Fruit Growing 21 



lower down and try again, or bud into one of the sprouts that have grown 

 around the cut end? The trees arc pear and cherry. 



You did very well as a beginner not to lose more than one- 

 tenth. Saw off below and graft again. You might have budded into 

 one of those shoots last July, and if you fail again, bud into the 

 new shoots next summer. 



Filling Holes in Trees. 



/ have a number of trees that, on account of poor pruning and improper 

 care, are decaying in the center. Many of them are hollozv for a foot or 

 more down the trunk. 



Excavate all the decayed wood with a chisel or gouge or what- 

 ever cutting tool may work well and fill the cavity with Portland 

 cement in such a way as to exclude moisture. This will prolong the 

 life and productiveness of the trees for many years if other con- 

 ditions are favorable. 



Deferring Bloom of Fruit Trees. 



Have any experiments ever been carried on definitely to decide what 

 causes early blossoming of fruit trees? For instance, have adjacent trees 

 of the same variety been treated definitely by putting a heavy mulch around 

 one to hold the cold temperature late in the spring, leaving the other tree 

 unmulched so the roots could warm up? 



It has been definitely determined by the experiments of Pro- 

 fessor Whidden of the Missouri Experiment Station that the swell- 

 ing of the buds and starting of the foliage of fruit trees is due to 

 the action of heat upon the aerial parts of the trees; that is, growth 

 is not caused by increasing the temperature of the ground and can- 

 not be retarded by cooling the ground. Experiments with the use 

 of snow and ice under trees by which the ground has been kept 

 at a low temperature have not prevented the activity of the tree. 

 The only way known to retard activity is to spray the tree with 

 whitewash so that the white color may reflect the heat and prevent 

 the absorption of it by the bark, which is usually of a dark color 

 and therefore suited to heat absorption. Retarding of growth is pos- 

 sible in this way for a period of six to ten days, which, of course, 

 in some cases might be of value, but the lengthened dormancy is 

 probably too small to constitute it of general value. In whitewash- 

 ing, to determine what advantage there is in it in retarding growth, 

 the tree should be thoroughly sprayed with whitewash so as to cover 

 all the wood some time before the buds swell. In fact, it is to prevent 

 the early swelling of the buds that the whitewashing is resorted to. It 

 is better to make the application, therefore, a little too early than too 

 late. A specific date cannot be given for it that would be right in 

 all localities. 



Repairing Rabbit Injuries, 



Your book says in pruning young trees for the first time, about four 

 main branches should be left and these cut back to lo or 12 inches. Now, 



