218 



NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



various states and the degree to which they are usually winter injured 

 are seen from the following statement: 



Tabe II. — Relation of earliness to hardiness in honey locust trees. 



States from which seed 

 was obtained. 



Alabama. 

 Kentucky 

 Kansas . . 

 Ohio 



Nebraska. 



Time of maturity. 



Very late 

 Late 



Fairly early 

 Fairly early 

 Early 



Amount of winter 

 injury. 



Badly injured 

 Considerably injured 

 Slightly injured 

 Slightly injured 

 Uninjured 



Figure 10 shows the degree of ripeness of the new growth of Nebraska 

 and Alabama trees on September 19, 1902. Although the trees from 

 Nebraska seed still held their leaves, the length growth of their twigs 

 had beeti completed for the season and they were ripening preparatory 

 to winter. The trees from Alabama seed, on the contrary, had not com- 

 pleted their growth but still showed much soft wood and many small, 

 growing leaves. Figure 11 shows twigs from Nebraska, Kansas, and 

 Alabama trees as they appeared on the above date after having had their 

 leaves removed the better to disclose the degree of ripeness of the new 

 growth. 



INDUCED EARLINESS AND HARDINESS IN PEACHES. 



The connection between hardiness of trees and a natural tendency to 

 ripen early has now been discussed. It remains to be shown that the 

 unnatural earliness forced upon a naturally late-growing tree makes that 

 tree resistant to cold. 



High Land and Eaely Ripening. — Every peach grower in this region 

 knows that he must plant his trees on high land if they are to come 

 through the winter with uninjured twigs and fruit buds, and many 

 growers know that the reason for this is that the trees continue growth 

 later on low land than on high land. In 1901 young Wager peach trees 

 growing on high land at the Experiment Station ripened their twigs early 

 in fall, while similar trees on low land near by continued growth until 

 the middle of October, though the trees in both situations received the 

 same culture. During the following winter five of the eight trees on 

 low land v.'ere killed outright and the other three seriously injured, 

 having had their tops killed back perhaps one-half. The high land trees, 

 on the contrary, came through the winter without injury except for 

 some discoloration beneath the bark of the twigs. 



Covek-Ceops and Early Maturity. — Tests at the Experiment Station 

 have demonstrated that peach trees, which naturally grow late in fall, 

 can be rendered much more resistant to cold winters by sowing a cover- 

 crop in the orchard in midsummer to dry the ground enough to check 



