HORTICULTURE. 7 49 



do not hesitate to say that a large proportion of the energy of many horticultural 

 stations is entirely thrown away in making large collections of different varieties with 

 the sole object of recording, often in a very slipshod and unscientific manner, their 

 behavior at tlie station in question. Such work, indeed, does not deserve the name 

 of experimental work, and even when conducted on rigorous quantitative principles, 

 it is not likely to yield results of greater value, from the 'testing' point of view, than 

 have our results with strawberries, nor to lead to a better knowledge of the respec- 

 tive merits of the varieties than might be obtained either from general repute or from 

 an experienced Jiurseryman." 



Experiments on different methods of treatment applied to 

 apple trees, Duke of Bedford and S. U. Pickering ( Wohurn Expt. 

 Fridt Farm Rpt. 1900, pp. 106-209, 262-257, i?Z*'. U, dgms. ^).— The 

 larger part of the experimental work here reported was conducted 

 with dwarf trees of Bramley Seedling, Cox Orange Pippin, and Potts 

 Seedling. Each trial row usually contained 18 trees, 6 trees of each 

 variety. Some of the experiments were repeated with Stirling Castle 

 and others with standard trees of Bramley Cox and Lane Prince 

 Albert. All the trees were planted in 1894-95 when the dwarfs were 

 3 and the standards 1 years old. 



The problems investigated consisted of modifications in some one 

 respect of the normal treatment adopted for a set of trees, and involved 

 studies in pruning, root treatment, manuring, and planting. The nor- 

 mal treatment consisted in planting the trees in trenched ground and 

 subsequenth" keeping the surface clean, cutting back after planting, 

 pruning moderatel}^ in autumn, shortening growths when it appeared 

 necessary in summer, and fertilizing with mixed minerals in autumn 

 with a dressing of nitrate of soda in Februarj'. The results obtained 

 were measured by (1) weighings of a cerfain number of air-dr}^ leaves 

 from the trees: and (2) measurements made in 1898 of the height, 

 spread, and girth of the stem of the trees. Two crops of fruit were 

 also obtained in a few instances, and in 1 or % cases trees were lifted 

 and weighed. The data secured on the different phases of the experi- 

 ment are recorded in considerable detail and discussed at length. 



'SMien trees were not cut back at planting nor subsequentl}^ pruned 

 the}' were straggling in form and there was a general loss in vigor of 

 growth. Nevertheless, the amount of fruit borne by such trees was 

 in excess of the average. When the trees were cut back at planting 

 and not subsequently pruned thev assumed the general straggling 

 form noted above but suffered no loss in vigor of growth. The experi- 

 ments were slightly in favor of immediate cutting back on setting out 

 rather than waiting until a j^ear later. Summer pinching and summer 

 pruning produced no noticeable results with the young trees under 

 investigation. 



Root pruning trees has resulted in checking both vigor and growth. 

 Trees root-pruned every year were in 1898 but little more than half 

 as large as normal trees and those pruned every other year onl}' about 



