1908.] Time of Blossoming of Fruit Trees. 683 



Doyenne Boussock (17 days) ; 6th May, Williams' Bon Chretien 

 (or Bartlett of America) (14 days) ; Beurre Giffard (14 days), 

 and Clapp's Favourite (15 days) ; 7th May, Doyenne du Cornice 

 (15 days), and Durondeau (17 days) ; 9th May, Pitmaston 

 Duchess (14 days) ; 10th May, Marie Louise d'Uccle (11 days) ; 

 nth May, Dr. Jules Guyot (10 days). Quince commenced to 

 flower on 21st May. These figures give an average of a little 

 more than thirteen days in flower and four days between the 

 commencement of flowering to being in full flower. 



Importance of Cross-Fertilisation in Pears. — Several pear trees 

 in the college plantations were noticeable this year by not 

 fruiting, although they had blossomed well and were not 

 injured by frost. It is not improbable that this was due to 

 want of fertilisation, a subject which deserves study in this 

 country, and would probably prove of commercial as well as 

 botanical interest. 



In an article by W. Carruthers on " The Cross-Fertilisation 

 of Pears " in the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal for 1894, 

 reference is made to the case of a large orchard in the United 

 States, composed of 22,000 Bartlett (i.e. Williams' Bon 

 Chretien) pears, which, though 17 years old and well grown, 

 were almost barren, except where through an error in planting 

 there were two Clapp's Favourite and one other tree, in the 

 neighbourhood of which the Bartletts were very productive. 

 Trials at the U.S.A. experiment stations showed the following 

 pears to be nearly or quite sterile without cross-fertilisation : — 

 Williams', Boussock, Clairgeau, Clapp's Favourite, Gansel's 

 Bergamotte, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Souvenir du Congres, 

 Superfin, Winter Nelis, and others ; whilst a smaller number 

 have been observed to be able more or less to fertilise them- 

 selves. These include Angouleme, Diel, Doyenne d'Alencon, 

 Flemish Beauty, Seckle, and White Doyenne. 



Apples. — The habit of the apple is for the leaves to unfold 

 before the flowers open. Records were taken of ninety-six 

 varieties out of 135 varieties growing in the college plantations ; 

 the blossoms were in general abundant and the weather favour- 

 able and without frost. 



There seemed to be very little difference in the time of 

 flowering between bush and standard trees of the same variety 

 on cultivated land, nor did the stock appear to influence the date 



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