CONFERENCE ON FRUIT GROWING 



87 



a very subsidiary extent, and we believe, therefore, that our conclusions 

 from the experiments at Ridgmont must be of general application. Even 

 in such a case, however, repetition in other soils is desirable. It was late 

 in the present year when we obtained a clue to these results, and time 

 has been wanting for any proper repetitions elsewhere. A partial repetition 

 has already been made, but only on a small scale, and only as to one 

 of the items constituting improper planting : namely, that of ramming 

 the tree forcibly into the ground. This was tried at Harpenden in the 

 case of half a dozen two-year-old pear trees, and the ground selected was 

 of an exceptionally heavy and clayey character, where, according to 

 "common experience," excessive stamping of the soil would have been 

 most deleterious, but where, according to the explanation of our results at 

 Ridgmont, such treatment should be favourable for the growth of. the 

 trees, for anything which brings the damp soil into close contact with the 

 roots or stems of the trees should favour the starting of the dormant 

 root- buds in them. Alternate trees were planted carefully in the ordinary 

 way, the others being rammed into the ground with a heavy iron 

 rammer. The ramming was so severe that the whole ground round the 

 trees shook like a jelly, and when the trees were lifted two days ago 

 (October 9) the earth round the roots still formed one solid brick-like 

 mass. We had not expected that the effects of this treatment would have 

 become apparent till the second or third year after planting, but, as a 

 matter of fact, they showed themselves soon after growth commenced. 

 The rammed trees, almost from the first, showed their superiority over 

 the properly planted ones, and this superiority went on increasing till, by 

 the end of the season, the length of new wood formed by them was, on 

 the average, two-and-three-quarters as much as that formed by the properly 

 planted trees. But if the advantage is apparent in the growth of the 

 branches it is still more so in that of the roots [the six trees were exhibited 

 to the meeting] ; for the new rootlets sent out by the rammed trees must 

 be at least ten- or twenty-fold as numerous as those from the others ; and 

 it may confidently be asserted that if the trees had not been lifted till a 

 year or two later, when these roots would have had time to make their 

 effect felt on the trees, the results shown by the branch growth would 

 have been much more considerable than they are at present. 



It would be difficult to find a more striking instance than that afforded 

 by these results on planting, of the necessity for investigation, even in 

 matters of the most elementary horticultural practice. No doubt, know- 

 ledge would become perfected in time, even if the accumulation of it were 

 left to the chance observations of the practical grower. Much, indeed, 

 has been accumulated in this way, but it is a very slow and expensive 

 process ; generations may be necessary, and thousands of pounds may be 

 wasted, before some new fact is discovered, and the knowledge of it 

 disseminated. Properly organised investigation at a station specially 

 fitted for the purpose is now the only way in which new knowledge can 

 be gained with that economy of time and money which is essential to the 

 fruit-growers of England, if they are to hold their own in the present 

 keen competition with other nations. 



Mr. Pickering illustrated his paper throughout by means of lantern 

 slides. 



