324 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
thoroughly at home. But it is now conceded that it is a 
mistake to plant it in the best pear growing regions of 
New York and New England; for in these sections, the 
amount of summer heat is insufficient to bring the fruit to 
its highest state of perfection, either as to quality or ap¬ 
pearance. 
The Kieffer has been the butt of the horticulturtil humorist 
at fruit growing conventions for many years, this on account 
of its tough, coarse flesh, and owing to the lack of the aromatic 
flavors which are present in high quality pears. When 
grown under unfavorable circumstances, the flesh is hard 
and coarse, with very little of the real pear flavor. On the 
other hand, when grown under favorable circumstances, 
properly ripened off the tree, the acidity tones down, the 
harshness of the flesh is softened, and the fruit is trans¬ 
formed into a really edible product. Kieffer, however, 
finds its greatest usefulness as a canning variety, and it would 
be difficult to say how many thousand boxes of Kieffers go 
on to the market each year bearing the well known label of 
Bartlett. And there is less fraud about this than might be 
expected, for in the canned form, made from properly grown 
fruit, the Kieffer is really an excellent fruit. 
As to returns, it is probable that Kieffer orchards have 
yielded as high returns per acre as have been secured from 
any of the deciduous fruits. New Jersey reports gross re¬ 
turns all the way from $56 to $1200 per acre, with a general 
average of $3 2 7 per acre. 
The Demand. —It is undoubtedly true that the demand 
for these pears has fallen off to a considerable extent during 
the past decade. This is due to a more widespread and 
accurate knowledge of the qualities of the fruit. At the same 
time, a good deal of unfairness has been shown towards the 
Kieffer, owing to the fact that it has been grown and is 
being grown in many localities entirely unadapted to its 
production. Then, frequently the fruit is handled in a 
manner quite unsuited to its requirements. All the Oriental 
hybrids should be picked while quite green, and shoffid be 
ripened off the tree. If allowed to hang on the tree until 
fully ripe, the flesh immediately surrounding the core be¬ 
comes gritty, hard and inedible, and the outside flesh becomes 
dry and mealy. If, however, the fruit is picked when it has 
reached full size, but before it has begun to take on the 
ripening process, and placed in a cool storage house, where 
it will ripen gradually, it colors up nicely, mellows down, 
and altogether is greatly improved by this treatment. 
The point of this brief article is that the natural range 
of the members of this Oriental group lies south of New York; 
that in New York or New England, the fruit of Kieffer, and 
the same is true of the other members of the group, does not 
compare favorably with the product of these varieties as 
grown in Delaware, Maryland, and the states farther south. 
The requirements of the pear are a warm soil, and a summer 
temperature high enough and continuous enough to bring it 
to a thorough state of development. Growe^in the North¬ 
east should leave Kieffer and the like for those sections where 
this group attains its highest excellence, for the sufficient 
reason that as a rule they can grow varieties of better quality 
than are produced in the Kieffer regions, whereas in those 
southern sections the Kieffer is produced so easily and so 
much better than it is possible to grow it in the North, that 
competition is futile. In the growing of pears, as well as in 
the production of apples, each region should study its own 
adaptations, and should aim to produce those varieties 
which attain their highest excellence in that section. 
The Oriental pears have performed an excellent mission 
and are occupying a very important place in the pomology 
of the South. Their field of usefulness has not been ex¬ 
hausted, for the production of hybrids thus far has been 
largely a matter of chance and very little systematic or 
consecutive effort has been made to produce desirable 
combinations between the Oriental and the descendents of the 
European. There is here an unquestionably promising 
field for the hybridist, and we may look with considerable 
hope towards the future, believing that there are still better 
things to come from a union of these two races, than have 
thus far been secured. 
SUMMER PRUNING 
The practice of pruning trees and shrubs in summer time 
is practiced very little in this country. Occasionally we 
And that ornamental shrubs are given a stereotyped pruning 
sometime in late spring or early autumn which prunes off 
the tops of each shrub to a uniform height and without 
reference to the flowering habit of the plant. In some cases 
when late pruning is practiced, the flower buds are com¬ 
pletely or nearly wholly removed. Summer pruning is a 
desirable practice wherever it may be thought necessary to 
thicken the growth of a bush or tree, and theoretically it is 
also a means of increasing the fruitfulness of plants. It is to 
be practiced with much more discrimination than winter 
pruning. When we prune during the dormant season, we 
remove superfluous shoots and shorten those that are over 
lengthy, all of which tends to increase vegetative vigor next 
spring. Summer pruning, on the other hand, acts as a 
retarding agent, and tends to make plants stocky and fruit¬ 
ful. In the case of the hedge, which is summer pruned, we 
find it thicken up at the base and perform its hedge functions 
more completely than before. 
In our judgment, summer pruning can be applied to many 
of our fruit trees with excellent results. Peaches particularly 
are apt to run to wood, and summer pruning, which might 
consist of pinching back and checking the superabundant 
growth, would stimulate lateral branches, all of which would 
tend to greater fruitfulness. One of the difficulties, however, 
with summer pruning is that there are many other things 
pressing at the time, and as a result, it is likely to be ne¬ 
glected. 
PAINFUL ACCIDENT TO PRESIDENT MEEHAN 
Thomas B. Meehan, president of the American Associa¬ 
tion of Nurserymen, and James McHutchinson, New York 
City, have just returned from Europe where they have been 
for the last few weeks visiting nurseries. 
A very interesting and enjoyable trip was somewhat 
marred by a painful accident to Mr. Meehan. The first 
day out from Cherburg, while coming up the steps from the 
lower deck, he stumbled, breaking his knee cap. From 
present indications the .fracture is knitting nicely so that he 
hopes to have the full use of his limb in the near future. 
