PEDIGREE NURSERY STOCK 153 



of any value/' the answer is unquestionably in the affirma- 

 tive. There has been much carelessness in the past among 

 nurserymen in putting out trees that were not true-to- 

 name. When an effort was begun to cut buds from trees 

 whose records were known, the term " pedigree " became 

 the natural means of advertising that effort. Most nur- 

 serymen have no intension of applying the meaning of the 

 term to a better performance record for their trees, although 

 there is sufficient evidence for that claim. Some scientists 

 have argued that there is no foundation for the assertion 

 that one bud on a particular tree may produce better results 

 than another, but the evidence is to the contrary. 



It will only be necessary in this connection to cite a 

 few well recognized examples. Growers of geraniums, 

 carnations and chrysanthemums have to continuously 

 select their cuttings from bearing shoots in order to keep 

 up the production of numerous flowers. Orange growers 

 are not only selecting buds for propagation from trees with 

 known records, but often from a particular branch of one 

 of these trees. The vigor of particular varieties of fruit 

 is most easily perpetuated by bud selection. Two Bald- 

 win apple trees may vary widely in their ability to be 

 strong pollenizers and this character is perpetuated by bud 

 selection. A certain strain of pecans and Persian walnuts 

 grown in the northern part of the United States are much 

 more resistant to frost than others grown farther south. 

 This quality is passed on by the use of buds or cions. When 

 growing side by side, the Elberta peach which for several 

 generations grew in northern Michigan blossomed several 

 days earlier than the Elberta peach grown in California. 



