54 TKANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



bear young ; we cannot afford to wait twenty years for apples. If hard 

 winters will kill the trees, so much the more necessity for getting trees to 

 bear while young. I think we can incline trees to bear early by planting 

 close, and as they crowd each other take out alternate trees. I have tried 

 the plan of girdling every other tree where planted close, so that if the 

 girdled ones were killed no real harm would come to the orchard, but 

 find that no harm comes to the girdled trees, and it sets them into 

 bearing at once, and they bear full too. 



The President. — At what age would you girdle the tree? 



Mr. Spalding. — Six years old. 



The President. — What varieties do you girdle? 



Mr. Spalding. — Janets principally. In Central Illinois, with our 

 rich soils and warm summers, our trees grow too fast; by girdling the trees 

 we check the growth. 



A Voice. — What time do you girdle ? 



Answer. — In April generally, as the trees if girdled then will heal 

 up the wound completely in a single season. I have girdled them, how- 

 ever, in different months, with good success. If the work is done in June 

 the wound will heal quicker than if done at any other time. We can 

 treat the trees roughly to appearances and not hurt them, for these trees 

 have gone into bearing the following season and never after fail to be 

 full of fruit. I have found, however, that Northern Spy is not affected 

 as much by girdling as most others. Mr. Johnson, with whom I am 

 acquainted, has Northern Spy and Yellow Bellfiower trees girdled, which 

 are bearing well. 



I feel satisfied that girdling will not kill apple-trees unless too wide 

 a space of bark is taken off, as I have performed the operation at almost 

 every season of the year and no bad results followed, and have also girdled 

 trees twice the same season, and it did not kill them. 



Mr. Burnham. — Can alternate bearers be made annual bearers? 

 ' Mr. Spalding. — It is claimed that by the process of girdling they 

 can be made so. 



Mr. Burnham. — It can be made more profitable if we can force our 

 trees into full bearing early and then continue to keep them so. I want 

 to have my trees bear all their crops in twenty years. 



The President. — Have you tried girdling or compressing by using 

 bands of wire or other material around the body or limbs of trees with a 

 view to force them into a bearing state? 



Mr. Spalding. — Yes, by strings or bands, and this quite often is 

 accidentally done by leaving the wire (attached to the tag) carelessly 



