236 



The Canadian Horticulturist. 



THE REASON WHY SOME FRUIT TREES DO NOT 

 SET THEIR FRUIT. 



T the meeting of the Fruit Growers' Association held 

 in the City of Hamilton, December 16th, 1891, 

 during the discussion of the question " How may 

 barren trees be made fruitful?" the writer ventured 

 to suggest that it is well known to botanists that 

 there are some plants the blossoms of which 

 cannot be fertilized by their own pollen, and 

 that possibly this might be the trouble with 

 the orchard of four hundred Northern Spy 

 trees planted in a block by Mr. Geo. Fisher, 

 now eighteen years old, and which had never 

 borne much fruit, while other trees of that 

 variety, standing in another orchard of many varieties, 

 bore well. He further stated that he believed that this 

 subject should be investigated by our experimenters, to 

 ascertain how far it may be true that our apple orchards 

 need to be planted with different varieties. 



In answer to this, the esteemed Director, who represents the 8th Division, 

 thought that this could not be the case with the Northern Spy, because that 

 variety bloomed so late that there would not be sufficient apple pollen of other 

 varieties to fertilize its blossoms. 



An experience similar to that of Mr. Geo. Fisher befel a fruit grower in the 

 State of Virginia. Some years ago he planted a number of pear trees of different 

 sorts ; when they came into bearing he was convinced that the Bartlett, on 

 account of its many good qualities, and especially its early and abundant bearing, 

 would be a profitable market variety. Accordingly he purchased several 

 hundred trees of the Bartlett and planted them in a block by themselves ; but, 

 to his great surprise and disappointment, the trees, while blooming abundantly, 

 set very little fruit. Unable to account for the sterility of his Bartlett orchard, 

 he applied to the Agricultural Department at Washington for information. 



In consequence of this application, Mr. M. B. Waite, of that Department, 

 instituted an expensive series of experiments for the purpose of ascertaining, not 

 only whether the sterility of this Bartlett orchard was due to the impotency of 

 the Bartlett pollen to fertilize Bartlett flowers, but also what other varieties of 

 pear, and what varieties of apple, were self-sterile. The results of his experi- 

 ments as published are as follows : 



Varieties of Apple Self-sterile. — Chenango Strawberry, Gravenstein, King, 

 Norton's Melon, Northern Spy, Primate, Rambo, Red Astrachan, Roxbury 

 Russet, Spitzenburg, Tolman Sweet, and Yellow Bellefleur. 



