PEARS. 



133 



population increases, and the smoke area ex- 

 tends, the market - gardener is being driven 

 farther out, and there are now thousands of 

 acres of market-garden and Pear-growing land 

 already in the hands of the builders or in pre- 

 paration for them. 



The principal sources of the home supplies of 

 Pears to the London markets are still Middlesex, 

 Surrey, Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire, where an 

 abundance of fine fruit is produced, though it is 

 not placed in the markets in the most approved 

 style. A few of the more energetic growers 

 are setting good examples now, though probably 

 they do not find it to their advantage to impress 

 neighbours and rivals with the importance of 

 following them. Struggling men in business 

 cannot afford to devote time to the thankless 

 task of pointing out the mistakes committed by 

 other growers, who have the same chances of 

 learning as themselves. 



Within recent years there has been a material 

 improvement, which it is to be hoped will ad- 

 vance even more rapidly, and this is largely 

 due to the excellent systems of horticultural 

 education organized in the home counties. In 

 the south-western counties, where Pears are 

 successfully grown, good work is being ac- 

 complished in a similar direction, Wiltshire, 

 Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall being 

 prominent in this respect. Again, in the west, 

 admirable work is being performed in Hereford- 

 shire and Worcestershire, particularly in the 

 last-named county. These are only examples 

 of the tendency to improvement which now 

 prevails, and which is, indeed, as essential in 

 horticulture as in all other businesses. This 

 must include the modernizing of methods in 

 Pear production and sale, which may be sum- 

 marized in the following hints. 



Summary of Essentials. — Do not commence 

 Pear -growing on a large scale in any position 

 unless there is reliable evidence from existing 

 trees that Pears can be satisfactorily grown 

 with a prospect of something like regular crop- 

 ping, or unless the conditions are such as to 

 leave no reasonable doubt that this result may 

 be expected. Commercial growers cannot in- 

 dulge in much experimental work, or, if they do, 

 it must be mainly in the direction of testing 

 varieties in a small way before planting largely. 

 For instance, if a large mixed plantation of 

 fruits is being formed, and there is some uncer- 

 tainty respecting the possible success of Pears, 

 a few trees of different varieties could be tried, 

 and their number subsequently increased in 

 proportion to their behaviour. This is the 



safest method in any case, but it is a slow one, 

 and in many districts where Pears are un- 

 doubtedly at home, it would involve an unneces- 

 sary delay. 



Only those varieties should be grown that 

 possess some well-marked characteristics that 

 will command the attention of purchasers. Size, 

 form, colour, and quality must be considered, 

 and if all can be combined in one variety the 

 ideal market Pear will be secured, provided the 

 tree possess the two other characters of hardi- 

 ness and free cropping. It must, however, be 

 remembered that a handsome Pear of good size 

 will sell to better advantage in the general 

 markets than small samples of unattractive 

 appearance though of the highest quality. For 

 the latter, a retail trade direct with consumers 

 who require quality only is more satisfactory 

 than a market trade, except as regards a few 

 salesmen who make a speciality of high-class 

 fruits. 



The season at which the fruit is to be sold 

 must be considered in selecting varieties. The 

 majority of market -growers now rely upon 

 early and mid-season Pears, and very few at- 

 tempt to store any, so that late Pears have 

 been generally discarded in recent years. There 

 is another side to this question, however, and 

 Mr. S. T. Wright, superintendent of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick, 

 refers to it in the following terms: "A variety 

 in use from Christmas onwards, that has been 

 in excellent demand of late years, is Josephine 

 de Marines. If it is allowed to hang on the 

 trees as long as possible, in fact until there is 

 danger of sharp frost, the fruit will frequently 

 keep until early in March, and if sold then will 

 bring from 20s. to 30s. per cwt. although the 

 fruit is below the average size; but owing to 

 the demand for Pears early in the new year, 

 size is not so important as a fine appearance 

 and a good flavour." It must be admitted that 

 2d. to Sd. per lb. is not an extravagant price, 

 but with good-sized trees in full bearing this 

 would yield a considerable return per acre. It 

 is advisable to make a selection that will main- 

 tain a regular supply of fruit throughout the 

 Pear season, and it is preferable to have sufficient 

 trees of a variety to enable the grower to send 

 to market a quantity of each at one time. 

 Single baskets or boxes of Pears as samples are 

 troublesome to the salesmen and unsatisfactory 

 or misleading to the sender. At the same time 

 it is not safe to rely upon one or two varieties 

 alone, as seasonal influences will sometimes affect 

 one sort adversely while another may escape. 



