VIII
DWARF PEARS
Pears are the fruit most largely grown in dwarf form in America. There are a few well established and successful commercial orchards of pears, especially in western New York and Michigan. The pear is the fruit most assiduously cultivated in dwarf and trained forms in Europe. At the same time it is the one with which I confess I have had the least satisfaction. This is perhaps because I have always experimented in a country where pears do not naturally succeed, and because, further, my fancies have run more to other kinds of fruit.
FIG. 28—YOUNG ORCHARD OF DWARF PEARS IN WESTERN NEW YORK
It is probably true that the pear is improved more in quality than any other fruit by being grown in dwarf form and trained as cordons and espaliers on a suitable frame or wall. This is emphatically true in cold and inclement climates, where indeed some of the best varieties of pears will not succeed at all unless given this advantage. A west wall is recommended as giving the very finest results. It should be noted, however, that some varieties do better on walls than others. Those which grow vigorously in bush, pyramid, or standard forms receive comparatively less benefit from wall training.
FIG. 29—DWARF PEARS IN THE OLD AND PROFITABLE YEOMANS ORCHARD, NEW YORK