1871 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



299 



causes, than to prove them to be such, by showing 

 their definite relations to results. 



The effects of cold upon trees, flowers and fruits, 

 are not clearly and definitely understood. When in 

 the gay spring time nature first assumes lier robes 

 of green and decorates the orchards with gorgeous 

 trusses and wreaths of roseate flowers. Old Boreas 

 blows his icy breath over the fair and promising 

 scene and all is blighted. The flower stems wilt, 

 the flowers wither and fall, it is plain to be seen 

 that the frost has killed the fruit. This eft'ect of 

 frost has been often witnessed by orchardists from 

 time immemorial, but we believe it is not more 

 than 50 years since it was first discovered that an 

 extremely low temperature would kill the germs of 

 fruit-buds in winter. We think it was first stated 

 that 14° below zero would always kill the fruit- 

 buds of the peach ; of course the attention of ob- 

 servers was directed to prove or disprove this al- 

 ledged fact. 



Mr. Hnvey, in an editorial in the Magazine of 

 Horticulture several years ago said, "it was not the 

 cold that killed the peaches, it was the weather be- 

 fore and after." This was in commenting on the 

 fact that during the previous winter the mercury 

 had fallen to 18° below zero and they had a crop of 

 peaches. 



On another occasion, after the occurrence of a 

 very worm spell of weather in mid-winter, he 

 gave a lengthy article in answer to the ques- 

 , tion "will not this warm weather kill the fruit?" 

 in wliicli he argued that the common fears of trees 

 starting into growtli during warm spells in winter 

 are unfounded ; that trees have a natural period of 

 rest, — that when vines or trees are placed under 

 glass for forcing at this unnatural period, a high 

 temperature must be maintained for a long time 

 before they will even swell their buds. Though 

 his facts and philosophy were all right, and there 

 may be little or no danger from warm spells oc- 

 curring in early or mid-winter, the danger becomes 

 imminent towards the last of February, or in 

 March, when the trees are nearly ready to awaken 

 from their natural period of rest. But why were 

 some germs of cherry liuds, some varieties of ap- 

 ples and some l)uda on varieties that were injured, 

 apparently not in the .least damaged while others 

 were killed ? Ithas often happened in the last 

 twenty years that a degree of cold which has 

 killed every fruit-bud on the peach, nectarine, 

 apricot, and sweet clicrries, has killed none 

 or only a part of Early Richmond and Mo- 

 rello cherries, and our best varieties of plums, 

 and it has sometimes been the case tliat a 

 less degree of cold lias killed only a part of these 

 . more tinder fruits and the remainder have been 

 I entirely uninjured. 



In the winter of 1867-68 on two several occasions 

 the mercury touched 10° below zero. After the 

 first occurrence, upon examination of the buds and 

 young branches, a very few only of the buds were 

 blackened, and very slight traces of discoloration 

 could be seen in the young wood ; after the second, 

 an examination on Saturday the 10th of February, 

 showed that the number of dead buds had some- 

 what increased and the discoloration of wood also, 

 but the damage from these two ordeals was not ma- 

 terial or sufficient to prevent a crop of fruit. Sun- 

 day was a clear cool day and the next morning the 

 thcrmometei recorded 27° below zero. This killed 

 all the fruit-buds of the peach and the new layer 

 of wood, the growth of '67, over the entire trees — 

 the I)ark and leaf-buds retained their vitality, ex- 

 cept at the ends of the young branches, and de- 

 posited a new annual layer of wood in '68 over the 

 dead layer of '67. 



In 1864 and '65 the winter was characterised as 

 being very mild, but we had very frequent and 

 sudden changes — constantly freezing up and thaw- 

 ing out during the whole winter, and no cold oc- 

 curred to injure the germs of fruit-buds, except on 

 the morning of tlie 3d of February, when it was 

 12° below zero. This killed all the peach germs, 

 except in some very favorable locations. But for 

 this one cold morning every peach tree in hundreds 

 of square miles in Iowa and Illinois, would have 

 been full of peaches the following summer. Mr. 

 Hovey's assertion, "it is not the cold that kills tlie 

 peaches," wont do ; for in tliis same winter we had 

 all imaginable kinds of weather before and after 

 the frequent changes, but it required just 12° to do 

 the work of general destruction. We had one tree 

 covered on all sides with straw-thatch one foot 

 thick with thermometer inside which recorded 

 11°. This tree was tightly inclosed and perfectly 

 excluded from the influence of the sun and protect- 

 ed against sudden changes, yet a part of its blossom 

 buds were killed, as we belitve, by tlie cold.. 



Experience and investigation on this subject have 

 convinced us that the constitutional character and 

 tlie existing conditions of fruit germs must be con- 

 sidered in connection with the degree of cold, that 

 external influences, as "tlie weather before and 

 after," may modify effects and turn the scale one 

 way or tlie other, when the contest between vitali- 

 ty and the cold is about equal, but they are impo- 

 tent to save when cold is a few degrees in the ascen- 

 dency. 



To Keep Fruit. — The Journal of CliemUtry has 

 the following : Beat together equal measures of 

 honey and spring water in an earthen vessel ; put 

 in your apricots, plums or peaches, freshly gath- 

 ered ; cover close, and they will keep fresh for a 

 year. When taken out for use they must be rinsed 

 in cold water. 



