No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 147 



Pa., with II. M. Elijah' and Casper lliller, and it was one of the 

 most satisfactory experiences I ever had. 



Mr. Longsdorf. — There will always be more or less difliculty in 

 judging- points until we get rid of synonyms. The trouble will be 

 materially lessened when the same variety is known everywhere by 

 the same name. In this connection, I want to state that in a visit 

 to my brother's nursery last season I saw a striking instance of 

 cross fertilization. Two apple tree®, a York irftripe and Mumper's 

 Vandevere standing so closely that the branches touched, bore fruit 

 that showed marked characteristics of both varieties. I had seen 

 similar cases previously in our county. It is known too that fruits 

 vary considerably in diil'erent localities, and this is another cause of 

 trouble and confusion in the proper judging of fruits. 



Mr. Herr. — The question of fertilization is an interesting one and 

 deserves more attention than is usually accorded. I have in mind 

 one of the largest apple orchards in my count}-. It was planted 

 years ago with great care, received good attention and the owner had 

 reason to expect great results, and yet it proved an entire failure. 

 The varieties were planted in large blocks and failed to fertilize 

 properly. After years of repeated failure, other varieties were 

 jjlanted among them and it now bears good crops. It is known also 

 that certain varieties of plums and pears will not bear unless fer- 

 tilized by other sorts. 



Mr. Brinton. — One gentleman spoke of a change in the character 

 and appearance of fruit the same year by pollinization. I think this 

 is contrary to the law of cross fertilization, and it will be well for 

 the society to consider before committing itself to this idea. 



Mr. Longsdorf. — I tried to get specimens of fruit to exhibit here, 

 but could not do so. I could convince any member of this associa- 

 tion that there was a mixture or cross in the case referred to. 



Mt. Stout. — I think pollen may, in s«me cases, have immediate 

 effect, as in corn, for instance. The same may be the case with 

 some varieties of fruits. 



Mr. Peters. — It is said that a gentleman in New Jersey improves 

 his York Imperial by fertilizing with Ben Davis. 



Professor Craig. — This somewhat new question of how to plant 

 our orchards so that interpollination will take place naturally and 

 thoroughly, is one of the most interesting subjects connected with 

 the study of horticulture. While much work has already been ac- 

 complished in this field by observant fruit growers, by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture at Washington, and the experiment station 

 workers, there is yet a great field aw-aiting exploration. 



It is not safe to make generalizations based on scanty data, but 

 it does appear safe at the present time to place the results of our 

 investigations under three different heads. First, let me say that. 



