CHAPTER XXII 

 THE PEAR 



The oldest deciduous fruit trees in California are pear trees, 

 as has already been stated in the account of fruits at the old mis- 

 sions, and some of the trees are still bearing, though it is a century 

 and a third since their planting. Trees planted by pioneers in the 

 old mining districts have actually assumed semblance to adjacent 

 oaks. Notable instances are found in the Stillwater district of 

 Shasta County and elsewhere. Near San Jose there is a tree over 

 half a century old, with a trunk seven and a half feet around and 

 yielding annually about fifteen hundred pounds of fruit, some of 

 which was exhibited at the Columbian Exposition. 



The pear withstands neglect and thrives in soils and situations 

 which other fruit trees would rebel against. It defies drouth and 

 excessive moisture, and patiently proceeds with its fruitage even 

 when the soil is trampled almost to rocky hardness by cattle, carry- 

 ing its fruit and foliage aloft above their reach. And yet the pear 

 repays care and good treatment, and receives them from California 

 growers, for the pear has been one of our most profitable fruits. 

 It is in demand for canning, for drying, and for distant shipment, 

 and its long season and the slow ripening after picking allow delib- 

 eration in marketing, and admit of enjoying low rates for shipment 

 by slow trains. One of the most striking demonstrations of the 

 commercial suitability of the California pear is found in successful 

 marketing in London. Solomons, who is called "London's great- 

 est fruiter," said in 1903 that California Bartletts from Block of 

 Santa Clara are the "best in the world." Even after crossing the 

 continent they seemed to endure shipment across the Atlantic better 

 than eastern pears. 



The pear has not the beauty of the peach, nor is its handling 

 characterized by so much dash and spirit, but the production of 

 favorite market varieties at a time when the market welcomes 

 them, is about as well repaid as any effort of the California fruit 

 grower. Some idea of the yield of thrifty trees in large numbers 

 can be had from the report of 100 acres of Bartletts on the Cone 

 ranch near Red Bluff, which in 1904 yielded 900 tons of fruit 

 'which sold at $30 per ton a gross yield of $27,000 of which not 

 more than $7,000 were required to pay for the year's care and 

 harvesting, a net yield of $200 per acre. There are much higher 

 figures, of course, as the product of eight acres near Yuba City 

 which yielded eighty tons in 1905, sold at $50 per ton or a gross 



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