RESISTANT VAUIETIES 
41 
sponge, to wet the wounds with the corrosive sublimate in the half-gallon 
bottle. 
A light ladder is necessary in an old orchard. For the late prunings 
have the same bucket of solution and can and sponge. Also carry a light 
pruning saw, a pair of short heavy pruning shears, and a sharp heavy 
pruning knife. An orchardist should always carry a good pruning knife. 
Other means of helping to hold the blight in check should be given 
consideration. Where there is trouble with the blight, do not cultivate 
your pear trees, except enough to make an average growth. On fertile 
ground, the orchard can be left in sod. Manure or other nitrogenous fer- 
tilizers should not be used on pears, except in special instances, because 
they induce a rapid growth, and such trees are more subject to blight. 
Resistant Varieties. No known variety is absolutely proof against 
the blight. However, some varieties are more resistant than others. 
They all vary in susceptibility with the locality. The Kieffer is the 
most resistant, and its value depends as much on the vigor of its growth 
in recovering from an attack of blight as on its resistance. Other re- 
sistant varieties are Duchess, Garber, Seckel, and Anjou. Those most 
susceptible to blight are Bartlett and Clapp's Favorite, etc. However, the 
same variety may suffer more in one section than it will in another. 
Apple. Crabapples are subject to blight, especially Transcendent; 
also the Russian type of apples, such as the Yellow Transparent, and Red 
Astrachan. Other susceptible varieties are Ben Davis, Spitzenberg, and 
Newtown Pippin. Rhode Island Greening is subject to blossom blight. 
Some varieties are subject to twig blight and not to canker blight, and 
vice versa. Blight is seldom serious in apple. 
Pears as Fillers. Standard pears should not be used as fillers in 
an apple orchard; because, if the apples are given as much cultivation as 
they should have, the pears will make a very rapid growth and be more 
subject to blight. Dwarf pears, however, can be used as temporary 
fillers in an orchard. Where the pear is grafted on dwarf roots, it doesn't 
make such a rapid growth, and for this reason is preferable to the stan- 
dards as fillers. The dwarf stock dosen't give the pear any greater resis- 
tance to blight, but it merely prevents the tree from making a rapid 
growth. 
Fake Remedies. Every one has heard of a sure remedy for blight, 
but none of them have ever proven of value when put to a test. Some of 
these remedies reported as successful are calomel injected in the tree 
through slits in the bark, the application of some form of iron in the fer- 
tilizer, also sulphur, and many others. Those may have appeared to check 
the blight in some instances, but such was really not the case. The blight 
does its work very quickly and it often happens that the germs have 
ceased their work before the diseased parts show the effect, and the 
fruit-grower thinks that the remedy checked the blight, rather than that 
the blight had already ceased its development. Some of the so-called 
remedies are harmful. * 
Quince 
The quince is closely related to the pear, but it has two habits that 
make its treatment different. It is a very slow grower, and the blooms 
are borne on shoots that have been grown the same year, instead of on 
old spurs as in the case of the i)ear. The quince does best on fertile, 
heavy soil. It will succeed on sandy laud, but will not live as long unless 
the ground is fertilized regularly. When planting on sandy ground, set 
trees 10 feet apart; on strong ground, 12 to 14 feet apart. Trim the roots, 
and set trees as described on pages 17-18-19-20. 
The quince is naturally a low, bushy grower, and should be headed 
low, cutting off the main trunk 16 to 18 inches above the ground. Prune 
and train the branches very much the same as for the two-year apple 
and pear. 
