PEAR. Pyrus comnrunis. The pear would undoubtedly be the favorite dessert fruit of the day, were it not, that, owing to the blight and other disabilities neither uniform crops, nor the life of the tree itself can be depended on even in the most favored localities in the United States. The delicious varieties of the present day leave lit tle to be desired as a fruit to be eaten out of hand Pears are older than history, and yet ?t only within the last 150 years that the exquisite qualities of this fruit have been developed, and only within the last fifty years that it has really been brought to perfection. This indeed may be said of the apple, the plum, the cherry and the peach, and yet not to the same degree. Although Belgium has been called the Eden of the pear, yet neither there nor elsewhere has a fruit been produced that will equal our Seckel, a chance seedling found in a hedge row in Pennsylvania, yet the average citizen will pass it by on our fruit stalls. They want big pears, and they get them, while the wise take the little russet red Seckel, and laugh in their sleeves. California is now the most famous pear growing district in the United States. In the vicinity of Boston, they do fairly well. Large quantities are sent from the Michigan lake shore region of Michigan. There are small orchards, and occasionally an old tree, as at cennes, Ill., and near Indianapolis, Ind. We wish we could advise the general planting of pear orchards. We can not. Nevertheless every farm orchard should have a small collection of pears. Among the varieties of good pears that succeed measurably well in various parts of the country are: 1. Bartlett; 2. Belle Lucrative; 3. 13eun.e d'Anjou; 4. Duchesse d'Angouleme ; 5. Flemish Beauty; 6. Howell ; 7. Lawrence; 8. Onondaga; 9. Seeks]; 10. Sheldon; 11. Winter nelis. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 11, are favorites in the West. Winter nelis, however, wants age to make it productive. The outline cut given above will show the forms of pears from obovate to oblong-ovate-pyriform. No. 1 being a represen- tation of Pitmaston Duchess; 2. DuIiamel du Morceau, and 3. Hoosic. The pear is in its growth, as a rule, inclining to pyramidal in the form of the tree, though they vary ably. The cuts on page 716 represent two dwarf trees which will explain themselves. So on page 717 we give an illustration of the HoWell showing the form and distinctive markings of the fruit, and also a branch and leaf. While
can not advise the planting of pear orchards except in peculiar soils and localities, subject to. blight, yet every farm should have some pear trees in the home orchard. The following remarks will sufficiently cover the ground in relation to soil, situation and care: A low tion should always be avoided, on account of the greater extremes of temperature, humidity and especially want of deep drainage, for the will not succeed except on a deeply drained soil. A sloping hillside, uous to a well defined valley, forms the choicest orchard site, not only for pears, but for other fruits as well. To insure the greatest advantage from position trees should not be planted lower than. within fifty fpet of upright elevation from the lowest point in the valley. The cold air will then settle during the night in a stratum below the trees, and the warm air accumulated in the lower ground during the day will be pressed up to the higher altitude occupied by the orchard, and thus afford. considerable protection in cold nights The necessity of shelter to pear orchards has led, in some stances,' to the mistake of selecting low grounds for their apparently tected position;- which, for the reasons given above, are the worst possible localities.. Contrasted with valley ing, even what might be termed bleak exposures have the preference, and the satisfactory results attending orchards in low protected grounds has led to a position that shelter is jurious rather than cial. The addition Zif shelter to an otherwise judiciously selected site is quite different. from endeavoring to secure it by choosing a low tion. The efficacy of protection is now well understood, especially by those who attempt pear culture in regions that are comparatively treeless. Even the White Doyenne, the famed, Virgalieu, or butter pear, worthless in exposed. situations, is produced in all its pristine lence, where the tree is protected, as may be seen in many old gardens in cities, where this variety is still common. The shelter required is not so much to repel or alleviate mere thermometric cold, as it is to arrest evaporation and its accompanying' exhaustion of vitality, by checking the rapid and penetrating action of dry winds. trees afford the most perfect shelter in the least.