stand- 

 ard, and the fruit is not quite as large 

 as on the dwarf. We have always grown 

 it on sandy loam, and no doubt the 

 standard would do better on clay, still 

 in any case we would expect the best 

 fruit on the dwarf. 



The Kieffer should also be planted 

 to a limited extent, because it is sure 

 to succeed. It will grow anywhere, 

 and produce tremendous crops. With 

 good cultivation and manure, and thin- 

 ning, it will yield fine-sized fruit. This 

 pear ripens for use in December and 

 January, and will carry any distance in 

 perfect condition. The only question 

 is its quality, which is very poor for 

 dessert. For canning it is unexcelled. 

 However, should the time come when 

 it is not in demand, no stock would be 

 finer for top-grafting than the Kieffer. 



Regarding the Mountain Ash for stock 

 there is no doubt that it will answer, 

 for it has been frequently used ; but we 

 would give the preference to a good 

 seedling pear. 



80 



