456 Report of the Department of Horticultuke of the 



fruits at Geneva now we do not graft. The objections are sev- 

 eral: Some of the grafts do not take, others are blown out, 

 others blight, and insects, plant lice in particular, have a pro- 

 pensity for devouring grafts as the choicest morsels to be found 

 in a tree. The chief objection to this method is, however, that 

 one learns little or nothing in regard to tree characters that is 

 reliable — indispensable data for full knowledge of a cross either 

 for scientific or for practical purposes. Lastly, it is '^ confusion 

 worse confounded " to work with trees bearing several varieties 

 of fruit because of the disorder in pruning, self-pollinating and 

 hars^esting. 



Fortunately the seedling trees were left in the nursery rows 

 after grafting wood had been removed. Here the writer found 

 them in 1905, rather stunted from much crowding in the row, 

 but still healthy, vigorous plants. In the spring of 1906 these 

 trees were planted at distances of 8 feet in rows 8 feet apart 

 where they are now standing. The first apples were borne in 

 1908, a few only of the crosses setting fruit. The plantation 

 came into bearing very slov/ly and in June, 1910, the trees were 

 all rinc;ed with the result that all but 17 of the trees were 

 fruitful in 1911. The 17 laggards are trees which either bore 

 very heavily the preceding year, or had but a sprinkling of fruit 

 which was blown off by one or another of two gales ; or, as in the 

 case of at least three trees, ill health and weakness may be the 

 cause of nonfruiting. 



Until 1911 the young trees were plowed and cultivated about 

 as are commercial orchards in western New York. The tops of 

 the trees were so interlaced in 1911 that team work in the 

 orchard was stopped. To take the place of cultivation, a heavy 

 mulch of straw manure was applied this year. The plantation 

 has had the usual treatment for San Jose scale, apple scab and 

 codling-moth. The pruning has been very light from the start — 

 only crossed and dead branches having been removed in any 

 season. 



In this and in other experiments it has been found that ring- 

 ing in June, taking out a section of bark an inch wide, a foot 

 or thereabouts from the ground, seems to be a satisfactory method 

 of hastening the bearing of apple trees. The operation with 



