[CHAPTER III]
PEAR CULTURE
The common pear or some of its hybrids with the oriental pear is grown for a home supply of fruit, if not for the markets, in every part of North America where hardy fruits thrive except in the extreme north and south. But commercial pear-growing on this continent is confined to a few regions, and in these is profitable only in carefully selected situations. Perhaps the culture of no other fruit, not even of the tender peach nor of the capricious grape, is more definitely determined by environment than is that of the pear. A study of the regions in America in which pears are successfully grown for the markets furnishes clews to the proper culture of this fruit in New York, and shows with what regions this State must compete in growing pears for the markets. The location of the pear regions in America is readily determined by figures showing the number of trees and their yield in the various fruit regions of the country.
PEAR STATISTICS FOR THE UNITED STATES AND NEW YORK
Six states produced over 65 per cent of the pears grown in the United States in 1919. The census of 1920 shows that in the preceding year the total crop of the country was 14,211,346 bushels, of which California produced 3,952,923 bushels; New York, 1,830,237 bushels; Washington, 1,728,759 bushels; Oregon, 761,063 bushels; Texas, 637,400 bushels; and Missouri, 430,828 bushels. Trees in all other states yielded 4,870,136 bushels. There were according to this census 14,646,995 bearing trees and 6,051,845 not of bearing age. The yield of fruit was 60 per cent greater than in 1909; the number of bearing trees 3 per cent less; and the number of non-bearing trees 28 per cent less. Compared with other tree-fruits, according to this census, the pear occupies fourth place in value of product, the apple, peach (including the nectarine), and plum (including the prune), in order named, outranking the pear. Probably the orange, grape, and strawberry yield greater value to the country than the pear, although the acreage of each of these three fruits is smaller. Commercial production cannot be segregated from the total, but without question the increase in plantings is due to commercial activities; for the development of the canning industry, refrigerator service, and better transportation have greatly stimulated trade in this fruit.
In the states in which pear-growing is a commercial industry, commercial orchards are confined to localities in which climate, soil, and transportation combine to favor the pear. In New York, for example, pears are grown for market on a large scale in only ten of the sixty-one counties. These, with the number of trees in each, according to the last census are as follows: Niagara, 620,743; Monroe, 384,374; Orleans, 377,371; Columbia, 308,298; Wayne, 305,239; Ulster, 304,158; Greene, 208,885; Oswego, 154,576; Ontario, 121,934; Orange, 96,456.
Over 77 per cent of all the pear-trees in the State are in these counties, and 79 per cent of the pears grown in the State are produced in these ten counties. The production of pears in New York for the eleven-year period from 1909 to 1919, inclusive, show the increase and fluctuation in the production of pears in the State for this period. The figures for 1909 and 1919 are from the thirteenth and fourteenth census reports, while those of the intervening years are estimates from the Bureau of Crop Estimates of the United States Department of Agriculture. The yields run in bushels for the eleven years as follows: 1,343,000, 1,530,000, 1,886,000, 1,128,000, 2,016,000, 1,298,000, 1,375,000, 1,675,000, 1,708,000, 1,352,000, and 1,830,237.
Bartlett and Kieffer are conspicuous leaders among varieties in number of trees and in production for the whole country. In the great commercial pear-growing regions of New York and California, Bartlett is the favorite variety, but Kieffer is grown largely also, especially for canners. In the South and in the Mississippi Valley, Kieffer is the leading variety because it is relatively resistant to blight and withstands extremes in climate better than other varieties. For many years after its introduction about 1870, Kieffer was over-praised by both fruit-growers and nurserymen. Fruit-growers liked it because of its resistance to blight and great productiveness, and nurserymen preferred it to other sorts because it is the easiest of all varieties to grow in the nursery. It is, however, so universally condemned for its tasteless fruits that it is losing its popularity, and is not now as largely planted in competition with Bartlett as it once was. Seckel, Clapp Favorite, Winter Nelis, Beurré d’Anjou, Beurré Bosc, Howell, Sheldon, Beurré Clairgeau, and Garber for the South, are the standard varieties following Bartlett and Kieffer in popularity.