THE POME FRUITS 467 



applications well made, this one is rarely needed, although much depends 

 on the locality and .season. 



This schedule of sprays is all that is needed in the worst infested 

 orchards, and it is seldom that more than those numbered 1, 3 and 4 need 

 be given. 



Thinning. — Whenever the crop on a tree is too large for normal matu- 

 rity, it should be thinned. This should be done as soon as the June drop is 

 largely over, or when the fruit has become about an inch in diameter. 

 All defective fruit should be removed first and then the remainder thinned 

 to a distance of at least four or five inches between fruits, unless they are 

 on opposite sides of the limb and the limb as a whole is not well loaded. 

 Grape shears or similar implements are sometimes used for this, but with a 

 Jitte practice and by using the proper twist the work can probably be done 

 faster without them and with as little damage to fruit spurs and fruit. 



Fruit Picking and Storage. — The highest color and best eating quality 

 in apples are generally secured by letting them ripen on the tree as far as 

 possible. This can be done with the early apples and especially with those 

 to be used at home. Too much ripening, however, interferes seriously 

 with long keeping, and hence with the later varieties the best time for pick- 

 ing is when they are "hard ripe," i. e., when they have reached their full 

 size and redness, but have not yet begun to soften nor to show the yellow 

 colors, except possibly in occasional specimens. In many cases two or more 

 pickings are desirable to permit the immature fruits to develop. 



Other ways of improving the keeping quality are to avoid bruises and 

 broken skins and to transfer the fruit at once to cool conditions. Leaving 

 the apples in piles in the sun is exceedingly hard on keeping quality. In 

 storage the best temperatures range from about 30° to 35° F., though a 

 range up to 40° or 45° F. usually does little or no damage. Well insulated 

 cellars or storage rooms fitted with a good system of ventilation, which can 

 be opened at night and closed in the daytime, are likely to be very serviceable 

 except possibly in the southern third of the apple region. In that territory 

 it may be necessary, to make use of commercial storage, at least tempo- 

 rarily, in order to insure satisfactory keeping of the fruit. 



THE PEAR 



Origin. — Practically all the present varieties of pears have come 

 directly from the wild Pyrus communis of Europe and Asia. This fruit 

 has been grown probably as long as the apple, but it was not until the great 

 work of Von Mons of Belgium, in the early part of the nineteenth century, 

 that any important dessert varieties were produced. The better varieties 

 are now among the most delicious of fruits. 



The other ancestor involved in a few of the commercial sorts is the 

 Japanese or sand pear {Pyrus sinensis) of Asia. It is of no value in itself 

 except for hardiness or ornamental use. Crosses between it and communis, 

 however, have resulted in the hardy hybrids, of which the Kieffer, LeConte 



