HORTICULTUHE. 553 



wood 3 to 4 years old was taken off; and in the third, only 2-year-old wood was 

 removed. "The new shoots on all the trees made a vigorons growth during the 

 season, and on the more closely pruned trees the bearing wood was considerably 

 nearer the ground. The following season, 1900, there w^ere plenty of fruit buds on 

 the new wood, and the fruit was larger and in every respect nicer on the pruned trees 

 than on the unpnmed trees of the same variety. No material difference was observed 

 in the fruit of the differently })runed trees, except that in some cases the less severely 

 pruned trees had more fruit, seemingly due to the larger amount of ])earing wood. 

 By ihe end of the second season most of the trees had made a low, dense, and vig- 

 orous growth. . . . This experiment shows that the peach tree will stand very 

 severe pruning, and where the tree has been allowed to grow without being 'headed 

 in ' this method of pruning may prove very beneficial, and comparatively old trees 

 can be renewed. Such- pruning, to produce the best results, should not be put off 

 until the tree is on the rapid decline." 



Quinces grow well in tlie Territory and do l)est on alight soil. Figs are too tender 

 for successful culture in the clinnte of the Territory. 



The orchard, O. :M. IMorkis {Oklnhoma Sta. RpL 1901, pp. i,-'9-i.^e).— Complete 

 directions for the location, i)lanting, and care of orchards in Oklahoma, including 

 methods of cultivation, pruning, and spraying the trees. Lists are also given of the 

 different varieties of orchard fruits which are most likely to succeed in the Territory. 



Fertilizing orchard fruits, Rudorp {Fuhling' s Landw. Ztg., 50 {1901), Nos. 4, PP- 

 169, 170; 5, pp. 194-198; 6, pp. 282-235; 7, pp}. 253-259; S, pp. 288-392) .—The 

 elements required in the fertilization of orchard fruits on different soils and the prin- 

 ciples and methods of their application are set forth in this paper. 



Variety tests of fruits, O. M. Morris {Oklahoma Sta. Ejit. 1901, pp. 147, 148).— 

 A list is given of the varieties of apples, pears, cherries, plums, apricots, and peaches 

 which set fruit at the station in 1901. 



Origin and development of the apple blossom, E. 8. GoFt- {Amer. Gard., 22 

 {1901), Nos. 332, p. 330; 333, pp. 340, 347). — The author states that "there is abun- 

 dant evidence that leaf buiis and flower buds are not structurally distinct. Every bud 

 on the apple tree is formed as a leaf luid; and it is also true that every bud on the 

 apple tree has power to become a flower l)ud." Leaf and flower buds are, in a 

 measure, interchangeable. By prijper pruning a flower bud may be converted into 

 a leaf l)ud, and by ringing a leaf bud may become a flower bud. Flower Imds may 

 be 1, 2, or many years old before they form flowers. Factors which tend to the for- 

 mation of flower buds are any restriction to the movi ment of prepared food in the 

 branches, such as is caused by ringing or a wrinkling of the liark formed by the union 

 of the fruit spur with the branch which supports it. Dry weather is also conducive 

 to the formation of flower buds, since during such periods evaporation through the 

 leaves is rapid and the sap becomes concentrated and rich in prepared food. Flower 

 buds are then formed in portions of the trefe where there may be no restrictions to 

 the movement of the sap, as at the end of young shoots, etc. Whenever the water 

 supply is increased the tendency is to wood growth and the formation of leaf buds. 

 A decrease in water supi)ly tends to make flower buds. A normal growth is accom- 

 panied by a ncjrnial formation of flowers. When the fruit spurs of healthy trees 

 push into growth or sap sprouts start freely from the old wood, growth is abnormal 

 and fruit production is postponed. 



The author's investigations show that as active wood and leaf growth ceases the 

 formation of flower buds begins and may continue until cold weather sets in. Con- 

 trary to the writings of some horticulturists, the same fruit spur has been found to 

 fruit annually in some instances, instead of biennially. During very favorable sea- 

 sons for tlie formation of flowers all the 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year-old Imds, many 

 older l)uds, and some buds formed during tlie year, may form end)ryo flowers. This 

 explains why an excessive fruit crop is always followed by a scanty one. 



