THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 93 
Some varieties are made to grow in uncongenial soils by grafting 
them on stocks better adapted to the soil. Thus, on certain soils some 
pears grafted on quince stocks do better than on pear roots. This is a great 
field of future discovery and one in which discoveries are being made as 
experimenters try new stocks to secure greater resistance to blight. In 
all of this work, pear-growers must know not only how well the stock 
resists blight, but also how well the cion takes to the stock and the stock 
thrives on various soils. 
The pear is easy to suit in matter of site for the orchard so far as lay 
of land is concerned. Altitude, exposure, slope; and local climate, all so 
important in choosing sites for the more tender peach, plum, and sweet 
cherry, need receive little consideration in planting the pear. A site 
somewhat higher than the surrounding country gives the two great advan- 
tages of soil drainage and air drainage. Good air drainage is a prime 
requisite with pears, as it helps to reduce the danger from frost, and neither 
pear-scab nor fire-blight are as virulent as on trees planted on sites where 
there is little movement of air. Rolling land, so often recommended for 
all fruits, seems not to be essential for pears, as many splendid orchards 
of this fruit are on flat lands, which, however, usually have an elevation 
above the surrounding country on one or more boundaries. The influence 
of large bodies of water, so favorable to the peach, is not as necessary 
with the pear, although the best pear regions in the State are near the 
Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes, or along the Hudson. There are no 
successful pear-orchards in the State surrounded by higher land. Frosts, 
freezes, pear-blight, and fungi would soon play havoc with pear-trees in 
such a situation. 
The shelter of hills, forests, or of apple-orchards, provided they do 
not shade the pear-orchard too much, may be a valuable adjunct to a site. 
Such shelter, however, is desirable only when so situated as to protect 
against unseasonable winds and storms. Tree and fruit suffer greatly when 
loaded branches are whipped about by strong winds. The advantages 
of artificial windbreaks, whether of evergreen or deciduous trees, are usually 
more than offset by disadvantages. The direction in which land slopes is 
greatly over-emphasized by horticultural writers if orchards in New York 
are considered. The only important aspect of exposure for pears in this 
State is that the land slope toward the water when near a large body of 
water that the orchard may secure in full the effects that come from planting 
trees near the water. 
