Pyramids
No one should plant high standards except under special circumstances; pyramids are a part of almost every large and good fruit-garden. In moist, strong soils they should be on the Quince Stock. In light soils the Pear Stock alone has a chance. Some trees succeed only as bushes, others can be trained as pyramids. The lists of the leading nurserymen usually refer to the habits ofeach tree. Buy trees trained as pyramids direct from the nursery. If you prefer maidens (trees one year old) train as follows: In early spring, after planting, stop the tree slightly, and encourage growth; next winter cut it down almost to the stock. A strong shoot from the base must now be made the leader and the central stem. Next winter cut this back to within 18 inches of the ground. The highest shoot next season must be trained upwards by a straight stake; the side shoots will form branches. These in September must be brought (by stakes) into a horizontal position. The stronger must be more depressed, the weaker may be left for another year. Bend into position before the sap sinks. In winter reduce side shoots on branches to two or three eyes. Cut the leading shoot 12 or 15 inches (according to growth or soil) above the branch below it, so as to produce fresh branches. Bend these down as before. As the tree progresses, the leading shoot may be stopped in summer when it has grown a foot, so as to throw out more branches; it may grow another foot upwards by September, and also send out fresh branches. Every care should be taken to keep an upright and straight stem. In summer pruning check the upper branches before the lower, stopping the terminal shoots so that they shall not spread out further than those below them. Stop them when they have grown 8 or 10 inches, removing the top. Any shoots from the branches (laterals) must be reduced to six or seven leaves about mid-June (on young trees), so as to open the tree and concentrate growth on necessary parts, and also to produce bloom-buds. These may form near the base. In winter reduce to two or three eyes.[4]Pyramids on the Pear Stock in strong soil reach a height of 15 to 25 feet, but such trees are hard to manage. Weak growing sorts might betried. The larger trees would need annual root-pruning (half a side each year) to secure good crops. Train pyramids from the nursery in a similar way, keeping the upper branches in subjection to the lower, taking care to let light into every part of the tree by summer pruning. Pyramids on the Quince should be not less than 10 feet apart, 15 in strong soil with strong sorts (such as Pitmaston Duchess, or Duchesse d'Angoulême); on the Pear Stock in similar soil for strong sorts 20 feet apart. Avoid crowding. Lift or root-prune rather than crowd. Do not plant two trees of the same variety close together. The pollen of a different sort may make each tree more fruitful. Have hives of bees at no great distance to promote fertilisation.
The following are good sorts for pyramids:—
Citron des Carmes (on pear) early, Williams' Bon Chrétien, Clapp's Favourite, Marie Louise d'Uccle, Duchesse d'Angoulême, Durondeau, Fondante d'Automne, Beurré Hardy, Beurré Superfin, Maréchal de la Cour, Doyenné du Comice, Princess, Josephine de Malines, Beurré Rance.
Cooking Pears.—Bellissime d'Hiver, Vicar of Winkfield, Verulam.
Others might be added. Some of these also do well as bushes.
Columnar Trees
are pyramids on a smaller scale, kept well in check by lifting or root-pruning, more like a column than a pyramid. In light soil this work would not be needed. They are adapted for small gardens, and, well managed, may be very useful. Plant from 8 to 10 feet apart.
Espaliers
in the open ground (according to some good growers) are the most economical of space, but I do not care much for them. Train at first from maidens as for a pyramid, keeping one upright shoot and guiding one branch each side in an almost horizontal position. Cut back the leader once a year at first at about 12 or 15 inches from the branch below to one bud just above the buds whence the branches are to spring. From this one bud the upright leader will grow. The branches should be about a foot apart. Stop the topmost in summer (if very strong) to divert the sap into other parts. Stop strong horizontals to strengthen the weak and to promote fruit-buds. Stop shoots on the branches late in June or in July at six full leaves, if the tree is flourishing, but not otherwise. Equalise the sap as far as possible. Espaliers may be bought from the nurseries, saving several years. Plant 15 or 20 feet apart according to ground and tree. Support with rails or stout firm stakes placed 2½ feet from the walk; place the tree 3 inches from the stake on the side of the path. Keep the trees low to prevent shade on the garden; 5 feet is high enough. Prune established trees in July; cutting back fresh shoots (laterals) to six leaves, and opening the tree and fruit to the sun, removing shoots not needed. Reduce to two or three buds in winter; with a small saw cut back large lumpy pieces the growth of years.
Horizontals on Walls
should be trained as Espaliers. They are better for a low than a high wall. The branches should be about a foot (four bricks) apart. In some old gardens, enormous Horizontals may be seen withthe branches at distant ends turned upwards. The lower branches are horizontal as far as the space allows, then turned upwards. This change checks the sap, lessens luxuriance, and promotes fruit-buds. But there often is excessive growth in the upper parts. These upper shoots must be pruned before the lower. Such trees are called Palmetto Verrier, and are scarcely to be recommended.
Fan-Shaped Trees
are adapted to high walls. Tomatoes or other fruits may be grown below in the vacant spaces. By planting a standard against a high wall, it will soon be covered if fed and duly trained. Cut the tree back as an orchard standard after planting. Keep the boughs well away from each other, 12 inches or more apart. If a wall is shaded with foliage it derives little heat from the sun. Stop the gross upright shoots early in the season to spread the sap, and summer prune in July. Keep the branches close to the wall, and complete pruning in winter. These trees must be on the Pear Stock. The choicest sorts, such as Doyenné du Comice, Beurré Superfin or Diel should be selected for a south wall. Prune the upper parts before the lower. Wires may be placed on the walls 1½ inches out, with an interval of 12 inches or more between each wire.
Bushes
are of great value, either in a plantation or a garden. In good soil, even those on the quince grow large, and may need root-pruning or moving. In poor soil, with gravel or chalk not far below, bushes on Pear Stock must be moved every few years, and well fed. Rotten manure given in the autumn will attract and feed the roots. Fruit on low bushes is less affected by strong winds. Some sorts do better as bushes than as pyramids; bushes, too, are more under control. A maiden tree after planting should be allowed to grow for a year unchecked, to establish the roots. In winter cut the tree back to within a foot of the ground. In the spring it will throw out vigorous shoots. Select three or four of these, and fix them in position with stakes, removing the others. Next winter cut these back to an outer eye, leaving six or nine inches of each branch from the stem. Other branches will soon follow. Time will be saved by buying bushes from the nursery. Keep these as open as possible, especially on the south side and the centre. Each branch should be a foot apart. Summer prune in July and winter as before. Stop the branches in summer, if growing rapidly, to produce fruit spurs, and in winter cut back to strong wood (to an outer eye). All new wood will thus be feathered during the following year. Some bushes are very diffuse and need much room,e.g.Catillac and Uvedale St Germain. Bushes on quince should be eight to twelve feet apart; strong growers, such as Pitmaston, Duchesse d'Angoulême, Catillac, should be even more in good soil, if root-pruning is not to be practised. The following are good as bush trees:—
Bergamotte Esperen On WallBERGAMOTTE ESPEREN ON WALL
BERGAMOTTE ESPEREN ON WALL
Dessert Pears.—Doyenné d'Été (very early), Beurré Giffard, Jargonelle, B. d'Amanlis, Doyenné Boussoch, Louise Bonne, Pitmaston Duchess, Emile d'Heyst, B. Diel, Forelle or Trout Pear, B. Clairgeau, Winter Nelis, Josephine de Malines, Passe Crassanne, Easter Beurré.
Cooking Pears.—Catillac, Uvedale's St Germain, Verulam (more compact), Bellissime d'Hiver (grows like a cypress). Others might be added. Some of these do well also as pyramids.
Cordons
oblique or diagonal, on one stem only, are my favourites. The finest fruit can be grown on them even in the open, if the situation is good and well protected. They are usually placed against a wall, but they also do well on wires. These should be put near a path about 18 inches or 2 feet away, and 2 to 3 feet should be allowed the other side. If the wires run N. and S., the best fruit will be on the S. side. E. and W. is a better aspect, but both are good if there is shelter. On a wall, S. or S.-W. is best. Plant single cordons in good ground, they will soon grow and bear. Double-grafted trees are dearer, yet cheap. All in such soil should be on Quince. On chalk or gravel soils they must be on the pear or free stock. Older trees cost a trifle more, but never buyold trees. Old trees are like old folks, they rarely transplant well. Avoid horizontal or double cordons. The former are too near the ground, and often in the gardener's way. The latter are not so manageable as single stems. Sometimes single stems fail from various causes; they can be easily removed, and a fresh tree substituted at little cost. In a year or two the new tree, if not cropped at first, may begin to do well and bear fruit. Plant 18 or 20 inches from each other at an angle of 45°; when the tree reaches the top wire, train it onwards. After a time, this wire may be crowded; then a tree here and there may be allowed (as a single stem) to go upwards. But root-pruning (half a side only) each year will keep gross growers in check. Stop the tops of strong growers of any size after planting to produce fruit buds, and always remove blossom buds at the top. All varieties do well as cordons; the most tender should be planted in the best protected and warmest spot. The wires (galvanised) should be stretched from iron posts, the latterstrengthened with stays. Bars of iron perforated, flat, and light, 6 or 7 feet apart, should keep the wires in position. The lowest wire should be about 18 inches from the ground, the wires above at least 12 inches apart. Six feet is a sufficient height for the top wire. Otherwise the garden is shaded and the trees require a ladder. Oak posts 7 to 8 feet long, 4 to 5 inches through, tarred or charred at the bottom, are perhaps cheaper at first. These also require stays. In three or four years the wires are almost covered, and good crops in a fine season follow. Leave openings at intervals for gardeners to go through.
Arches
(with a cordon on each) may also be formed over paths and wires stretched from one to another. But beware of bringing them very near to each other. Sun and air are essential to success. A shoot allowed to run along a high horizontal wire will often bear fine fruit. Walls too should be covered with cordons rather than horizontals. Double the crop is often secured in half the time. Visitors to the Chiswick Gardens of the R.H.S. may see a large number on a high wall bearing in a hot gravelly soil good fruit. The treatment of all such trees is simple. If against a wall and on light soil, they must be fed well. Stable manure should be given in the autumn and left to decay; liquid manure when the fruit begins to swell. Summer prune in July, pinching or cutting new growths back to the sixth leaf, reducing these in autumn to two or three eyes, but leaving fruit buds untouched. Root prune when necessary in late October or November. In winter, look over the trees, see that all are tied properly, reduce with a small saw any large lumps of wood formed in the course of years, and prepare the trees for spraying or washing.
Prices of Trees
The cost of Standards is usually from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d.; Maidens or Yearlings 1s. 6d. each, 12s. per dozen; Bush and Pyramids on Pear or Quince 1s. 6d. to 3s. 6d.; cordons, 1s. 6d. each, 12s. per dozen; double-grafted trees 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d.
Garden Orchards
Bush trees on the Quince are best for these. They come soon into bearing, are interesting and sometimes profitable. Heavy fruits have a better chance than those on standards or on pyramids. These latter require more time, and are more exposed to the wind. Pyramids can soon be converted into bushes by cutting out the central branch within 2 or 3 feet of the ground. Begin by enclosing your orchard with a wire fence, then form a hedge of damsons. Plant your pears 8 to 12 feet apart. Keep avenues open for the transit of manures; one hard path or road may be very useful. Use intermediate spaces for other crops while the bushes are young. As crops cannot be expected every year, grow gooseberries, strawberries, currants, salads, etc., in a large plantation. Trees of the same variety should not be planted next each other. Pollination is often promoted by a different variety being close at hand. The following are reliable and saleable:—Beacon, Clapp's Favourite, Bon Chrétien, B. d'Amanlis, Souvenir du Congrès, Louise Bonne, Fertility, B. Hardy, D. du Comice, Durondeau, Pitmaston Duchess, B. Diel, Josephine de Malines, and (cooking) Verulam. No one growing for market should plant all these sorts except in a large plantation, a first rate soil, and a well sheltered position. For market only take Bon Chrétien, Amanlis, Fertility, Durondeau, Pitmaston Duchess, Josephine de Malines, Verulam. Bon Chrétien does not suit everysoil. Clapp's Favourite might be better. Fertility, Durondeau and Pitmaston are a good three; Hessle, Beacon and Fertility, if earlier pears are desired.
Manures
The artificial manures recommended by the R.H.S. are as follows: 4 oz. of Basic slag and 1 oz. of Kainit per square yard (as far as the roots extend) in the autumn; follow these in February or March with 2 oz. of superphosphate and 1 oz. of sulphate of ammonia. Liquid manure stimulates growth of wood, roots and fruit. Soot (1 peck to 30 gallons of water) allowed to stand till the liquid is clear, given once or twice a week, is very helpful. Every fruit-grower should have a good supply of some kind at hand. Not a drop from his stables, etc., should be wasted in summer. In a drought it may save his trees.
But rank or fruitless trees of any age, as a rule, need no manure. If there is a heavy crop, feed well when the growing season is over. Pears are gross and thirsty feeders. Messrs Rivers[5]recommend "that a peck of soot should be strewed on the surface in a circle 3 feet in diameter round each (dwarf) tree in March. Pears on the Quince in a light, dry soil should have the surface round the tree covered during June, July and August, with short litter or manure, and in dry weather be drenched once a week with guano water (1 lb. to 10 gallons), and equal parts of soot, which must be well stirred before it is used. Each tree should have 10 gallons poured gradually into the soil. Lime rubbish or chalk should be added wherever there is any deficiency." If it be possible, in dry weather allow a stream of water to flow by their roots, or in any case give liquid manure. The roots should never be dry; cracking often followsrain just after a drought if the roots are dry. Soot is a safeguard against insects, and is supposed to give colour. Dr Griffiths (in "Special Manures for Garden Crops," p. 101) says: "Nitrogenous manures are requisite for backward, potash and phosphates for forward trees; the former aids growth, the latter develops bloom, the sugar in the fruit, and the ripening of the wood. Pear trees are aided by a manure containing four parts (by weight) of kainit and one part of superphosphate—4 lbs. of this mixture to be given in the spring to each tree after pruning. If the trees are backward, water once a week with a solution containing 1 oz. of nitrate of soda to 2 gallons of water." If basic slag and kainit are given, autumn is the time, as their action is slow. Nitrate of soda is good on hot, dry, and chalky soils.
Pears for a Private Garden
If the space is small, try cordons or bushes. If three are enough, Fertility, Pitmaston, Josephine de Malines; if six, add Durondeau, Bon Chrétien, Comice; if nine, add B. Hardy, B. Superfin, Verulam; if twelve, B. d'Amanlis, Louise Bonne, B. Clairgeau; if fifteen, Jargonelle, Clapp's Favourite, B. Diel; if twenty, Doyenné Boussoch, Marie Louise d'Uccle, Maréchal de la Cour; if twenty-three, Glou Morceau, Winter Nelis, Passe Crassanne; if twenty-six, Comte de Lamy, Dana's Hovey, Thompson's; if thirty, Doyenné d'Été, Emile d'Heyst, Baronne de Mello, Easter Beurré or Olivier de Serres.
Exhibition Pears
Size is of importance as well as perfection in every point. Coarse pears of inferior quality rarely win. Choice must depend on the time of year when you compete. The same fruits cannot be sent to several shows;they are certain to be bruised and to suffer in some way. The following are the chief pears for exhibition:—
Pear—maréchal De La CourPEAR—MARÉCHAL DE LA COUR
PEAR—MARÉCHAL DE LA COUR
August and September.Beacon.Souvenir du Congrès.Flemish Beauty.Clapp's Favourite.Bon Chrétien.Marguerite Marillat.September and October.B. d'Amanlis.Bonne d'Ezée or Brockworth Park.Beurré de l'Assomption.Triomphe de Vienne.October.B. Hardy.Marie Louise d'Uccle.D. Boussoch.B. Superfin.Louise Bonne.October and November.Beurré Alexandre Lucas.Maréchal de la Cour.Emile d'Heyst.D. du Comice.B. Diel.Pitmaston D.Beurré Fouqueray.Magnate.Duchesse d'Angoulême.Conference.Durondeau.Marie Louise.November and December.Thompson's.B. Sterkmans.Nouveau Poiteau.B. d'Anjou.Princess.Glou Morceau.Fondante de Thirriott.General Todleben.B. Baltet Père.January, etc.Nouvelle Fulvie.Passe Crassanne.Bergamotte Esperen.President Barabé.Olivier de Serres.Easter Beurré.B. Rance.
Cooking Pears for Exhibition
December and April.Uvedale's St Germain.Bellissime d'Hiver.Catillac.Directeur Alphand.Verulam.
Size is the chief point in cooking pears, then equality of excellence. Size is produced by careful culture and good feeding in good soil.
The dates above are only approximate.
Pears for Appearance
Pear—marguerite MarillatPEAR—MARGUERITE MARILLAT
PEAR—MARGUERITE MARILLAT
Doyenné Boussoch is perhaps the most handsome of all pears, but does not last long. Marguerite Marillat (September) is large and handsome, so are B. Clairgeau, B. Sterkmans, B. Mortillet, Souvenir du Congrès, B. Baltet Père (very turbinate), B. Giffard, B. Hardy, Louise Bonne, and others.
Pears for Quality
Much depends on the season, soil and situation. In a cold season, even pears of good quality are only fit for cooking. Thus used, they are often excellent. The sweetest of all pears is Comte de Lamy. Dana's Hovey (of American origin) is perhaps its equal. D. du Comice, B. Hardy, Marie Louise, Josephine deMalines, Winter Nelis, Bon Chrétien, B. Superfin, Thompson's, Fondante d'Automne, are among the best. A warm autumn makes a vast difference. B. Diel then becomes first rate, so do Passe Crassanne, Olivier de Serres, Bergamotte Esperen, B. d'Anjou, B. Sterkmans, and others.
Cooking Pears
Growers should keep in mind that dessert pears often cook well if gathered before they are ripe. Stewed pears are excellent food in every way; pears that do not ripen well can be utilised thus. There are special sorts pre-eminently good. Verulam and Bellissime d'Hiver, very fertile as bushes or cordons, keep and cook well. Catillac and Uvedale's St Germain are very large, the latter often enormous; the fruit sometimes exceeds 2 lb. if the tree is well fed. The two last are spreading as bushes, but do well as cordons. Bellissime d'Hiver was the favourite C. pear of the famous Dr Hogg. Vicar of Winkfield is also good, but not so lasting. Cooking pears should begin in September and last until April. B. Clairgeau is regarded by the R.H.S. as a cooking pear. It is free-bearing and handsome, but not lasting. Directeur Alphand (new) is described as very large, but needs sun to ripen.
Early Pears
These are not important (except for sale), as so many fruits of other kinds are usually abundant. Doyenné d'Été is the first in. Double-grafted on the Quince, it is very fertile. Next comes Citron des Carmes, a great French favourite. The fruit of this is said to be fine when the tree is double-grafted. Crawford, a favourite Scotch pear, is regarded as its superior northof the Tweed. Jargonelle is also a Scotch favourite, especially in Perth, where every vacant wall space is said to be soon occupied by this pear. It is grown, too, as a standard on the free stock, but does not love the Quince. If double-grafted, the leading shoot pinched as well as the side shoots two or three times in the season, it will bear well. Beacon and B. Giffard are also August pears. Later on come Clapp's Favourite, Bon Chrétien, and many others. Early sorts should be gathered before they are ripe. Mr G. Bunyard recommends that early pears as well as early apples should be laid in heaps, covered with nettles or straw, and "sweated," to improve their appearance. They are said to colour well treated thus.
Late Pears
Are often worthless until they are in the kitchen; yet a warm autumn makes some of them delicious. The best of all is Josephine de Malines. The tree does well as a standard or bush, and the demand for the fruit is sometimes great. With care it will last to March. Next comes Winter Nelis, not so hardy; then follow Nouvelle Fulvie, Madame Millett, Passe Crassanne, Olivier de Serres, Easter Beurré, and B. Rance. A new sort, President Barabé, has received a First Class Certificate from the R.H.S. Late varieties must be allowed on the trees as long as possible, and bewellprotected from birds. Great care must be taken in handling and storing. Bruised pears soon rot.
Pears for Cottagers and small Farmers
The following were selected in 1892 by the R.H.S. on the advice of forty experts:for eating, Jargonelle, Bon Chrétien, B. d'Amanlis, Louise Bonne, Durondeau, Marie Louise, D. du Comice, Pitmaston Duchess;forcooking, B. Clairgeau, Catillac, Uvedale's St Germain, Verulam. But Marie Louise is a poor and uncertain bearer.
Synonyms
When fruit trees have numerous names, they certainly are popular, probably good.
Passe Colmar has twenty-eight, chiefly French; grown in a rich warm soil it is a first-rate dessert pear (November). The tree is vigorous and makes a good pyramid.
B. Diel has thirteen: among the French it is Beurré Magnifique. It requires a good season here.
Uvedale's St Germain (Belle Angevine of the French) has twenty-two, chiefly French. Yet it was raised in 1690 by Dr Uvedale, a Schoolmaster of Eltham in Kent.
Windsor, a very old English pear, mentioned in 1629, yet of French origin, has eleven. The fruit is large and greenish-yellow, flushed, but soon becomes dry and worthless. In good soil it grows and bears well (August).
White Doyenné has fourteen, a fairly good September and October pear, rather large, a good bearer, "flesh white, but somewhat acrid and gritty" (Barron).
Vicar of Winkfield has twelve. A long large fruit often twisted, fairly good for baking, from November to January, "second rate" (Barron).
B. Rance has six. A long, largish, late pear, sometimes very good.
Wardens, a name given to pears which never melt, are long keeping, and used for cooking only. The name comes from the Cistercian Abbey of Warden in Beds. Parkinson's Warden is now Black Worcester. There are Spanish, White and Red Wardens.
Bishop's Thumb was originally called Bishop's Tongue,It was a favourite in 1690, and is still a favourite. The tree is hardy and a good bearer, the fruit long, firm, melting, sweet (October, November).
Brown Beurré has ten; an old favourite, which requires a wall or very warm site (October).
Chaumontel has nine, requires a very warm climate. Better in Jersey than in Britain.
Pear—beurré DielPEAR—BEURRÉ DIEL
PEAR—BEURRÉ DIEL
Easter Beurré has twenty-two, most of them French. Good if grown in good soil and in a good season. It does not grow well on the Quince.
Flemish Beauty has seventeen. The fruit is large and sometimes russetty and flushed crimson; good only when gathered before it is ripe (September and October).
Louise Bonne has seven. Raised at Avranches in Normandy (1788), it curiously is called L. B. of Jersey.
Maréchal de la Cour has six, large and good. "One of the finest" (Dr Hogg).
Napoleon has fourteen. "Second rate" (Barron).
Red Doyenné has eleven, chiefly French. The fruit is superior to White D. (November).
Glou Morceau has twelve or thirteen, chiefly French. It is excellent in a warm soil and site (November and December).
Pears for Perry
Our people are beginning to discover that we can and ought to make as good Cider and Perry as is made in any country. Mr Radclyffe Cooke in his "Cider and Perry" gives the following list:—
Early Varieties.Barland.Moorcroft.Red Pear.Taynton Squash.Midsummer.Langland.Yellow and Black Huffcap.Late.Blakeney Red.Butt Pear.Oldfield.Pine Pear.Rock Pear.
Sixty varieties appear in the List sent to the Pear Conference of the R.H.S., October 1885.
Gathering and Storing
Mid-Season and late pears should be gathered in dry weather as soon as they come easily from the tree. Lift gently, and gather by degrees as the fruits ripen, those on south side first. Use padded baskets, and treat good fruits with loving care. Beware of piling a large quantity in one basket, of turning or rolling out instead ofhandling by the stems. With high pyramids Heathman's combined ladder-steps may be needed. Pears should be put away quite dry in a dark and dry place, where the temperature is as even as outside wooden or other walls, and thatch above can make it. Perfect and fine fruit should be wrapped in tissue or other paper and placed singly on shelves or in shallow drawers or boxes. Boxes are excellent for late fruit. For storing they should be only deep enough to hold one layer of fruit. Scott recommends clean bran, others dry silver sand, to put among the fruit so as to absorb any moisture. The ripening may be hastened by placing the fruit in a gently warmed room, or on hot water pipes in a greenhouse. "Sorts dry and tough carefully ripened in warm drawers or on the shelves of a warm cupboard become deliciously melting and rich. A heat from 60° to 70° is about the proper temperature" (Scott). Fruit pecked, bruised, or injured in any way should be kept apart and got rid of without storing. White tissue paper,[6]glazed on one side, the fruit resting on the glazed side with another sheet on the top, the glazed side downwards, is useful where a large amount of fruit is stored on shelves or trays. Orr's Patent Trays, sold by John P. White, Bedford, are excellent for storing. The trays fit on each other, and single trays are readily moved, so that the fruit on each tray can be examined without being handled.
Protection of Fruit
As trees must be protected against hares and rabbits, so must fruit be from other enemies. Birds in some seasons are most destructive, attacking the finest fruit, pecking a piece out near the stalk. Such fruit soon decays. Wasps and blue-bottle flies feast on ripe orinjured fruit. Mr Cheal in his "Fruit Culture" recommends that galvanised wire netting be put over the whole ground. This may do for small plantations, not for large, nor for places where the trees rise beyond 7 feet. Many use the Cloister Fruit Protector of perforated celluloid. This protects peaches, apples, pears, etc., from birds, wasps and snails, but the cost is heavy. Muslin bags kept carefully from year to year are good. The fruit rests in them and grows. Nets made in different sizes might be put over bush trees on stakes. They last if kept dry. The gardener, too, should have a gun and use it at dawn and daily. Messrs Bunyard recommend a trap like a lobster pot made by Gilbertson & Page, Hertford, to be baited with soaked bread. This trap takes birds alive. The house-sparrow and the bullfinch are the chief, but not the only, enemies. Robins, hedge-sparrows,[7]etc., might be released. Cut ivy carefully back, and encourage winter nets and sparrow clubs. Frost is another foe. Cordons might be protected by hoops covered with tiffany, Russian canvas, mats, or netting; bushes by nets, mats, etc. A movable coping over a wall is often useful. But if strong colonies of bees are close at hand, they will rarely fail to fertilise some blossoms. In fine intervals bees come out in crowds, and do great good. Queen wasps and wasps' nests should be sought and destroyed. Country children will find them for a small reward.
Winter and Spring Washes
If the fruit-blossoms survive frost, cold winds and rain, enemies of a different kind await them. It is necessary to spray or wash the trees if these enemies are to be kept at bay.
1. The following mixture is recommended by the Board of Agriculture: "To prepare caustic alkali wash, first dissolve 1 lb. of commercial caustic soda in water, then 1 lb. of crude potash (potashes or pearl ash of oilmen) in water. When both have been dissolved, mix the two well together, then add ¾ lb. of soft soap or agricultural treacle, stir well, and add sufficient water to make up 10 gallons." As the wash has a burning effect on the hands, the sprayer should wear gloves and be careful. The Eclair hand-spraying pump, supplied by Clark & Co., 20 Great St Helens, E. C., sends a spray like a mist. The cost is about 35s. We have used it for years, and the same firm repairs it well. This mixture with us, though easily sprayed, has not been a great success. If used, it should be applied in February, just before the buds open.
2. The Bordeaux Mixture is used for spraying by some, and is recommended by Messrs Bunyard. It is a good fungicide as well as insect-enemy. The following is the receipt: Sulphate of copper 6 lbs., unslaked lime 4 lbs., water 50 gallons.
Dissolve the sulphate of copper in a wooden vessel, pouring in sufficient water to cover the coarse bag in which the sulphate should have been placed. Attach the bag by means of a string to a rod placed across the vessel, and let it hang in the water. In another vessel add water gradually to the lime until a thick paste is formed; when cool mix the two together in a third vessel, and add water up to 40, 50 or 60 gallons. If the mixture is properly made, a clean knife blade held for one minute in the solution should remain unchanged; if coated with copper, add more lime until no copper adheres to the blade. Stir the mixture constantly while spraying and use it fresh. Spray the trees when the buds are first expanding. Messrs Bunyard (Fruit Catalogue, 1901-2) recommend "6 lbs. of pure sulphate of copper, 4 lbs.fresh unslaked lime, and 22 gallons of water, the sulphate to be put in a piece of sacking or light cloth, and hung by a string from the top of a barrel containing 18 gallons of water, a few inches below the surface so as to dissolve. Then slack 4 lbs. of fresh lime in as small a quantity of water as possible, the water being added very slowly, until slaking is completed; then slowly make up to 4 gallons. When cool, thoroughly stir and strain slowly the milk of lime into the copper solution, stirring well while mixing for another minute or two; it is then fit for use as a winter spray. It should be used when freshly made, (a) Apply before buds start to all fruit trees with the 22 gallons mixture. This can be diluted to a 30, 50 or 60 gallons mixture for spring or summer use. (b) Spray again just as the petals drop with the 60 gallons mixture. If made and applied as above (within ten or twenty hours) it adheres closely to the wood and foliage; treacle need not be added." This adhesion is of vast importance, as lime is abhorred by stem-borers (e.g., the goat and leopard moths) as well as by all insects. The double application of lime is also helpful. In the United States Paris Green is sometimes added, and is no doubt useful; the proportion must be very small.
3. For many years I have painted my trees in winter with the following mixture: one bushel of lime, half a bushel of soot, a quart of paraffin, a pail of cow dung, a pail of clay; melted grease is sometimes added, and the whole worked into a paint and then put on the trees. Treacle might be substituted for the cow dung and grease. This has proved a valuable preventive. The lime and soot gradually falling off, leave the bark clean, and enrich the soil below. But painting is a much longer process than spraying with (1) or (2). Apples have subsequently been sprayed with Paris Green, and pears might also be.
Insect Enemies
1. The pear oyster scale is very injurious, especially on walls, if not checked at an early stage. The covering of the female is like a small oyster scale, hence the name. Scrape off any rough bark in winter, and apply the alkali or one of the other washes as a preventive. In May and June affected parts might be brushed with ¼ lb. of soft soap in a gallon of water. Tobacco or lime water might also be applied. Paraffin largely diluted may be used, but is dangerous in excess. Messrs Rivers in "The Miniature Fruit Garden" (p. 144) say: "Washing the parts affected with a mixture of soot, lime and sulphur will remove the roughness and restore the tree to health; the above mixed with skim milk is more enduring." As a believer from experience in soot and lime, I prefer this receipt, if the trees were not washed in winter.
2. The Blister Moth makes brown blisters on the leaves. It may be kept from laying eggs on the tree by syringing occasionally with soap-suds. Spraying with Paris Green just after the fruit is formed will do good. Half an ounce of best paste to 10 or 12 gallons of water, with some fresh lime added, will suffice for small gardens. Spray only in fine weather just after the petals have fallen. Paris Green is arsenic, and may poison bees if used too soon. The sprayer should avoid breathing over the mixture when making it up, should use gloves, work from windward, and not allow any spray to reach his flesh. A second spraying for this and other insects is often useful. Blundell, Spence & Co. (Ltd.), Hull, supply good paste. Price ½ lb. 1s., less for larger quantities. See also No. 3.
3. The Pear Leaf Mite causes small blisters on the leaves, but not the tunnels or galleries of the Blister Moth. It winters in the bud scales, and emerges in thespring. If the trees are washed and syringed, the attacks will be lessened. In (2) and (3) collect the blistered leaves as soon as seen, burn them and spray or syringe at once.
Miss Ormerod recommends a dilute paraffin emulsion sprayed over infested leaves. Dissolve ¼ lb. of soft soap in a gallon of water, add this while boiling to two gallons of paraffin, churn the whole with syringe or small pump for ten or fifteen minutes to make a perfect mixture. For spraying add 12 gallons of water to each gallon of the emulsion. Stir well while spraying, and try the mixture on a branch or two lest it be too strong; if so, add more water. This emulsion is good for the Blister Moth and the Slug-worm.
4. The Slug-worm is so called from the similarity of the larva of this sawfly to a small black slug. The worms feed on the upper surface of the leaves. Dust with quick lime two or three days in succession, or syringe with strong soap-suds and some tobacco water. Clean with pure water in a few days. The paraffin emulsion (No. 3) might also be used. Quick-lime scattered around the roots and forked three or four inches into the soil may destroy their cocoons. But beware of excess. The remedy may be worse than the disease.
Insects that attack leaves will also eat the skin of the young fruits if conveniently placed for them.
5. The Pear Sucker is a jumping plant-louse which early in the season sucks the juices of the tree about the axils of the leaves. They are covered with the exudations of the sap, which often drops on the ground. The visits of the ants should call attention to this pest. Syringe well with soft soap and water, ½ lb. to 4 gallons, and add tobacco water. Remove all rough bark (their hiding-places) in winter.
6. The Pear Gnat Midge (Diplosis pyrivora) may readily ruin a crop if unchecked. It is a recentimportation among us. Both here and in the United States it is spreading with alarming rapidity. It is a small two-winged fly, with a black body having lines of yellow hair. The female pierces the flower-buds and lays her eggs in them. These soon hatch, and the young tiny grubs eat their way into the embryo fruit, keeping to the fleshy part, leaving the core and seeds alone. The pears turn brown, and then black. Cut them open, you will notice maggots. The fruit bursts or falls, the maggots form silken cocoons in the soil in which they pupate, and remain till the blossoms begin to expand next spring. Mr J. Fraser (editor ofGardening World) has kindly sent these details, and recommends (1) that the injured fruit be gathered and burnt; (2) that two inches of the ground beneath the trees should be taken up and burnt; (3) that kainit should be distributed round the trees in autumn. Kainit is said to keep off wireworm, and is recommended in the United States as a preventive against this pest. I think the mixture No. 2 or No. 3 should also be used, as insects may be deterred by the scent. Lime and soot spread over the ground in winter would probably do good.
7. Weevils devour leaves, buds, young shoots, even the skin of fruit. They feed by night, and may be shaken into a cloth off bushes. Lime and soot may lessen their attacks, either as a wash No. 2 or 3, or spread lightly round the stems, or as a powder over the leaves.
A special bellows for distributing any dry powder (as sulphur, lime, soot, etc.) can be had from De Luzy Fréres, 44A Harold Street, Camberwell. The price is 7s. 6d., carriage paid.
As a general rule insecticides should be applied in the evening or after the sun is down. Early and late visits to the trees are best for finding them feeding.
8.Wasps, after a dry spring, may be very numerous.Their nests often hold many thousands. Large numbers may be destroyed thus: place a hand-light upon bricks, make a small hole in the top of this, and over it put a sound and closely-fitting one. Fruit cut open should be thrown beneath the lower light. The wasps often go up through the hole, and do not return. Their buzzing attracts others. Destroy by burning sulphur beneath, or by drowning. A glass destroyer on a similar principle is sold in china-shops. Open-mouthed bottles filled with beer sweetened or water sweetened with treacle will lure many to destruction. Queen wasps in spring and wasp-nests must be noticed and destroyed. Fasten a piece of cloth soaked in a solution of cyanide of potassium (a small quantity dissolved in hot water), and put it in the nest; all the wasps will be killed. Dig out the grubs. This is a deadly poison, and should be handled only by an expert. The emanation from the solution must not be breathed. Tar does almost as well. A nest may be partly dug and flooded at night. A clean wine bottle (half-filled with water) inserted in the place of the nest (the top of the neck level with the surface of the ground) will probably capture all stragglers. Some make a heap of injured fruit and syringe the wasps with nicotine soap, eight ounces to a gallon of hot or cold water. This plan kills quickly, but the fruit no longer attracts. Squibs a half-inch in diameter, three inches long, made of gunpowder moistened with water, one-fourth of flowers of sulphur added, mixed into a paste, wrapped in brown paper, and tied at one end, are good for the work. After dark, light the squib, push the lighted end into the hole, put a sod over, and ram it in to confine the fumes. In a few minutes dig up and destroy the grubs, then fill up the hole. If the nest is high up, attach the squib to a stick, light, and keep it close (while burning) to the entrance. Young gardeners enjoy this squibbing process.