THE PEAR 



131 



severe 



given 



repaid. 



Manuring Pear Trees. — It is better to wait until a crop of fruits is set 

 and duly thinned before giving stimulants, for 

 if the trees fail to bear, too much grow^th 

 results, and the proper balance between roots 

 and branches is disturbed. The fruits upon 

 trees of late sorts should be freely thinned 

 and allowed to hang into November. Unless 

 they are perfectly matured the fruits are 

 harsh and woody, and never become fit for 

 table use. These late sorts should be given 

 warm positions, even south walls in cool 

 districts. 



Orchard Culture. — It is seldom that 

 pains are taken to thin the crop of pears in 

 orchards, but much finer fruits can be obtained 

 where the boughs are kept well apart by 

 pruning in winter, and a few hours 

 to thinning the fruits will be well 

 If liquid manure or a mulch of long 

 stable litter can be applied in June or July, 

 and for the latest varieties until October, to 

 those bearing a heavy crop the trees will 

 benefit greatly. 



In planting pears we do not advise 

 manure to be used too freely as this may 

 force the trees to make gross growth, and 

 thus lead to the loss of spurs and fruit buds. 

 Many buds may become blind, and the joints 

 of some sorts will be too far apart to clothe 

 the trees with fruit spurs, so we prefer rather 

 to rely on good, sound loam. It frequently 

 occurs that where much manure is used the 

 soil becomes too loose for the trees to root 

 readily, and those on the Quince stock especi- 

 ally will suflFer in a dry season and become 

 stunted. Established pear trees flower very 

 freely, and are liable to exhaust themselves by 

 the profusion of blossoms, so that no fruit 

 "sets." In varieties that do this (generally 

 those which make the least growth) it is advis- 

 able to go over the trees as soon as the buds are 

 sufficiently forward and remove surplus clusters 

 of flowers, e.g. those next to the wall, or where 

 the clusters are so close to each other that it 

 is evident all cannot come to perfection. 



Descriptions of Fruit. — It must be understood that there is a great 



Columnar Pear Tree (5 Years Old) 



(/) Point of cutting back maiden tree (the numerals 

 refer to the age of the wood). The result 

 of this is six growths, disposed regularly 

 around the stem, all others being removed. 

 They may be arranged by means of wooden 

 hoops, — an inner one g inches in diameter, 

 and three uppermost snoots secured to it at 

 9 inches apart around the circumference ; the 

 outer hoop should be 15 inches in diameter, 

 the three lower shoots arranged at equal 

 distances around it, and alternating with the 

 inner shoots. If the uppermost shoots grow 

 more vigorously than the others, stop them 

 not later than early in August when about 

 15 inches long, keeping the shoots as nearly 

 on a level as possible. The winter pruning 

 will be practically nil if summer stopping 

 is practised, and the shoots are about on 

 a level ; otherwise shorten those too long, 

 and cut close all laterals. The subsequent 

 treatment is the same as for the bush and 

 pyramid, the main branches are continued, 

 and forked so as to have bearing branches 

 g inches apart. Such tree has no central 

 stem like the pyramid, and the form is 

 peculiar to some varieties ; it is well suited 

 for plantations and gardens, especially when 

 the cultivator cannot devote much time to 

 the shaping of the trees. 



