114 BIGGIE ORCHARD BOOK 



below the surface. If thus set the trees are less likely 

 to break off at the joint (which is always a weak spot 

 in dwarf pears) ; and, too, deep setting will encourage 

 the pear wood to send out some roots of its own, 

 which adds to the vigor and stability of the trees. 



PRUNING. Dwarf pears need a great deal of trim- 

 ming, principally ' ' cutting back. ' ' And they need 

 it regularly each year. About two-thirds or three- 

 quarters of the new growth should be cut off annually, 

 making the cut each time to buds which point out- 

 ward, so as to broaden the trees. Tall, spindling 

 trees have little ' ' bearing surface, ' ' and, besides, such 

 trees are more apt to blow down during heavy wind 

 storms. (Windbreaks are a specially good thing for 

 all dwarf pears. ) 



INSECT AND FUNGOUS ENEMIES. The same pests 

 that trouble the standard pear, also bother the dwarf. 

 Consult Chapter XIII. 



VARIETIES. Only a few varieties of pears do 

 especially well as dwarfs. 



I,. T. Yeomans, whose dwarf-pear orchard is about fifty years 

 old, expresses a decided preference for the Duchess variety. 



I,. H. Bailey, New York, says that the most successful 

 kinds are Duchess, Anjou, Iconise Bonne, Manning's Elizabeth 

 and Clairgeau. 



C. S. Mills, a Michigan grower who has been remarkably suc- 

 cessful with a commercial dwarf-pear orchard, writes that if he 

 were going to set another dwarf orchard today, he would plant 

 six-tenths *Duchess trees, three-tenths *Anjou, and one-tenth 

 *L,ouise Bonne. (I do not think this list can be much improved 

 for any section of the country. J. B.) 



