44 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 



tree trunks where radial growth continues late in fall. The 

 observations made to determine the distribution of late radial 

 growth showed that it is very irregularly distributed, yet that 

 when it occurs it is confined to certain parts of trees. Crane- 

 field 87 has called attention to the general variation of radial 

 growth in branches. After two seasons observations he con- 

 cluded ' ' that a wide difference existed between trees of the same 

 variety, age and external appearance, and that the difference 

 was often greater between different branches of one tree than 

 between different trees." In 1899 he found that the bark 

 peeled readily on all branches of apple, pear, plum and cherry 

 as late as August 15, and after that date the bark still peeled 

 easily for some time on the larger branches. In 1900 the bark 

 of branches over 1 cm. in diameter slipped easily enough to make . 

 whistles as late as September 15, while two weeks later it would 

 not peel from any of the branches. 



Although observations like these of Cranefield show that 

 marked variations may occur in the distribution of the last ra- 

 dial growth, it is apparent that its actual variation can only be 

 determined by much more detailed examinations at numerous 

 points not only of any one tree but of any one branch. Some 

 of the above cited observations on the general distribution > of 

 radial growth and more especially those on excentric growth also 

 suggest the inference that late growth is often very irregularly 

 distributed and that it is perhaps frequently confined to regions 

 of trunks and branches where excentric growth occurs. In a 

 general way that represents the distribution of the late growth 

 occurring in fruit trees. 



Radial growth in apple and other fruit trees was most com- 

 monly found to continue latest in fall around the base of the 

 trunk and its upper roots as well as about the bases of branches 

 and around crotches ; but in some cases other regions also under- 

 went late growth. The distribution of late growth about the 

 base of the trunk is apparently subject to many variations de- 

 pending upon the place of origin of the large upper roots as 

 well as on the size of the top. Usually the last growth occurs 

 on the ridges of the roots approximately in the center of the 

 rounded angle a root makes with the trunk, although in some 



87 Cranefield, F. Duration of the growth period in fruit trees. Wise. 

 Agrl. Expt. Sta. Ann. Rpt. 17:300-8. 1900. 



