364 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



while the leaf buds pass through uninjured. In their composition there 

 is undoubtedly a larger percentage of water and assimilated food mate- 

 rial than in the leaf buds. For this reason they are oftener influenced 

 by sudden climatic changes than the leaf bud. Approaching as they do 

 rnore nearly the physical character of the green leaf, they are thus more 

 liable to injury from sudden cold, followed by a rapid rise of tempera- 

 ture. It is the temperature of the surrounding air that chiefly determines 

 the temperature of the twigs, and I may say the vegetative action of the 

 buds. The roots may be encased in a mass of frozen soil and covered 

 with a sheet of ice, yet, if the conditions of the atmosphere are favorable, 

 leaves and flower buds will expand and develop, at least till the food 

 material stored up for immediate assimilation becomes exhausted. In 

 this respect the similarity between the action of the fruit bud and that of 

 the seed, with its store of prepared food, may appropriately be pointed 

 out. This leads me to say again, therefore, that in my opinion no amount 

 of what might be called artiflcial precaution that might be taken in the 

 way of heavy ground mulches would affect the time of blossoming of 

 fruit trees to any appreciable extent and certainly not to the extent of 

 holding them back so that injury from late frosts might be averted. 



An effort, which I may say was partially successful, was made last year 

 to ascertain the relative amount of injury sustained by peaches and 

 plums throughout Ontario. After beginning the investigation, many 

 collateral questions of great interest arose in connection. These perhaps' 

 in a measure clouded the main object, which was to discover, by examin- 

 ing the same variety from different localities, whether it was character- 

 ized by a more or less fixed ratio of hardiness wherever grown. Owing to 

 the varying conditions, I found it exceedingly difficult to arrive at reliable 

 data. Twigs of the same varieties, bearing fruit buds, were secured from 

 a number of localities in Ontario. The parts of the buds were examined 

 with a hand lens, but the majority of the scions were placed in water 

 in a hot house, where they were allowed to expand at will. While the 

 results may not be in accord with the experience of some growers, by 

 reason of peculiar soil or climatic conditions, yet I believe that they 

 represent in a general way the ability of a number of the standard 

 varieties of peach and plum to produce fruit after winters of unusual 

 severity, and may in this way be of service to planters. 



It is a well-recognized fact that the percentage of fruit buds killed, in 

 the case of peaches, does not represent by inverse calculation the per- 

 centage of a full crop which may be looked for. If a fruit set for every 

 fruit bud that blossomed, much less opened, then would thinning become 

 an annual necessity instead of, as at present, an occasional possibility, 

 desirable oftener than practiced. 



At the close of the fruit season, circular letters were sent to those 

 ^ who so kindly furnished the scions, asking for approximate crop returns 

 of peaches and plums, in order to compare these with the estimates made 

 by examining the buds. An element of error, at first not appreciated, 

 affecting the accuracy of the results obtained from the examination of 

 the fruit buds, lies in the fact that many of the buds received were cut, 

 no doubt, from the lower branches of the trees. Observant fruitgrowers 

 will have noticed that during years of light crops, when frost has been 

 the lessening agency, the major portion of the crop is often upon the 



