No fruit plantation should be considered complete without trees of various kinds of pears, ripening fruits from early in August till winter. The late varieties are generally good keepers, and extend the season into February, thus supplying fruit for six or seven months.

As the pear grows to perfection on quince, the dwarf tree is peculiarly adapted to planting on small home grounds, and is often used as a boundary plant, or to serve the purpose of a screen. These dwarf trees should be set deep - 4 to 6 inches below the union - to prevent the stock from growing. Dwarf trees may be set as near together as 10 to 16 feet (p. 410), while the standard or tall-growing pears should be set 18 to 25 feet apart. Trees are planted when two or three years old.

281. Seckel pear.

282. Duchesse d'Angouleme pear.

283. The Kieffer pear.

The pear thrives on clay soil, if well under-drained, and for this reason may succeed in places where other fruits might fail. A good, steady growth should be maintained, but the use of nitrogenous manures should be avoided, as they tend to make a rank growth and invite attacks of pear blight, which is the worst enemy of the pear (p. 211).

Varieties Of The Pear

As a selection to supply a succession of varieties throughout the season, the following list is recommended: -

Early

Summer Doyenne, Bloodgood, Clapp, Osband, Elizabeth (Manning's Elizabeth).

Autumn

Bartlett, Boussock, Flemish (Flemish Beauty), Buffum, Howell, Seckel (Fig. 281), Louise Bonne, An-gouleme (Duchesse d'Angouleme) (Fig. 282), Sheldon.

Winter

Anjou, Clairgeau, Lawrence, Kieffer (Figs. 283, 284), Winter Nelis, and Easter Beurre.

For ordinary market purposes the following have been proved valuable: Bartlett, Howell, Anjou, Clairgeau, and Lawrence. In the central and southern states, Kieffer is grown successfully. For home use this variety is not to be recommended in the North, because of its poor quality and smaller size.

For growing as dwarfs, Angouleme (Duchesse d'Angouleme), Louise Bonne, Anjou, Clairgeau, and Lawrence are most popular, but many other varieties thrive on the quince.

284. Kieffer pear.