140 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



June, 1912 



Results of Experiment in Pollination at the Oregon Experiment Station 



On the left are shown some self-polUnated Newtons that produced at least one-third of the apDles 



under sized. On the right are some Yellow Newtons that were pollinated with Grimes 



Golden. There weje no small apples. 



number two, but of course were unable 

 to tou'^h those of number one. As will 

 be seen uy the illustration number one 

 g^rew a profusion of leaves and no fruit. 

 Number two was heavily laden with 

 luscious currants. He tried a further 

 experiment with apple trees. Figure 

 three represents a tree of the variety 

 "Cox's Pomona." The branch to the 

 right of the illustration was covered with 

 netting to exclude insects from the blos- 

 soms, and as a result bore no fruit. Lest 

 some one might say that the covering 

 prevents development of the fruit he took 

 the tree illustrated in figure four, variety 

 "Early Victoria," and left it all exposed 

 to insects until immediately after the 

 blossoms had been pollinized,' then the 

 branch in the middle of the illustration 

 was covered with netting in the usual 

 way ; but the deed was done — the bees 

 had fertilized the blossoms, and the fruit 

 developed quite as well as though the 

 netting was not there. 



At the Oregon Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station, C. I. Lewis and C. C. 

 Vincent tried experiments to show the 

 value of the cross pollination by insects 

 over self pollination, of apples. The il- 

 lustration showing the result of their 

 experiment requires no explanation. 



A student of the Ontario Agricultural 

 College, P. C. Dempsey, wrote his 

 graduating thesis on the results obtain- 

 ed by careful investigation in the old 

 Bay of Quinte Experimental Station or- 

 chards, near Trenton, in the season of 

 1910, the object being to ascertain the 

 importance of cross pollination, and the 

 best pollinizers for the Spy in this dis- 

 trict. The system followed was that of 

 bagging the clusters of blooms just be- 

 fore they were ready to open. Bags 



were tied over the fruit spurs and blos- 

 soms and left until the danger of other 

 fertilization was over. The blossoms so 

 bagged were left to fertilize themselves. 

 .'\s soon as danger of cross fertilization 

 was over the bags were removed. The 

 number of clusters setting fruit, and the 

 number of fruits set were counted and a 

 record kept. Apples were counted as 

 set when they reached a diameter of five- 

 .sixteenths of an inch, and gave every 

 indication of reaching maturity. After 

 danger of June drop was over, and the 

 apples had reached a little better than 

 the half grown stage, the apples resulting 

 from the self pollinized flowers were tied 

 up in small mosquito netting bags to 

 prevent loss. As the variety reached 

 maturity the fruits maturing were again 

 counted and checked off. 



Of the seven thousand and forty-five 

 blooms bagged, two hundred and forty-' 

 eight flowers set fruit, while only nine 

 apples matured from the whole number. 

 The great loss of small apples set was 

 during June and July, which seemed to 

 indicate that June drop may be caused 

 by self pollination. 



Mr. Dempsey very aptly concludes that 

 these results indicate clearly the need 

 of insects for the pollination of orchards ; 

 for while some varieties can produce 

 apples with their own pollen, a very 

 small percentage of bagged flowers set 

 fruit; whereas, on the other hand, 

 flowers exposed to insects set and ma- 

 ture from thirteen to twenty per cent., 

 which makes a good crop. 



There are two hard, solid facts I would 

 leave with fruit growers in this connec- 

 tion. The first is well recognized — the 

 necessity of insects for the production of 

 well developed fruit. The second mav 



not have been presented in ju.st this light. 

 It is that hive bees, which are good for 

 the purpose, can be placed in the orchard 

 in sufllcient numbers to ensure the work 

 being done. Fruit growers who make 

 no provision for bees in their orchards, 

 and growers who trust to luck for help 

 to pick their fruit, are in exactly the 

 .same class. If they get a good set of 

 fruit and get it properly picked it is not 

 the result of their own business organi- 

 zation. 



Refrigeration in Relation to 

 Fruit Growing* 



I. A. Ruddick, Dairy & Cold Storage Commissiooer, Ottawa 

 It is one thing to keep apples merely 

 from rotting and another thing to pre- 

 serve them in that crisp, juicy condition 

 which adds so much to their value and 

 encourages large consumption. .Some 

 varieties may be preserved in ordinary 

 storage as long as it is desirable to keep 

 them but most of the standard varieties 

 could be delivered to market in better con- 

 dition and with less loss from decay if they 

 were promptly cold stored after picking, 

 I want to emphasize this point. It is of 

 the highest importance that there .should 

 be as little delay as possible. A delay of 

 one week between picking and storing 

 will shorten the life of the apple even in 

 cold storage by many weeks. This ap- 

 plies particularly to the early or quick 

 ripening varieties. 



Before we attempt to carry apples 

 much past their regular season we must 

 consider carefully whether we are likely 

 to find a profitable market for them or 

 not. It would not be advisable to carry 

 some varieties into the season for others 

 of superior quality, but choice dessert 

 apples like the Fameuse and Mcintosh 

 Red, for instance, will always find a mar- 

 ket if in good condition. I mention these 

 two varieties because I have made care- 

 ful tests with them more than once, and 

 have had no difficulty in keeping them 

 in perfect condition until April or even 

 into the month of May. 



The Gravenstein is a variety which 

 responds to cold storage treatment. I 

 do not know of any variety which is so 

 much improved in carrying quality by 

 prompt cooling after picking. The sea- 

 son for the Greening has been extended 

 in New York State by at least two 

 months. In the month of April, 1910, 

 our Department sold two hundred boxes 

 of Greenings in Calgary after keeping 

 them all winter in cold storage. Although 

 apples of the color of the Greening are 

 not in demand in the western markets, 

 these apples sold well because of their 

 excellent condition. There was absol- 

 utely no waste, and the whole lot was 

 sold in the original boxes as packed in 

 the orchard. 



The King is anot her variety which 



•Extract from a paper read at the recent Do- 

 minion Fruit Conference. 



