For Se/itember, 1921 



709 



DOUBLE WHITE NARCISSUS FAILING. 



The so-called blindness in the double white Poet's Narcis- 

 sus is a failing more or less prevalent each year, and is 

 due to a variety of causes. The following are some of the 

 essential details in the successful cultivation of this tnuch- 

 prized tlower. It is a gross feeder, and therefore should 

 be well manured. It prefers being planted deeply in the 

 soil, not less than 6 inches, and preferaldy at 8 inches. 

 A strong, almost tenacious soil is that most suited to its 

 growth, de\elopment, and flowering. In light soils, in con- 

 junction with shallow planting, it is usually a failure. The bulbs 

 are impatient of removal, and especially resent being dried off. 

 When replanting is contemplated, this should be done in July, 

 if possible. The root-fibres of this kind are almost perpetual in 

 character, and should be regarded in a common-sense view. Bulbs 

 that have stood some time and flowered in the same spot have 

 impoverished the soil, and failure is sure to follow. In such a 

 case a Winter mulching of manure would be helpful. Too often 

 this is where the neglect comes in, though quite unwittingly. It 

 is not sufficiently recognized that by reason of its late flowering 

 the Summer is approaching before the bulbs are fully ripened off. 

 It is not generally known that the flowers that should appear in 

 May of the present year are really formed and e.xist in embryo 

 in mid-.Summer in 1920. It is for this reason that every support 

 should be accorded the bulbs, so that the growing season may be 

 prolonged as much as possible, and thereby ensure the fullest de- 

 velopment and the proper formation of the buds at this time. 

 Not a few regard the "blindness," as this failing is called, as the 

 result of the climatic or atmospheric conditions of the moment, 

 hut the true cause is more probably insufficient development in the 

 previous year, as even though blind all the other parts may be 

 good, and as such are produced by the bulb in its season. All 

 }'0u can now do is to encourage the most vigorous growth by 

 mulching with manure and a good dressing of soot, and weeklj' 

 applications of liquid-manure. Then at the proper time replant 

 as directed in rich soil. In digging in the manure — cow-manure 

 and .soot are best if your soil is light — keep it 4 inches or 6 inches 

 below the bulbs. — Cardciiing Illustrated. 



THE BEARING OF FRUIT TREES IN ALTERNATE 



YEARS. 



It is a fact well known to growers that certain varieties of 

 Apple and Pear bear fruit only in alternate years. In some va- 

 rieties the succession of lean and fat years is perfectly regular 

 and a full or fair crop is followed by no crop at all. The mean- 

 ing of the phenomenon is obscure. Some varieties do not ex- 

 hibit this biennial habit, but bear regularly year after year. They 

 have no "off' year. It is usually assumed that the lean year is 

 the result of fatigue from over-fruitfulness. i.e., that the barren- , 

 ness of the alternate j'Cars is the result of e.xhaustion brought 

 about by the fruitfulness of the preceding fat years. There are 

 grounds, however, for doubting the sufficiency of this explana- 

 tion. No one denies, of course, that heavy bearing in one year 

 is apt to be followed by light liearing in the subsequent year : 

 but in the case of the trees with biennial fruiting habit the facts 

 to be explained are less simple — an "on'' year with only a mod- 

 erate crop is followed by an "off" year with no crop at all. In 

 such cases it is difficult to sustain the "exhaustion" hypothesis. 

 Moreover, if exhaustion by reason of fruit production were re- 

 sponsible for this biennial fruitfulness. it would be expected that 

 removal of the young fruits in a fruitful yean would save the tree 

 from the exhausting effects of fruit bearing and leave it in a 

 state to bear a crop the following "off year. This result is, 

 however, not obtained and trees treated in this manner still re- 

 tain their biennial habit. Nor indeed is this surprising when it 

 is remembered that before thinning can be practised, that is. be- 

 fore the fruits are of appreciable size, the destiny of every bud 

 on the tree has already been decided so far as fruiting in the fol- 

 lowing year is concerned. Thus, as is pointed out in the course 

 of a valuable discussion of the subject of alternate bearing by 

 Mr. R. H. Kolierts, of the Wisconsin I'.xpcriment Station, each 



bud on the spur and other shoots of an Apple has its destiny for 

 the year fixed by early July. Those buds which by that 'time 

 have not plumped up do not become fruit buds during that sea- 

 son, but remain either as vegetative or dormant buds. Hence it 

 would appear possible that not excessive fruit formation but ex- 

 cessive flower and fruit bud formation is the immediate cause 

 of the biennial habit. There appears to be some ground for this 

 view, for it has been shown that by removal of the flower buds 

 from the spur shoots the biennial habit is broken so far as 

 those shoots are concerned, and that instead of failing to blos- 

 som, as they would otherwise have done, their deflowered shoots 

 bloom freely in the ensuing "off" year. Those who are accus- 

 tomed to distinguish between fruit and wood buds only by the 

 naked eye will doubtless be surprised to learn that, according to 

 Mr. Roberts, the one may be distinguished from the other by 

 rneans of the microscope long before there is any outward and 

 visible sign of difference between them. So early as the first 

 week of July the blossom buds of next year may already be 

 distinguished. These buds, of course, go on maturing and de- 

 veloping their blossoms during the Summer and Autunin months. 

 But for the production of flower buds there is only a narrow 

 margin of time between the beginning of Spring growth and the 

 critical first week of July, after which no more blossom buds for 

 the next year are laid down. If the energies of the tree during 

 that time are fully concentrated on the development of blossom, 

 it seems not unnatural that none should be left for the produc- 

 tion of blossom buds for next year. The same idea may be ex- 

 pressed in terms of material if it be supposed that certain specific 

 food substances are required for the production of blossoms : for 

 it is easy to imagine that if all those materials are employed in 

 the development of this year's blossom, none is available for the 

 initiation of next year's blossom buds. That the state of nutrition 

 of the tree has its effect on blossom bud formation is. of course, 

 evident from general experience. It may also be demonstrated 

 by removing the leaves from spur shoots about three weeks before 

 the fruit buds would be visibly developing. As a result of the 

 operation, blossom buds are not formed on the defoliated shoots. 

 How the orchardist is to apply this knowledge is not easy to pre- 

 scribe. He can. of course, refrain from planting alternate bearers, 

 but whether he can. bj- manurial treatment, supply the raw ma- 

 terials for fruit Iiud formation and then break down the biennial 

 habit is by no means certain. With trained trees the case is 

 easier and alternateness of bearing may be prevented by the 

 systematic removal in the "on" years of a certain number of 

 Inids as they are opening. — The Gardeners' Chronicle (British"). 



OLD OR NEW SEED. 



It is, of course, a well-known fact that the capacity of seeds to 

 germinate tends to decrease with age. In some ca.ses germination 

 capacity falls off very rapidly; in other cases it remains high for 

 a number of years after the seed has been harvested. .A-mong 

 vegetable-garden crops parsnips afford an example of seeds whose 

 germinating capacity soon deteriorates, even so short a period as 

 one year sufficing to reduce the percentage of germination to a 

 relatively low figure. Plants of the cabbage tribe, turnips, etc., 

 retain their germinating capacity longer, but at the end of two 

 or three years it will be found to have become less than it was 

 in the year of harvesting. The seeds of peas and beans suffer 

 less from the effects of keeping, and may give <iuite good results 

 after three or more years. Needless to say, the power of seeds 

 to retain their capacity to germinate varies not only with the 

 variety, but also with the nature of the harvest and with the con- 

 ditions under which the seeds are stored. .A poor harvest year 

 generally means in this country one in which seed does not ripen 

 thoroughly ; that is, does not dry off completely, and such seed 

 generally shows a relatively low initial power of germination and 

 jxior "keeping" pro|H.Tties. Conditions of storage also atTect the 

 keeping properties of seed. If the air is either uniformly damp 

 or subject to marked alternations of dampness and dryness, the 

 germinating capacity falls off rapidly. That this is the case may 

 be easily understcxxl when it is remembered that seeds are very 

 hygroscopic — that is, readily take up water when exposed to a 

 moist atmosphere. It is. therefore, necessary if lor any reason 

 it is desired to keep seeds for a long time, to put them in sealed 



