200 STATE HOETICULTUKAL SOCIETY. 



the first cold winter. Many failed to grow all over the States this spring. 

 Many limbs and branches are dying this summer from last season's heavy crop, 

 which impaired the vitality of the trees. 



On apple trees no fruit is usually borne the following season after a heavy 

 crop. Their once healthy foliage partakes of a sickly hue ; even the beautiful 

 flowers lose their pinkish color, and the once upright elastic limbs are droop- 

 ing and stiffened with age. The rosy apples — crisp, juicy and delicious — are 

 dull, colored with milldew and insipid, and are poor, sickly fruit. Our 

 orchards and markets are full of it. Over-cropping and over-bearing are the 

 causes of it. 



GIRDLING PEODUCES FRUITFULNESS. 



E, W. Shambarger, of Mansfield, 0., writes that he is interested in articles 

 which have appeared in the Portfolio upon the topic above and would like 

 more testimony. He says: 



In Mansfield during 1880, 5,000 bushels of apples would bring 25c per bushel, 

 or $1,250. Take out cost of cultivation, interest on land, expense of picking, 

 marketing, etc., say loc per bushel, $700, and the net proceeds would be $500. 

 Now contrast the condition of things in 1881. Five thousand bushels at $1 per 

 bushel would bring $5,000 ; less cost, (15c per bushel), $750, would leave a net 

 income of S4,250; that is, tlie crop of 5,000 bushels in 1881 would equal 

 42,500 bushels in 1880. Or to put it another way there is eight and one-half 

 times as much profit in apples the "off year" as in the year of abundance. 



The usual recommendation to change the bearing year is to remove the 

 blossoins or fruit early in the season. This is only a negative manner of procedure, 

 and is only partially effective even on young trees 10 to 12 years old ; at least 

 this has been the case with me. It simply prevents a crop of fruit the present 

 year. More vigorous action seems necessary in most cases to destroy active 

 developed habits. My trees tliat I deprived of blossoms and young fruit last 

 year produced no fruit or blossoms this year, and are vicing with my neighbors' 

 trees in producing fruit buds for a prospective crop of apples next year. This 

 isn't a satisfactory state of things. We need a positive mode of procedure 

 compelling the trees to form fruit buds when we want them formed, if Ave can 

 do so and not injure the vitality of the tree. And now I come to the point of 

 my inquiry upon which I wish further information in case you should find it 

 convenient to give corroborative evidence upon testimony you have already 

 furnished in previous volumes. You have given experiments which show that 

 girdling will produce fruitfulness. Now will it lower the vitality of the tree? 

 How dangerous is the process? 



In this same line of thought we append the following statement from the 

 Hartford Post : 



Some years ago one of our citizens bought and set out some thrifty young 

 apple trees. On one of them he neglected to remove the wooden label which 

 was attached to one of the limbs by a copper wire. Two years later he found 

 that the copper wire was entirely imbedded and out of sight in the bark of the 

 tree, and that year the limb was so heavily loaded with apples that he was 

 obliged to prop it up, while there was not a blossom or apple on any other 



