FRUIT TREES 187 
The railroad worm, the small white maggot that eats 
winding channels all through the Porter apple, can be 
held in check only by picking up all fruit that falls ; 
this pest cannot be reached by spraying. If the apples 
are permitted to remain on the ground, the maggots 
will crawl into the ground and change to pup»; the 
following season they will produce flies that will lay 
their eggs beneath the skin of the young apples. 
PEARS 
Varieties should be selected that will ripen from 
August until late in the fall. The pear does best on a 
loose, strong, clayey soil. A dressing of coarse manure 
is beneficial when the tree is planted. Wood ashes may 
be apphed in the spring. Too much fertilizer has a tend- 
ency to produce pear blight. Give the soil thorough 
cultivation after the trees are set out. Pick pears just 
before the fruit is ripe. Plant and prune like apple trees. 
If pear blight appears, cut off the affected branches 
and burn them. The treatment for pear scab is the same 
as for apple scab. 
PEACHES 
Set out yearling trees and trim off all the branches, 
leaving them in the form of switches. Rub off all buds 
during the summer except such as are needed to form a 
well-balanced head. Set trees ten or twelve feet apart 
in rows twenty feet apart. Plant new ones at intervals ; 
the old ones need to be taken out about once in ten 
