PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING. 365 



upper branches of the trees, where the temperature, probably, at the 

 critical period, ranged somewhat higher than the stratum of air surround- 

 ing the lower branches. 



A list of peaches, made out in order of hardiness of fruit bud, based 

 upon the results of these investigations, which T wish to place before you 

 as preliminary, tentative, and subject to revision, rather than permanent 

 and final, would read as follows: 



Group 1. — Hill's Chili, Longhurst, Barnard, Early Rivers, *01dmixon. 



Group 2. — Sal way, Smock, Tyhurst Seedling, Wager, St. John. 



Group 3. — Hyne's Surprise, Hale's Early, Fitzgerald, Foster, Reeves 

 Favorite, Crawford Late. 



Group 4. — Crawford Early, Wheatland, Mountain Rose, Early Rich- 

 mond, Amsden June, Red-Cheek Melocoton, Alexander, Early York, Gar- 

 field, Champion, Shaw's Rareripe, Stephen's Rareripe. 



Following the same system with regard to plums, I would group them 

 as follows: 



Group 1.— English Damson, Shropshire Damson, Blue Damson, Canada 

 Orleans. 



Group 2. — Lombard, Smith's Orleans, Moore's Arctic, Reine Claude, 

 Glass Seedling. 



Group 3. — Duane's Purple, French Prune, Coe's Golden Drop, Field, 

 Grand Duke, Fellemberg, General Hand, Pond's Seedling. 



Group 4." — Quackenbos, Washington, Victoria, Yellow Egg, Jefferson, 

 German Prune, Bradshaw, Columbia, Gueii, Prince's Yellow Egg. 



Group 5. — McLaughlin, Niagara, Prince of Wales, Prince Eugelbert, 

 Shippers' Tride, Burbank, Ogon. 



Group 0. — Abundance, Prunus Simonii, Satsuma, Willard. 



Tender fruit buds are not always correlated with tender leaf buds. For 

 example. Glass' Seedling suffers less from the winter-killing of the ter- 

 minal shoots at Ottawa than most other varieties of Prunus domestica, 

 yet it bears fruit onl}' when winter visits us in its mildest form. Other 

 varieties, which have their terminal wood killed back almost every year, 

 produce fruit more or less regularly upon spurs situated on the older 

 branches. The substance, then, of the results of these investigations is, 

 that there is a striking difference in the relative ability of varieties of 

 peach and plum to withstand the injurious effects of low temperatures 

 coupled with rapid fluctuation. To overcome this, growers should select 

 the hardiest varieties having commercial merit, planting them in situa- 

 tions furnishing climatic conditions subject to the least possible fluctu- 

 ation of temperature. This is, of course, entirely in accord with the 

 experience of Michigan as well as Ontario fruitgrowers, and as a measure 

 of safety has often been ably advocated by your progressive pomologists, 

 as well as by your eminent exponent of the principles of scientific fruit- 

 growing, Prof. L. R. Taft of the Agricultural college of Michigan. 



Finally, cultivate in such manner as will encourage the most thorough 

 ripening of the wood and fruit buds possible. After this the fruit; and 

 when we have secured the fruit, it is Grindon who says there is just one 

 hour, not much more, when the odor and taste of these regal fruits are at 

 their highest pitch. The meridian passed, the fruit is still delicious, but 



* This variety is usually found to be tender in fruit bud. 



