THE PEARS OF NEW YORK 103 
stop tillage depends on the soil, the climate, and the season. The fruit 
should be nearly full sized when tillage is stopped and the cover-crop sown. 
The cover-crop seed is covered the last time the cultivator goes over 
the orchard. Clover, vetch, cow-horn turnip, rape, oats, rye, and buckwheat 
are all used as cover-crops in this State. Combination crops are not popular 
because of too great cost of seed. The quantity of seed sown is the same 
as when the crops are grown as farm crops. The crops must be changed 
from time to time in whatever rotation seems most suitable for the soil. 
The weather-map must be watched at sowing time to make sure of a moist 
seed-bed. Whatever the crop, it should be plowed under in the fall or 
early spring, and under no circumstances should it stand late in the spring 
to rob the trees of food and moisture. In moist, hot seasons, the cover-crop 
should be sown earlier than in seasons of slow growth, when, possibly, it 
acts as a deterrent to blight, and certainly makes more certain thorough 
ripening of the new wood. 
The double nature of pruning must be kept in mind whenever a pruning 
tool is taken in the pear-orchard. Fruit-trees are pruned to increase the 
quantity and quality of the crop — this is pruning proper; and to give the 
trees such form that they are easily managed in the orchard — this is 
training. Pruning tools are used first when the trees are set, and they 
should be used every year thereafter as long as the tree lives. The pruning 
at setting time is particularly important with the pear, since newly set 
pears are slow and uncertain in starting, and linger in growth for a year 
or two after going into the orchard. The pruning is much the same as 
with other trees, but must be done with a little greater care. 
The top of the young plant must be pruned to enable the injured root- 
system to supply the remaining branches with water. The less the roots 
are injured, the less the top need be cut. Some cut back all of the branches; 
some remove whole branches and do not head back those that remain. 
The latter is the better plan for this reason: The top buds on branches are 
largest and develop first, and the newly set tree will grow best if it develops 
a large leaf-surface before hot dry weather sets in. Young trees usually 
have surplus branches; remove those not needed, leaving three, four, or 
rarely five to form the framework of the tree. A pear so pruned will start 
growth and acquire vigor more quickly than if all branches are cut back. 
A choice must be made when planting as to whether the tree is to be 
low- or high-headed. The habit of growth of varieties differs so greatly 
that there can be no rule to determine how high the head of a tree should 
