293 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW Til KM 



green and shipped all through the season, as their first growth 

 usually makes them large enough for this purpose. 



Though the Bartlett is in wide favor, as stated, there is some 

 progress being made in introducing other varieties, as will be 

 stated in connection with the discussion of the adaptations of vari- 

 eties. This substitution of other sorts is in part because the merit 

 of others' is being recognized, and in part because in some regions 

 some of them are healthier and more trustworthy bearers than the 

 Bartlett. 



There is produced in some situations a "second crop" of Bart- 

 letts and of other varieties which is of account when pears are 

 scarce and is sometimes dried with profit. For such fruit the 

 bloom appears upon the tips of the shoots of the current season's 

 growth. The fruit is sometimes coreless and has led to claims 

 of "seedless pears." Bartlett pears have actually been picked in 

 the foot-hills above Peatz in Butte County on February 25, 1905, 

 and described as "fine, delicious and ripe." This fact must be 

 regarded as a token of local climatic salubrity and not of economic 

 or pomological account. 



SOILS FOR THE PEAR 



The pear, if it is not allowed to dry out entirely, will generally 

 do well on shallow soil and over a tight, clay hard-pan, where 

 most other fruits would be unsatisfactory or fail utterly. The 

 trees will thrive in clay loams, and even in adobe, if properly cul- 

 tivated. In laying out fruit farms, which often include a variety 

 of soils, even in comparatively ' small area, the pears and plums 

 (if on the right stock, as will be seen) should beset in the lower, 

 moister, stiffer soil, and other fruits on the lighter, warmer, and 

 better-drained portions. The pear, however, enjoys the better sit- 

 uation, though it will thrive on the poorer. The tree seems to 

 attain its greater growth and heaviest bearing on the alluvial soils 

 of the valleys and near the banks of rivers and streams. All pears 

 will be later in maturing and have better keeping qualities if grown 

 on a clay subsoil. Thus it appears that the pear will flourish 

 whether the water is near or far from the surface. On wet land 

 the apple is apt to die in a few years, or become worthless. On 

 dry land the apple lives longer, but the fruit is small and tasteless. 

 But the pear tree may bear good fruit, under the same conditions. 



It has been learned by experience that the pear will flourish 

 on soil somewhat alkaline. At the University Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station at Tulare, this subject has been demonstrated in 

 detail. It is shown that though the pear endures a certain amount 

 of alkali its limit of endurance may be often exceeded and there 

 is little warrant to select alkali soil for pears, unless it be to fill 

 a space that would otherwise be vacant in the orchard. If it is 



