108 The Western Foniologist and Gardener. J872 



These questions are truly answered, are they not ? Well then, what will be the result 

 if there be deposited a quarter of an inch of new material under this dry, hard and 

 already strained dead bark ? Will it not be ruptured all over the tree ? And will not such 

 ruptures expose yet living bark, but of low vitality, to the attack of this peculiar pear 

 fungus, if its spores are in the air by the thousand or million ? And may not some one 

 or more of these numerous ruptures prove a nidus or nidi and a nursery for them ? And 

 may not there be many good reasons why its spores may reach one pear garden, and not 

 another only a few rods removed ? 



Now we come to the other point, why root pruning may check blight, not prevent 

 it, and why it does not usually damage trees of slow or feeble growth. Inves- 

 tigation after investigation has proven that this blight cannot spread after active growth 

 has ceased, or, to put it more scientifically, after what was before somethifig else (elaborated 

 sap) has become cellulose, legnine or liber, so it follows as a matter of course, if we can 

 bring about this cessation of growth before the blight or fungus can have time to do 

 hurtful damage, we save our trees. With thrifty trees this can only be accomplished by 

 root pruning, and that this will in some instances if properly done at the right time, save 

 the trees can no longer be doubted, but that it will prevent insipient blight is certainly 

 not so. Among trees of very feeble growth this blight cannot spread, for the reason that 

 what little growth they do make is matured very early in'the season, before there is heat 

 enough to generate the blight. Trees like the Seckel are generally safe for the same rea- 

 son. There may be instances where this form of blight attacks small, smooth barked 

 twigs, finding a nidus in the puncture of an insect or in some other wound, but no such 

 instance has come under my observation resulting in any serious damage ; but I have 

 often seen instances of its spreading to a damaging extent from wounds on the older 

 parts of the tree — in one instance from a wound made the year before. Therefore I 

 say, and men of greater experience than me, say, no 2Jruniiig of pear trees for "we uns." 

 The resulting question from all this is : Can we in any practical way prevent and subdue 

 this one and the only fearful form of pear blight? I am confident we can, or at least pre- 

 vent its ravages to a great extent 



MY PLAN HAS BEEN AND WILL BE AS FOLLOWS : 



Plant standard trees, or more properly, trees on their own, or Mountain Ash {Pyrus 

 Aucuparia) roots, one year from bud, or two years from graft — I prefer the latter — on 

 high, dry, rather poor soil ; cultivate them thoroughly for the first four years early in the 

 season, suspending all cultivation by July the first. Cut the trees back to a foot or 

 eighteen inches, so as to make them head low when planting, and never under any 

 circumstances prune or cut them in any way thereafter except if the growth in one 

 season should exceed eighteen inches, cut back to that length, always leaving one cen- 

 tral shoot, the langest, for a leader. After the trees have made four season's growth, 

 sow the orchard to red clover, being careful to mulch around the trees so that they 

 will not be too much checked in growth, and from that time on never mow or pas- 

 ture the clover, or disturb the soil of the orchard in any way. I think trees so cared 

 for will never be found wanting in vigor, without they are allowed to over bear. If 

 they should cease to make growth enough — two to four inches a year is 

 growth enough, — a very small amount of manure applied to the surface of 

 the soil will revive them. The first full crop of fruit the trees set should be 

 one-half to two-thirds thinned off when the size of an acorn. This must not be neg- 

 lected, and they must never be allowed to over bear. An orchard treated in this way will 

 as a rule be very free from blight and diseases of all kinds. 



Among the healthiest and most productive pear orchards I have ever seen is one in the 

 Government Experimental Grounds, at Washington, D. C, and has been reared by that 

 thorough and scientific gardener, Mr. William Saunders, and has been treated very much 

 after the plan outlined above. Mr. Saunders has in this orchard proven, I think, that if 

 blight cannot be prevented in its incipient stages, that it can be subdued and killed in 

 nearly every instance before it does any serious harm. His plan is to keep a close watch 



