APPLES 



413 



falling on the pistil, much more of the 

 fluid being secreted by the pistil if the 

 stigma is not pollinized with acceptable 

 pollen than would be it it were fertilized 

 as soon as receptive; pistils remaining 

 erect and fertile for several days after 

 maturing if acceptable pollen is not ap- 

 plied to them. Upon the reception of 

 pollen the pistil wilts in a very few- 

 hours, or at most, in the course of a day. 

 In the bud the stamens are turned 

 inward toward the center of the flower 

 while each pistil is recurved on the style. 

 The pistils are the first to assume an 

 erect position, as may be inferred from 

 their early ripening. The ovary is in- 

 ferior, inserted below the calyx. Figure 

 1 shows the position of the parts of the 

 flower. The flowers are sidewise, turn- 

 ing toward the light, thus preventing 

 wetting of the pollen and insuring self- 

 pollination if no pollen is brought from 

 another flower. Although Nature has 

 made self-fertilization mechanically pos- 

 sible in the apple, she has made self- 

 fecundation impossible In the majority 

 of cases, and experiments go to show 

 that self-fertility is the exception and 

 not the rule. These experiments also 

 show that these self-fertile varieties are 

 safe ones to use for the fertilization of 

 other self-sterile varieties. 



Causes of Failure of Blossoms to Set 

 Fruit 



Some of the causes of failures of or- 

 chards to set fruit are here enumerated. 



1. The trees or the blossoms may be 

 injured from drought. 



2. The fruit buds may be injured 

 from winter freezes. 



3. The fruit buds may be injured 

 from late spring frosts. 



4. The blossoms may be injured from 

 a lack of proper nourishment. 



•5. The tree may fail to bloom from 

 an excess of certain kinds of nourish- 

 ment. 



6. Fruits may fail to set from im- 

 proper pollination. 



1. The trees or the blossoms may be 

 injured from drought. — It sometimes hap- 

 pens that a very wet spring with such 



weather as will stimulate the trees into 

 a very strong growth during the earlier 

 part of the growing period is followed 

 by a summer and tall of extreme drought. 

 Under such conditions the fruit trees are 

 unable to set fruit buds with sufficient 

 vitality to carry them far enough to 

 form fruit. Fruit buds make heavier 

 demands on the tree than leaf buds. 

 After such extremes as the above the 

 tree uses its whole energj' to recover its 

 vegetative power, and it may often hap- 

 pen that a tree will fail to set fruit 

 from this cause. 



2. The fruit buds -may be injured by 

 uinter freezes. — It is impossible to say 

 just how much freezing the fruit buds 

 of the apple will stand. In sections of 

 this country, where the air is less dry 

 than in the West, the buds will stand a 

 much lower degree of temperature than 

 they will in our drj- atmosphere and a 

 ver.v low temperature of one winter will 

 have less of an evil effect on the fruits 

 of our region than another winter when 

 the thermometer does not record so low 

 a degree of temperature. There are so 

 many influences that affect the forma- 

 tion of fruit buds and their proper nour- 

 ishment that it is impossible to say how 

 far and to what extent freezing affects 

 the next summer's crop of apples. The 

 vitality of the buds, their maturity, the 

 condition of the atmosphere as to mois- 

 ture, the amount of moisture in the soil, 

 and the amount of snow on the ground 

 are a few of the things we must con- 

 sider. 



3. The buds may be injured by late 

 spring frosts. — The amount of injury to 

 buds from frosts cannot be computed: a 

 few days before or after the blossoming 

 period may make an untold amount of 

 difference. Buds that have been injured 

 by frosts may yet have enough vitality 

 to bloom and yet not have enough to set 

 fruit. Some buds, from their position, 

 their state of maturity, or because they 

 are more hardy, may be less injured 

 than others on the same tree. Varieties 

 considered tender may be able to set 

 fruit after experiencing an unusually 

 heavy frost, yet fail the next year when 



