PLUMS AND CHERRIES. 85 



of a fungus disease. The question is raised, is there any 

 remedy for this plum pocket? I think there is no remedy. 

 The best way of prevention is to plant the trees where they 

 can get a good circulation of air, but so far as I know there is 

 no real practical remedy for plum pockets. 



There is one point in Prof. Hansen's paper where he speaks 

 of girdling, and so checking the flow of sap, that calls to mind a 

 little experience I had this summer in girdling grapes. It is 

 a fact that when there is a circle of bark taken out of the 

 trunk of the grape vine after the fruit has set, or even before, 

 the fruit will ripen much earlier and be of larger size. This 

 past summer I had a certain variety of grapes from which I 

 wanted to get a few good bunches to send to Chicago. I 

 girdled the vine, and although the variety is somewhat late, yet 

 those girdled bunches matured nearly two weeks earlier than 

 the others, and the berries were fully half as large again. I 

 used to girdle a good many each year. I used to girdle with 

 wires, but I prefer to girdle by taking a piece of bark off. Just 

 take out a piece of bark a quarter of an inch wide. 



Mr. A. H. Brackett: Does not girdling injure the vine? 



Prof. Green: It will probably injure the vine to some extent, 

 but not much. 



Mr. Brackett: How is it where you girdle the limb of a 

 tree ? 



Prof. Green: I would not recommend girdling trees; I girdle 

 grapes sometimes. An experience came to my attention about 

 a year ago; a man had a plum tree that grew near his house 

 that had not borne for a number of years. He built an addi- 

 tion to his house, and in excavating and taking out the dirt with 

 the scraper, they ran against the tree every time and just 

 about completely girdled it. The following year that tree was 

 brought into bearing and bore a fine crop of plums. It shows 

 the effect of lessening the circulation of the sap. 



Dr. M. M. Prisselle: Would root pruning have the same 

 effect? 



Prof. Green: I think so; anything that has a tendency to 

 weaken it. I should hardly want to use it with the grape vine. 

 Root pruning with trees is commonly practiced. I have known 

 trees to be taken up and set back again, which had the]effectof 

 bringing them into bearing the next year.' » 



Dr. Prisselle: What effect would it have to girdle an apple 

 tree about blossoming time? 



