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Show CULTURE OF PEAR IN FEW SECTIONS Pear culture has succumbed to unfavorable unfa-vorable conditions to a greater extent than perhaps any other fruit. It has beeen planted over a wide variety of conditions, just as has the other fruits', but It is tender to winter cold, has suffered suf-fered terribly from the scourges of pear blight, does not stand extremes of soU moisture, and hence Its commercial com-mercial production has been narrowed down to a relatively few sections, writes J. H. Gourley In the Ohio Farmer. True the Kieffer, Garber and Xe Conte which were derived from the Eastern sand pear and the common pear, are grown over a wide range but are certainly not very popular varieties. varie-ties. Tukey, In a recent book on pears, gives the following as the ten leading comomercial sorts: Bartlett, Kieffer. Seckel, Clapp Favorite, Beurre d'An-jou, d'An-jou, Beurre Clairgeau, Winter Nelis, Flemish Beauty, Doyenne' du Cormice, Howell. Ten suited to the home orchard: or-chard: Bartlett, Seckel, Clapp 'Fa-ivorite, 'Fa-ivorite, Beurre Bosc, Winter Nelis, iDana Hovey, Tyson, Elizabeth. White Doyenne, Bloodgood. Ten blight resistant sorts: Kieffer, Garber, Le Conte, Sudduth, Seckel, ITyson, Duchess d'Angouleme, Buffum Doyenne Bous-sock, Beurre Giffard. The two chief sections of pear culture cul-ture in the United States are New York state and California. In New .York the plantings are more than 50 per cent of Bartlett, followed by Kieffer, Kief-fer, Seckel and Clapp Favorite, In California Bartlett is also the leading one followed by Anjore, Bosc, Easter Beurre, Howell and Winter Nelis. Half of the California crop Is canned or dried and the remainder reaches the market as fresh fruit. In pruning the bearing tree Tukey states that "Bearing trees in their prime need very little pruning. Cross branches and dead limbs should be removed, and thick trees should be ithinned out, as much to help in ins-eot and disease control as any benefit that may be derived In growth." With the Kieffer, however, a different dif-ferent course must be pursued. Bear-ilng Bear-ilng trees are likely to overload and to produce undersized fruit The customary cus-tomary practice, which really amounts '0 a thinning operation, Is to head iback the preceding season's growth jabout two-thirds each year, commonly ;termed "stubbing." Some growers prefer pre-fer to cut back into two-year-old wood every other year. Both practices are euccessfuL We have stated previously that the pear has a place in northern Ohio and that moderate plantings In the lake jTeglon would seem to be Justified, ;where proper cultural attention can be given. |