48 ANNUAL REPORT. ® 
entirely occupied by any one person, but nearly everything I intended to say. has: 
already been well-said by different members of the society, and can be readin 
the published report. 
I have at least one point to make that may elict discussion, if nothing more.. 
1 have heard it remarked by many fruitgrowers that the hardest varieties of ap- 
ple trees were more injured last winter than the comparatively tender varieties. 
1 utterly reject-the theory that the low temperature at Chnstmas, the condition: 
of the trees at that time, or previous to that time, or the frequent thaws later in 
the winter, had anything to do with this exceptional injury to hardy trees. As 
far as ] observed, all hardy trees came through the winter well. My orchard 
is on limestone soil, lies high, and is exposed to a free circulation of air. To 
say nothing of crabs, and so called hybrids, my young Wealthy apple trees were 
not hurt at all. There was no preceptible change in the color of the wood, very 
few of the terminal buds were injured, and they made a fine growth last sum. 
mer. They are not yet in bearing. My Dutchess trees were not injured, nor 
my Tetofskys. The wood of all other varieties of apple trees was much discol- 
ored; yet the trees were by no means ruined. The Farense, Golden Russet and 
Haas, bore some fruit, and plenty of full-sized leaves. The Red Astrachan 
looked well all summer, though the wood was much discolored, or colored, per- 
haps I should have said. The Humb cider trees blossomed, and the Ben Davis 
trees were full of blossoms, but these blossoms were killed by frost, the trees be- 
ing in the lowest part of my orchard. : 
Now for my point. The frost coming about the 20th of May, when the trees 
were in bloom, almost ruined many of my trees. Transcendents, Hyslops and 
red and yellow Siberians were hurt the worst. The branches bearing blossoms 
were killed back from one to three feet. Many of my Transcendents that bore 
a heavy crop the year before, had no blossoms, and not a twig of these trees 
was injured. Even on the trees so badly killed, branches that had no blossoms 
were not hurt. Most of my Dutchess trees are loaded with apples the odd year.. 
The even year I have but few apples. One Dutchess tree, however, was very 
full of blossoms last May, and the blossoms were killed and the fruit spurs were 
killed. The leaves on that tree were small, three or four apples that escaped 
were small, and the tree made scarcely any growth during the summer. 
In a@ short time my neighbors began to say that the bhght was destroying 
their orchards. | examined my own carefully, and examined theirs, and | 
found there was no blight. It was not the time for blight. These half-killed 
trees had no blight during the summer, though thrifty young Transcendents on 
cultivated land were somewhat blighted. The Ben Davis, and least hardy va- 
rieties were not very much injured. The twigs at the time, being comparative- 
ly dry, and having but little sap in them. I have had fruit blossoms killed, of 
course, but I] never observed anything just like this before. 
My theory is that the branches of the hardier and more advanced varieties. 
contained much more sap than the branches of the more tender varieties; and 
that the fruit spurs, and blossom-bearing branches contained more sap, or more 
delicate sap than the branches without blossoms, and that the work of nature 
had progressed too far from the dormant state of winter to bear the frost, which 
two or three weeks earlier, perhaps one week earlier, would have done little or 
no harm. 
I will mention that young oaks in some ravines in my neighborhood, were 
badly injured, and a few of them entirely killed by the frost of last May, and 
