34 The Time of Blossoming of Fruit Trees, [april, 



period of the different varieties of plums is about 25 days at 

 Wye, and probably about the same in other parts of England, 

 both the earliest and latest flowering varieties have a con- 

 siderable portion of their flowering time during the period 

 when other varieties are in flower, so that there is probably no 

 difficulty in fertilisation. The late Mr. John Watkins, of 

 Hereford,* who has kept records of the flowering of fruit-trees 

 for a considerable number of years, wrote that in the different 

 seasons he had found a range of 40 days in the time of plums 

 commencing to flower, the earliest being March 19th, the 

 latest April 28th. He thought that plums crop best in late 

 seasons, and that early varieties crop best if growing in a 

 high situation where they escape the early spring frosts. He 

 remarked that nearly all the late dark plums, such as Grand 

 Duke and Black Diamond, blossom early; also that the 

 capability of cropping and time of ripening of a variety are 

 independent of whether the variety flowers early or late, these 

 qualities being characteristic of the variety itself. 



The crop of plums at Wye in 1909 was not so heavy as in 

 1908. Owing to lack of sunshine the fruit was dull in colour 

 and lacking in flavour ; damsons, however, were a plentiful 

 crop. 



Cherries. — These were in flower at Wye from April 21st 

 to May 19th. The crop was exceptionally heavy. 



In 1909 the different varieties of cherries were in flower an 

 average of 22 days, and were in full flower about the seventh 

 or eighth day after commencing to flower. Cherries of 

 different varieties come into flower at very nearly the same 

 time, excluding Morello, which is always the latest to flower. 

 The earliest and latest flowering cherries had fifteen days of 

 simultaneous flowering. The fact of the different varieties 

 being in flower at the same time must assist in fertilisation. 



The mean order of flowering observed by Mr. F. Ivo 



Neame at Faversham, Mr. J. Watkins at Hereford, and Mr. 



W. Hooper in Surrey, is as follows : — 



(1) Caroons, (2) Rivers' Early Black, (3) Elton, (4) Black Eagle, (5) 

 Knight's Early Black, (6) Governor Wood, (7) Turk, (8) Bigarreau 

 Napoleon, (9) Rivers' Bigarreau, (10) Waterloo, (11) Florence, (12) May 

 Duke, (13) Morello. 



* Year-book of the Herefordshire Association of Frtiit Growers and .Horti- 

 culturists, quoted in "The Fruit Grower," July 8, 1909. 



