CO-OPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS IN RECORDING THE 



YIELDS FROM INDIVIDUAL TREES OF 



THE SAME VARIETY. 



W. F. MACOUN, 



HORTICULTURIST, CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM, OTTAWA. 



AT the Central Experimental Farm, 

 Ottawa, the crop of fruit from each 

 individual tree is recorded every 

 year. One is thus able to tell at the end of 

 a series of years how much each tree has 

 borne. The yields for the past five years 

 were recently tabulated, and great variations 

 were found in the total yields of trees of the 

 same variety planted at the same time and 

 growing under practically the same condi- 

 tions. 



As instances : One tree of McMahon 

 White apples yielded 2^}i bushels, while an- 

 other planted at the same time and under 

 practically the same conditions yielded only 

 17 1. 16 bushels, or less than half as much. 



One tree of Patten's Greening yielded 

 17 1. 1 6 bushels, while another tree only 

 yielded 3 15-16 bushels, less than one-fourth 

 as much. 



A young tree of Wealthy yielded 47/4 

 gallons, while another of the same age only 

 yielded 12 gallons. 



Experiments are now being conducted at 

 the experimental farm by top grafting with 

 scions from productive and unproductive 

 trees, to determine how far the productive- 

 ness and unproductiveness of the trees is 

 constant. The individuality of trees has 

 long been noticed, but few figures have been 

 published to prove this. The results ob- 

 tained at the farm are hence of particular 

 value. . 



If scions from productive trees will de- 

 velop into productive trees when grafted, 

 ?nd if scions from unproductive trees will 

 produce trees which are poor croppers, it is 



v;ry important that scions should be taken 

 irom the best yielding trees. This is done 

 by some fruit growers. 



In order that fruit growers may obtain 

 n:ore knowledge of the great variations m 

 \ ield of trees of the same variety at the same 

 time and under the same conditions, we de- 

 sire to start a co-operative experiment. 



On application to the Horticulturist, Cen- 

 tral Experimental Farm, Ottawa, six pieces 

 of zinc, bearing six consecutive numbers, 

 with wire attached, will be sent to each per- 

 son. These pieces of zinc when received 

 should be attached to six bearing trees of a 

 single variety of apple, pear, plum or pea,ch, 

 the trees to be the same age and growing 

 under the same conditions of soil and cul- 

 ture. The yield from each tree should be 

 written in lead pencil on the zinc when he 

 fruit is harvested. This yield should .n- 

 clude the windfalls, and the windfalls gath- 

 ered should be marked as such on the zinc 

 labels. The quantity of picked fruit should 

 also be marked as picked fruit. If it is not 

 convenient for the fruit grower to record the 

 yields in the orchard on the pieces of zinc 

 ?.s suggested, he may record them in his note 

 book direct. 



When convenient later in the autumn, the 

 yield for the year should be entered in a note 

 book, the number of the tree being entered 

 so that the yields from each tree may be 

 kept separate. The yields from these trees 

 should be recorded until it has been fully 

 demonstrated that one tree is or is not more 

 productive than another. All that is asked 

 of the experimenter is to report the yield 



