62 BULLETIN 1189, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Elberta, but too near the season of that variety to become valuable for the 

 general market. It has high dessert quality and is desirable for home orchards. 

 Success. 



The Success peach is a freestone and the latest variety of all to ripen, coming 

 In season after the Bilyeu. In the Potomac Valley section of West Virginia it is 

 caught by freezes too frequently to be profitable. 

 Triumph. 



The Triumph peach is an extra-early, unattractive, yellow-fleshed, semicling 

 variety. It ripens too early in this area for the general market, for it com- 

 petes with Elberta from more southern regions, ripening before the Carman 

 and just after Sneed, and is too poor in dessert quality for home use. It is very 

 subject to brown-rot. 

 "Wheeler. 



The Wheeler peach is a yellow-fleshed, late, freestone variety which has not 

 proved as popular as the Salwey of the same season. 

 Wonderful. 



The Wonderful is a yellow-fleshed, rather small, late freestone variety* very 

 similar to Smock, but it has not proved as profitable as the larger Smock, with 

 which it ripens. 



PEAR VARIETIES. 



Pear orchards are located at many places throughout this area. 

 In no part, however, does pear growing form an important orchard 

 industry or is it regularly profitable. Occasionally large crops are 

 harvested which are sold at good prices. The general experience has 

 been, however, that all varieties are too subject to attacks of pear- 

 blight to be profitable. Young orchards are not often badly dam- 

 aged, but when the trees begin to bloom the blight becomes severe. 

 As the orchards grow older the trees surviving the earlier attacks of 

 this disease continually decrease in number until the orchards become 

 unprofitable. Pear-blight on apple trees is much worse when pear 

 trees are grown in the same vicinity. Because of these conditions 

 pear growing is being abandoned in this area. 



Throughout Tennessee and Kentucky, except in the extreme north- 

 ern part of the latter State, very few varieties are found, as the 

 blight is more destructive in these regions than farther north. The 

 Kieffer, which is somewhat resistant to the blight, is the principal 

 variety. Two other varieties of the Sand pear hybrid group, the 

 Garber and LeConte, are also grown to some extent. A few trees 

 of the Golden Russet, a pure oriental variety, are found in some 

 orchards. In northern Kentucky and in West # Virginia the Wight 

 becomes somewhat less severe, and certain varieties in addition to 

 those mentioned above are grown to some extent. The Seckel is 

 perhaps the most important of these. 



IMPORTANT VARIETIES OF PEARS. 



Garber. 



The tree of the Garber variety is affected slightly more than the Kieffer by 

 pear-blight. The fruit is as large as the Kieffer but is rather more juicy and 

 ripens a little earlier. It is frequently planted with the Kieffer as a pollinizer 

 for that variety and ranks second in importance in this area. 



Kisffer 



The Kieffer is the most widely distributed variety in this area and is the 

 most resistant to pear-blight of all the commercial pears except the Pineapple 

 pear, which is grown in southern Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. In the 

 Gulf Coastal Plain region in Tennessee, however, orchards were seen which had 

 been entirely destroyed by that disease, while in all parts of the area it has 

 repeatedly caused severe damage. When uninjured by this disease the tree is 

 very productive. The fruit is large, often very large, and is very firm. The 

 flesh is rather coarse and gritty, but when picked at the right season and 



