170 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



adoption or rejection, from this season's teachings. Even Ben Divis 

 has failed extensively in a majority of orchards, while in others it bore 

 a fair crop. 



The most plausible and most readily accepted cause for this would 

 probabi}'' be the past series of severe winters. And there is no doubt 

 in my mind but extensive damage can readily be traced to this. The 

 very uncommonly severe spell we had about the middle of December, 

 1884 — twelve degrees below zero — after a warm, late fall, caught a 

 great many trees with circulating, unmatured sap, and actually bursted 

 the bark wide open lor as much as two feet from the ground, and 

 loosened it nearly or quite all round, which of course killed thetn out- 

 right. How many others may have been injured less visibly might be 

 estimated still higher. Some trees bloomed, set and matured a full 

 crop, but both leaves and friiit made a sickly, stunted growth, though 

 highly colored and resembling specimens of same varieties from the 

 extreme North. Part of these will probably die in a year or two, while 

 some may recover. Others may have been similarly injured by previ- 

 ous winters, and yet remain lingering between life and death. 



But fortunately this is not near extensive enough to account for 

 the general failure. I have replaced, last spring and this fall, less than 

 ten per cent, in my own nine year-old orchard, from this and all other 

 causes, that occur in all seasons. Being in luxuriant growth from con- 

 tinuous cultivation, they must have been uncommonly susceptible. In 

 some older and some uncultivated orchards there was no siga of such 

 injury. 



Beyond this I cannot attribute our failure to the severe winters. 

 It does not appear that fruit buds are killed by the winter, unless the 

 whole tree is killed. On the contrary, any injury to the tree, such as 

 borers, peeling oft' the bark, etc., causes it to set more fruit, as appsared 

 to be the case with some of my trees. But being generally charged 

 with the responsibility, as the most convenient and plausible cause, 

 their occurrence at this period is scarcely less unfortunate than if the 

 charge were true, because they serve as scapegoats, and divert atten- 

 tion from the real cause. Such damage as has actually occurred here 

 from winters, occurred orjly a few years ago in Arkansas, and I believe 

 Texas. Nursery stock was damaged worse there than any I ever had, 

 and orchards must have been the same, though perhaps less conspicu- 

 ously because there were fewer of them. Yet probably no one hesi- 

 tated to plant orchards there or thought of going farther south. 



As I tried to indicate two years ago, I think grass-sod has killed 

 more trees and made more trees barren here than all other causes 

 combined. It seems to starve them almost as effectually as tying a 



