280 AMERICAN POMOLOGY. 



as some Coniferse, require more than a year, and in the 

 Metrosideros the fruit remains attached to the branch for 

 several years. The following is a general statement of 

 the usual time required for the maturation of fruits : 



Grasses and Grains 13 to 15 days. 



Raspberry, Strawberry, Cherry 2 months. 



Bird-cherry, Lime-tree 3 " 



Roses, White Thorn, Horsechestnut 4 " 



Vine, Pear, Apple, "Walnut, Beech, Plum, Nut, 



Almond 5 to 6 " 



Olive, Savin 7 " 



Colchicum, Mistletoe 8 to 9 " 



Conifers 10 to 12 " 



Some Coniferae, certain Oaks, and Metrosi- 

 deros above 12 " 



"The ripening of fruits may be accelerated by -the ap- 

 plication of heat, the placing of dark-colored bricks below 

 it, and by removing a ring of bark, so as to lead to an ac- 

 cumulation of sap. It has been observed that plants, sub- 

 jected to a high temperature, not unfrequently prove 

 abortive ; this seems to result from the over stimulation, 

 causing the production of uni-sexual flowers alone. Trees 

 are sometimes made to produce fruit by checking their 

 roots when too luxuriant, and by preventing the excessive 

 development of branches." * Here we have the explana- 

 tion of the processes of root pruning and of summer 

 pinching, and shortening-in, which have been more ex- 

 tensively introduced upon another page ; as well as the 

 plan for inducing fruitfulness in such trees as are tardy 

 from excessive wood-growth, by hacking the bark to inter- 

 rupt the flow of sap from the buds to the roots; by 



* Balfour's Manual. 



