IHTii.] REPOirr ox apples. S;') 



to reproduction. The graft, hospitably received by the native stock as a 

 guest, directly becomes a jjarasite and makes so severe a draught upon its 

 host, that it is unable to respond fully to it oftener than once in twu 

 years. If other vai'ieties of the apple were as common as the IJaldwin 

 the alternation of their crops would have been as much noticed. The 

 present is the even or bearing year of the Baldwin, and all other varieties 

 are abundant also. I believe the apple crop of the present year, will, 

 though that of 1870 was large, exceed that of any year since 1862. Be- 

 tween the years 1803 and 1809 inclusive, there was not any large crop of 

 apples in the ISTew England States. Careful observers, however, will 

 remember that in the even 3-ears there was profusion of apple bloom in 

 the spring, which according to Mehan's theory is even more exhaustive 

 of vegetative life and energy than actual reproduction. 



That all varieties of grafted apples should have the same bearing 

 year, should be greatly more ijroductive in the even than in the odd 

 years, is indeed a singular fact, liut no more singular than that all Bald- 

 wins, no matter in what year planted, transplanted or grafted, should 

 all have the same bearing year. That there are occasional exceptions is 

 true — true of the Baldwin and of all other varieties. But I believe it 

 can be laid down as a fact to be recognized in apple culture of all 

 varieties that the greater crops have been in the past and ma}^ lie expected 

 in the future, in the even years. 



Now as regards the repeated failure of the apple crop in years pant, if 

 I am not mistaken in my theory the cause is not far to seek. -Severity of 

 cold in winter has been assigned as the cause. Every winter doubtless 

 all trees in this latitude are completely frozen, root, body and branch, 

 and a diminvition of temperature to that of the arctic regions or of the 

 inter-stellar spaces would have no further effect upon them. In Spring, 

 however, as soon as the frost comes out of the ground around the roots, 

 the tree awakes from its hibernation and resumes its active vegetative life. 

 The sap ascends, in due time the fruit buds bloom, and the embiyonic 

 fruit is formed or "sets." Now is the critical time when frost is 

 fatal. While no degree of cold in -Tanuary would have done the slightest 

 harm, the tender embryo that jiromises a future apple cannot endure 

 the slightest freezing. Now so long as the root of a tree is frozen, Ihere 

 is no possibility that the fruit buds should " start," and if the frost can 

 be kept, either by nature or art, from coming out of ground around the 

 trees till danger of late frosts is past, then the fruit buds ma}' safely 

 bloom. Years ago, the snow falling after the roots of trees and the 

 ground around them had frozen, and remaining till late in Spring, afforded 

 the natural protection to the fruit buds against too early development. 

 More recently our climate seems to be undergoing some changes — has 



