362 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
lett is the great autumn pear of the country. Duchess has 
been a favorite on dwarf stock, and in western New York has 
been extensivel}^ planted. It is being replaced in newer 
plantings by Bose and Anjou. On the Pacific Coast, Comice 
is a favorite. Towards the northern boundary of the pear 
territory, Seckel and Flemish Beauty are favorites, and 
justly so; for their hardiness and reliability justify the 
grower’s preference. 
CULTIVATION 
Tillage, as in the case of the apple and the peach, is the 
ideal system of soil management. Now and then an orchard 
may be seeded down for a year or two, but it is at the best a 
hazardous and dangerous practice. It has been said that 
tillage encourages blight. This is a desultory observation 
and unsupported by any conclusive body of experience. It 
is probable that blight will thrive most vigorously where the 
largest amount of sappy growth prevails, but tillage rightly 
conducted does not necessarily mean unfavorable character 
of growth. It is quite possible that nitrogenous cover crops 
may be overdone, and nitrogenous manures, such as stable 
manures, nitrate of soda, and the like can be applied to 
excess; but in our experience of a good many years, we recall 
no shining examples of excessive feeding of this kind. Cover 
crops should be used with judgment, and with regularity. 
Growth during the vegetative period should be encouraged 
by good tillage the forepart of the season, followed with 
cover crops the latter part. When the tree comes into bear¬ 
ing, manurial fertilizers should be increased. The following 
suggestions for the use of these fertilizers are presented: 
FERTILIZING APPLES AND PEARS 
By William S. Myers 
On good soils, the necessity for fertilizers is not usually 
apparent until the trees begin to bear. In other words, it is 
possible to grow good trees on soils of moderate fertility, 
but larger growth and earlier fruiting will result, if fertiliza¬ 
tion begins as soon as the trees are planted. While no 
general rule can be adopted that will absolutely fit every 
situation, it is reasonable to suppose that in the m.ajority of 
cases an application of 500 pounds per acre of a fertilizer 
carrying 2 per cent ammonia, 10 per cent phosphoric acid, 
and 12 per cent potash, repeated each year, will bring good 
results. This application may be continued until the trees 
come into bearing, say for five or six years, when the fertilizer 
should be increased to 800 pounds per acre. 
I am in favor of using nitrogen in an immediately avail¬ 
able form, and this should be applied so that early vegetative 
activity is stimulated. It should be used in the nitrate form 
to accomplish this result. Nitrate of soda will furnish this 
element, and may be applied at the rate of 150 to 300 pounds 
per acre. The appearance of the trees, measured by their 
luxuriance, and the color of the foliage, will determine 
whether nitrogen is required or not. Wherever lack of vigor 
or of good green color is noted, nitrogen in the form of a 
nitrate can probably be employed advantageously. 
PRUNING 
We are of the opinion that many serious mistakes have 
been made by growers in over-pruning their pear orchards. 
The habit of heading back annually during the winter period, 
established in connection with the training of dwarf pear trees 
has in some cases been applied to standards with the result 
that wood growth has been reduced and reproductive action 
has been retarded. The heavier the pruning, the more 
emphatically is the bearing age delayed. We have seen 
instances of this over and over again, and are of the opinion 
that only such pruning as is necessary to shape the tree 
should be practiced each year. Where trees are making too 
much wood, summer pruning in July can be used to good 
purpose. Indeed we do not summer prune enough. We 
believe that the checking of growth on orchard trees during 
the growing period has just as salutary effect as the florist’s 
practice of pinching the growing plant in the greenhouse, in 
order to encourage stockiness and develop fruit buds. 
THINNING 
The Oriental pears are notably prone to overbear. They 
must be thinned. Other varieties such as Seckel and Louise 
Bonne can be greatly improved in size by judicious thinning. 
Our best pear growers throughout the country realize the 
necessity of thinning and practice it. There are many, 
however, who are still in the beginner’s stage, and do not 
appreciate the necessity of easing the burden of the tree, in 
order'to improve the size of the current crop and favor the 
production of the crop the following year. 
ENEMIES 
Among the insect enemies which have been most insistent 
and destructive in recent years is the pear psylla. This 
member of the plant lice tribe, taking its food by the sucking 
method, has been a severe pest of the pear tree in western 
New York, and in some other parts of the country, for a 
number of years. Infested trees show drooping shoots with 
leaves turning yellow, and the whole tree putting on a sickly 
appearance which develops to such an extent that by mid¬ 
summer most of the leaves will have fallen to the ground. 
The adult insect hibernates in crevices of the loosened bark. 
In spring the eggs are placed in the creases of the old bark or 
in leaf spurs on the terminal buds. The eggs hatch towards 
the middle of May in central New York, and the jmung 
nymphs crawl into the expanding buds. They attach them¬ 
selves on the undersides of the leaves, and after moulting the 
adult insect appears. There are several broods of the insects 
during the summer. Each generation occupies about a 
month. They excrete a large amount of honey dew, which 
is deposited on the leaves and fruit. This is frequently 
attacked by a fungus which discolors it and renders the fruit 
very unattractive and unsalable. The recommendations 
for the treatment of this insect are as follows, taken from 
the latest bulletin of the Cornell Experiment Station: 
“These minute, yellowish, flat-bodied, sucking insects 
are often found working in the axils of the leaves and fruit 
early in the season. They develop into minute, cicada-like 
jumping-lice. The young psyllas secrete a large quantity 
of honey-dew in which a peculiar black fungus grows, giving 
the bark a characteristic sooty appearance. There may be 
four broods annually and the trees are often seriously injured. 
After the blossoms fall, spray with kerosene emulsion. 
