112 BIGGIE ORCHARD BOOK 



injury. Pruning- should be systematic. Head back 

 the new growth in the spring, or thin it out, or both, 

 as may be required to maintain a shapely, well- 

 balanced tree. There is no sense in thinking that 

 quinces must necessarily be straggling, misshapen 

 bushes. Start with a straight stem two feet high, 

 have the head open and well branched, and you can 

 make the tree as shapely as you please. The fruit is 

 produced on little shoots which grow in spring on 

 wood that is at least two years old. Keep all suckers 

 cut off from around the trunk. 



PRINCIPAL INSECT AND FUNGOUS PESTS. The 

 codling moth, the quince curculio, the round-headed 

 apple-tree borer, the pear-tree slug and the pear-tree 

 blister mite, all bother quince trees more or less. 

 Remedies have been given in preceding chapters. 

 There, too, you will find hints about leaf blight, rust, 

 rot, twig blight and fire blight, all of which are well- 

 known enemies of the quince. The quince should 

 be frequently sprayed with the Bordeaux-arsenical 

 mixture, or with the self-boiled lime-sulphur. 



VARIETIES. Comparatively few kinds are grown. 

 Probably the best, for almost any locality, would be : 

 Orange ; Rea ; Meech ; Champion. 



DWARF PEAR. 



If properly grown and cared for, these trees are 

 thrifty, productive, long-lived and profitable. But if 

 neglected, they are equally short-lived and worthless. 

 I know of several dwarf-pear orchards that are now 

 twenty to forty years old, which began bearing fruit 

 when about four years old, and which are still healthy 



