PRUNING LE CONTE AND KIEFFER PEAR TREES. 



615 



practice topping the trees annually, beginning with one 

 year olds, cutting off the tops two to three feet from the 

 ground, and every winter thereafter removing about 

 two-thirds of the previous year's growth from the top 

 limbs until the trees come into bearing at seven years 

 old. This pruning is done any time after the fall growth 

 ceases, and before the buds swell in the spring. 



During January, 1885, I set out 1,000 Le Conte and 

 Kieffer trees, and have topped them yearly to the pres- 



Top-PRUNED Pear Orchard, owned by Wm, Jennings, Thomasville, Ga. 



fertility. As will be seen, the trees are now in 

 shape, and the weight of the fruit hereafter will cause 

 them to spread still more, so that they are likely to re- 

 main in good form with very little pruning. 



Will my trees be as fruitful and live as long as they 

 would have done had they never been pruned ? In 

 passing judgment it must be kept in mind that the habit 

 of growth of this race of pear trees is very different 

 from that of the old sorts of European ancestry. Active 



ent time. The illustration on this page is from a photo- 

 graph of this orchard, taken in June, 1891. They are 

 now handsome round headed trees, with stocky limbs 

 and numerous bearing branches, each tree capable of 

 holding half a ton of pears without injury. There is 

 nothing in the appearance of the trees that indicates a 

 want of health or thrift, although they have never been 

 manured or fertilized and are on old land of moderate 



growth begins early in spring ; buds suddenly burst 

 into leaves and sprouts, and the tree is a mass of foliage. 

 Apparent complete recovery from the closest pruning is 

 the work of a few days. But I suppose these, like 

 many other horticultural questions, can only be answered 

 by facts, and as growing these pears is comparatively a 

 new industry, we must w^ait for a solution. 



In the meantime, all who ask for my opinion I shall 



