SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 53 



than on the temperature, assuming, of course, a temperature 

 below zero and not greater than 15°, which seems to be the 

 Hmit that peach buds can stand even under most favorable 

 conditions. The chief factors influencing" tenderness of buds 

 are : Maturity of buds ; variety ; and the time at which the 

 buds of a^ variety finish their resting period and become ready 

 to grow. Some of the factors influencing temperature are : 

 Lay of land ; proximity to water ; stresses of changeable 

 weather ; altitude ; latitude ; and currents of air. 



X. 



Are Trees from Northern Nurseries Hardier than those 

 FROM Southern Ones? 



Many opinions vvcre expressed but few men had grown 

 trees from different latitudes under such conditions as to an- 

 swer the question fairly. The answers were in no way de- 

 cisive and the question is still an open one to be settled only 

 by direct experimentation with trees of the same varieties from 

 north and south, grown under identical conditions. 



XI. 



Does the Character of Individual Trees Have Anything 

 TO Do With Hardiness? 



Answers to this question were very indefinite and often 

 conflicting. It was held by some, and with a fair show of 

 experience to confirm the contention, that trees naturally high- 

 headed with few branches, long, spindling trunks, branches 

 and twigs, have soft wood, and are, therefore, more suscep- 

 tible to freezing. On the other hand, that individuals having 

 naturally short bodies, a goodly number of branches starting 

 low, with short-jointed wood bright and clear when cut, and 

 thickly set with buds, were the least easily injured by cold. 

 The individuality in these two classes of trees is given them 

 by treatment and environments, as pruning, cultivation, soil, 

 distance apart, etc. It is reasonable to suppose that there 

 are such differences in the trees of a varietv because of indi- 



