228 STATE rOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 



l'?54 in three volumes, one of Avhicli I hold in my IkuuI. It professes to '"'con- 

 tain the methods of cultivating and imitroving all sorts of trees, plants and 

 ilowers for tlic kitchen, fruit and pleasure-garden, as also those which are used 

 in medicine, "svith directions for the culture of vineyards and making of wine 

 in England, in which likewise are included the practical parts of Husbandry." 



I am sorry that my limited library prevents my comparing this work Avith a 

 modern English one of the same general character, but I am sure I cannot be 

 accused of unfairness to modern horticultural literature if I compare apple-cul- 

 ture as presented in this general work witli the subject as treated in the 1870 

 edition of "Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees of America." 



All my hearers are so familiar with the work that it would be simply a waste 

 of time to make long quotations from it, so I will only refer to the space as- 

 signed to the different subjects and point out any new princiides of culture and 

 management, in which the two authors differ. 



Of the 1000 pages of the work 372 are devoted to the apjde, all hut twelve of 

 which are occupied with descriptions of varieties. It would he hardly fair to 

 conflne the comparison to these 12 pages, as the i^receeding 58 are devoted to 

 general principles, which are intended to apply to the apple as well as to other 

 fruits. Our comparison then will he with the first 70 pages of ''Downing." 



Cliapter I., of ten pages, is on the production of new varieties, and in it 

 Yan Men's method, and that by cross-breeding are well and clearly presented. 

 3Iiller seems to have known nothing of either : he certainlv makes no mention 



CD ' ^ 



of any systematic method for the i)roduction of new varieties, but says "All 

 sorts of fruit originate accidentally from kernels which, when planted, sport 

 into new kinds." 



Chapter II., of o pages, considers the durations of varieties. Here Knight's 

 theory that a variety will not maintain a liealthy existence beyond the time that 

 the original seedling would have naturally lived is presented, and I think, dis- 

 proved. So Downing occupies the same position in this respect as Miller, who 

 says "by this means (grafting) we may continue to increase a variety forever, 

 110 matter how soon the first tree of the sort shall die." 



Chapter III, of 18 pages, is given to the propagation of varieties. The first 

 difference we detect here is that Downing recommends scions from the thrifty, 

 upright shoots near the center because they will grow more rapidly, while Miller 

 condemns these, and prefers scions from the lower horizontal limhs hecause they 

 will produce fruit earlier and more abundantly. Next we have the practice of 

 root-grafting described, but not recommended. Downing seems to have fallen 

 more into the use of grafting-wax instead of clay, although Miller describes it 

 and recommends its use. The next two chapters of eleven pages are on "Prun- 

 ing and Training." Although Downing treats this subject more fully, I can 

 find nothing that is not suggested at least by Miller, except the entire subject 

 of root-pruning, of which he makes no mention. 



He makes some remarks on the utility of pruning that are so applicable to 

 the present day that I quote them here. "Tlicre is not any part of gardening 

 which is of more general use than that of pruning, and yet it is very rare to see 

 fruit trees skillfully managed ; almost every gardener will pretend to be a mas- 

 ter of this business, thougli there are but few who rightly understand it; nor 

 is it to be learned l:)y rote, but requires a strict observation of the dilTerent 

 manners of growth of the several sorts of fruit trees, some re([uiring to be man- 

 aged one way, and others must be treated in quite a different method, which is 

 only to be known from carefully observing how each kind is naturally disposed 



