BURBANK'S WAY WITH TREES 



sible for the experimenter to select out and ac- 

 centuate a quality in this case precocious bearing 

 by the usual method of "line breeding." But 

 at best patience is required in dealing with a 

 plant which is normally of such slow growth as a 

 tree. 



OENAMENTAL TEEES 



In the matter of stimulating the growth of a 

 tree, there are some horticultural tricks that are 

 worth remembering. 



Fundamental among these, of course, is the 

 matter of preparation and cultivation of the soil. 

 Until recently a good many orchardists have as- 

 sumed that it is useless to cultivate the soil about 

 trees. But now it is well known that a tree re- 

 sponds as readily as does any other plant to 

 proper treatment. 



Mr. Burbank tells of an observation that fur- 

 nishes striking evidence of this. He once observed 

 the rings on an oak tree more than six hundred 

 years old that had just been felled, and he noted 

 that at a certain late stage of its development the 

 tree had suddenly begun to grow much more rap- 

 idly than had been its wont for the preceding cen- 

 turies. By counting the rings, he determined that 

 the new growth dated from the year 1852. In- 

 quiry showed that this was the time when the land 

 had come under cultivation, and when for the first 

 time the soil had been turned and rendered porous 

 by the plow. 



Thus it was demonstrated that cultivation of 

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