54 THE KANSAS PEACH. 



ings at the entrance to their dens. A second examination should al- 

 ways be made in five or six days after removing the earth. The borer 

 works just under the bark, and may therefore be readily destroyed 

 with a pocket-knife. If not removed, they eventually destroy the 

 trees by girdling them just below the surface of the soil. Thousands 

 of peach and plum trees are thus destroyed, without a suspicion on 

 the i3art of their owners of the cause of death. 



DO SEEDLINGS BEAR WHEN BUDDED TREES FAIL? 



The affirmative of this question is frequently asserted with the 

 -confidenee of positive knowh^dge. In 1887 and 1888 the peach crop 

 on the station was practically a failure because of late frosts. Several 

 varieties of the budded trees bore from one-third to one-half crop each 

 year, while there were none on the seedling trees. 



In 1889 all bore full crops, but the seedling fruit was so far inferior 

 to the budded varieties that no one would eat the seedlings. Again, 

 the seedlings all ripened within a month, while the budded fruit of 

 different varieties supplied excellent riioe fruit from the Gth of June 

 lo October 15. A census of the trees now living shows that we have 

 lost two and eight- tenths per cent, of the budded trees, twenty-three 

 per cent, of the transplanted seedlings, and none of the seedlings left 

 to grow where the seed germinated. 



But little notice is taken of the death of a scrub cow, but the death 

 of a petted Jersey attracts much attention. Hundreds of seedlings 

 die without attracting attention because of their inferior fruit and the 

 fact that they cost nothing. Greater regrets are felt at the loss of a 

 budded tree for the opposite reason. Both are short-lived if neglected 

 or mistreated. The lives of both are prolonged by proper care and 

 attention. , 



TIME or FLOWERING AND SIZE OF THE FLOWERS. 



A record of the date and duration of blossoming of each variety 

 lias been kept for two seasons and notes made upon the size of the 

 flowers, for the purpose of inquiring what relation, if any, either bore 

 to fruitfulness or power of resisting or escaping frost. During the 

 unfavorabh' seasons of 1887 and 1888 the only varieties which bore 

 fruit were either late bloomers or those which had very large petals. 



A very general impression prevails that early varieties blossom late 

 and late varieties early. This is not true, and there is no uniform 

 relation between the date of flowering and season of ripening. 



