A. H. Lees 19 



At Long Ashton where the variety has been under observation for 

 three or four years bushes have been found to be losing their resistance 

 and one or two are showing a considerable number of big buds. There is 

 no reason to doubt that the variety is under ordinary circumstances 

 resistant and Messrs Seabrooks' experience supports this contention. 

 Their experience however seems to be practically confined to the drier 

 portions of England and it is possible that the variety might alter its 

 behaviour in a wet climate. Thus it is noticeable that very few killed 

 buds are present on Long Ashton examples and that big buds seem to 

 have taken their place. 



In order to study the method of growth of the variety at the two 

 places two series of measurements were made. The length of each inter- 

 node on typical shoots was measured and also the distance, for each 

 lateral bud, from the apical end of the leaf scar of the subtending leaf to 

 the highest scale scar on the lateral bud. This latter figure gives a fairly 

 true idea of the "strength" of any particular lateral bud being, strictly 

 speaking, the distance it has grown out since its inception. Tables I 

 and II give the result of these measurements. The abscissae show the 

 distance of the nodes in millimetres from the base of the current year's 

 growth and also the length of the individual internodes. The ordinates 

 show the relative length of growth made by the lateral buds and serve 

 to indicate the strength of the individual buds. In order to make a clear 

 graph these values are multiplied forty times. The figures running 

 across the graph indicate the number of scale scars shown by the cor- 

 responding lateral bud. Table I represents the graphs of typical shoots 

 of Seabrook's Black at Long Ashton and at Chelmsford. The shoots 

 were chosen as nearly as possible equal in strength, the Long Ashton 

 one having a diameter of 9 mm. at the base and the Chelmsford one 

 8| mm. The number of internodes also happens to be nearly equal, 

 being 23 and 22. They may therefore be considered to be representative, 

 especially as many other shoots from the two places showed the same 

 general arrangement. The Chelmsford shoot showed a blank or bhnd 

 bud at one node and this is indicated by the dotted line. It must be 

 pointed out at the outset that the graphs are not necessarily strictly 

 comparable in point of time; thus there is no indication that the two 

 buds at about 185 were formed at the same time. Indeed it is known 

 that growth continues at Long Ashton later than in drier climates, this 

 period being in the case of apples three or four weeks. Looking first at 

 the internodes in the Long Ashton specimen the normal summer check 

 to growth begins at 220 and continues in a rather feeble way as indicated 



2—2 



