-IT 



201 



quickly, leaving no unsightly ends of limbs partial- 

 ly covered with new bark, as is too generally the 

 case with March pruning. And further, requiring 

 no solution of gum or other substances to cover the 

 limbs, as is required and advised by those who 

 prune in March. 



There is a sometlmig about a tree and its circula- 

 tion of sap in the month of June, (of which in a 

 future remark) that evidently fits the tree for prun- 

 ing ; for it is not generally known, that during a 

 certain portion of this month the bark may be en- 

 tirely stripped from the trunk of a tree, with entire 

 impunity^ and a new harh will be found, without 

 the wilting of a leaf ov the dropping of any fruit. 



And if any of your readers have any old apple 

 trees that refuse to bear any thing but knotty or 

 gnarly fruit, will, upon any of the three longest 

 days of the year, (the 20th, 21st and 22d day of 

 June,) with a drawing knife, or any other sharp 

 instrument, cut through the bark of an old apple 

 tree, and raise the bark, so that they can insert 

 their fingers, and strip off the bark (for it then easi- 

 ly runs) as far up as they can, and as low down as 

 it will peel, they will find that a new bark will 

 have formed within sixty days with no injury to 

 the tree, and without the wilting of a leaf or the 

 loss of any fruit. 



In my own experience the eff'ect of this plan 

 has been to secure in old trees, a crop of fair and 

 handsome fruit, which, before, had proved to be 

 knotty and gnarly, and in some varieties of apples 

 which had, of late years, apparently run out^ for 

 instance, the Rhode Island Greening, by this course 

 have yielded crops of large and fair apples, which 

 heep good during the winter^ and while the same 

 trees, prior thereto, yielded a small crop of unmar- 

 ketable fruit, and they even rotted upon the trees 

 before gathering. 



[We have noted this fact before in the Monthly 

 We d^ not know that this date will do for all sec- 

 tions, and care must be exercised to be sure of the 

 proper time. 



PURPLE ANB WEEPING BEECHES. 



W. C. STRONG, BRIGHTON, MASS. 



In the June number of the Monthly yom: esteem 

 ed correspondent, Mr. P. J. Berckman's, expressed 

 the opinion that the seedlings of Fag us purpurea 

 can be relied upon as coming true to the parent 

 tree. He also says that in extensive sowings which 

 he made while living in Belgium, "the green-leaved 

 seedlings were, more probably, offsprings from nuts 

 of the common green variety, accidentally mixed 

 with the others." 



Both theory and experience would lead me to 

 differ from this conclusion. Why should Beeches 

 bean exception to iNature's law of change? We 

 expect that children will resemhle their parents and 

 that the more distinct the peculiarities of the pa- 

 rent the more distinct and marked will be the vari- 

 ations of the offspring. For example, it is less pro- 

 bable that a pear of the highest known excellence 

 will produce a seedling of fully equal merit and close 

 resemblance, than it is that a poor pear will, appa- 

 rently, reproduce itself Still the results from the 

 former experiment will be of a much higher type 

 at the same time that the eccentricities are more 

 marked. 



The law of resemblance is noticeable, however, in 

 the reproduction of every form of life. Other things 

 being equal, the human parent of marked superior- 

 ity of intellect may reasonably expect a correspond- 

 ing superiority in his progeny. Yet, while there is 

 thi«3 law of resemblance, it it also true that, with 

 marked excellence, the shades of difference are more 

 marked and absolute. V\ e should expect this re- 

 sult from the blending of superior excellencies in 

 father and mother. So, also, in the hybridizing of 

 plants, distinct peculiarities in the parents will al- 

 most invariably give distinct and striking results. 

 Even in a monoecious tree like the Beech, when an 

 individual, like this purpurea, has varied from its 

 normal condition and become a distinct species, we 

 may reasonably suppose that, while there is no hy- 

 bridizing, the seedlings will bear a strong resem- 

 blance to the parent tree. 



Yet we should also expect to notice a tendency to 

 return to the original type. I think this is precise- 

 ly what I have noticed, and what Mr. Berckmans 

 also has noticed, but attributes to a different cause, 

 viz : — the accidental mixing of chance seedlings of 

 the common Beech. My experience has been that 

 there are many shades of color in seedlings of F. 

 purpurea, some of them being, perhaps, darker 

 than the parent, — "almost black " as Mr. B. him- 

 self testifies. 



On the other hand, I have found it necessary to 

 go through the rows and mark many as " copper," 

 and some as "rejected." I have no reason to be- 

 lieve that the last class were 'accidental mixtures,' 

 for they almost always give some indications as be- 

 ing wayward descendants from the purpurea. They 

 are sporting back in the opposite direction from 

 their parent. 



So far from being surprised at this variation, I 

 think the wonder is that the type is so well pre- 

 served. Indeed, I think that careful experiment 

 would indicate, in all departments of life, wherever 



