68 



OKCHAED FEUITS IN VIRGINIA AND OTHER STATES. 



PHENOLOGICAL RECORDS. 



An extended discussion of phenology is not considered necessary 

 in the present connection. A concise statement describing its 

 practical application to fruit growing mil suffice. It should be 

 explained, however, that phenology is, as defined by Bailey,® the 

 science which considers the relationship of local climates to the 

 periodicity of the annual phenomena of living things." Primarily, 

 it has for its object the study of climate in terms of organic life. 

 This, at least, is the viewpoint of the climatologist. He observes 

 organic life that he may have a more intimate knowledge of climatic 

 conditions as they are expressed thereby. While the one studying 

 organic life may observe the same phenomena, he seeks to express 

 the behavior of that life in terms of the climatic influences under 

 which it develops and to determine the relationship of them. 



The practical application of phenology to fruit-growing interests 

 is in the study of the influence upon varieties of the varying climatic 

 conditions which prevail from season to season. It is important to 

 know the blossoming period of a variety in relation to the probable 

 time of occurrence of spring frosts ; also the date of maturity and the 

 occurrence of fall frosts. In the case of quickly perishable fruits, 

 the exact period of ripening is a most essential consideration, in 

 order that such a selection of varieties can be made that the marketing 

 of each one will occur in a desirable sequence. There are other factors 

 of interest, but perhaps of lesser practical importance. The field of 

 purely scientific application is a large one, but it will not be con- 

 sidered here. 



The following records are a compilation of the observations made 

 on some of the more important varieties by a large number of fruit 

 growers, under the direction of this office, in the States directly con- 

 cerned in the foregoing discussions. No exhaustive deductions and 

 correlations are advisable at this time, but the records are of value 

 as a means of presenting certain varietal information which could 

 not well be expressed in any other manner. While the seasons over 

 which the records extend have been peculiar in some ways, and it is 

 to be regretted that these records do not show more in detail the 

 climatic conditions which have prevailed, yet it is believed that, 

 aside from all scientific value which they possess, they will prove 

 to be an important source of reference in selecting varieties which 

 blossom at such times that they will be most likely to escape injurious 

 frosts and to ripen at desirable periods. The importance of elevation 

 and the influence of latitude are also emphasized in many instances. 

 When considering the matter of cross-pollination to increase fruitful- 

 ness, it is important to know what varieties blossom at the same time. 



135 



a Survival of the Unlike, p. 288. 



