THE BLOSSOMING OF OUR HARDY CULTIVATED FRUITS. 



559 



fecfcly cross-fertile. If a flower is fertilized with its own pollen and 

 that from another variety, that of the different variety is pre-potent. 



The fact that probably first called special attention to the benefit 

 of cross-pollination among pears was that, in 1893, there was a large 

 orchard in the United States planted with 20,000 * Williams' Bon 

 Chretien ' pears, which although well grown and seventeen years old 

 did not bear fruit except in the immediate neighbourhood of three pears 

 of different variety that had been planted by mistake, namely, two 

 ' Clapp's Favourite ' and one * Buffum ' pear. The U.S.A. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture recommended intermixing other varieties of pear 

 throughout the orchard, which, being done, the orchard became fruitful. 



Apples. 



The following is the blossoming record at Wye : — 





! 



i Number of varieties 



Length of time 

 in bloom 



Full bloom otf 



1908 

 1909 

 1910 



! 70 

 ! 60 

 66 



15 days 

 18 days 

 17i days 



6th day 



8th day 

 QUh day 



From the three years' record the average length of time in flower 

 of the different varieties is 17f days, and the average time of coming 

 into full bloom is on the seventh day (see Table I). In individual 

 flowers the length of time from opening to fall of petals is about seven 

 days. 



In the " Journal of the Board of Agriculture,''" December 1908, 

 pp. 678-687, and of April 1910, pp. 32-38, I have given a Hst of apples 

 of 100 varieties in their average order of flowering taken from twenty- 

 six records in different parts of England and in different years. 



Careful records of flowering of fruit trees were kept for ten years 

 by the late Mr. John Watkins, of Hereford, some of which were pub- 

 lished in the " Transactions of the Herefordshire Fruit Growers' Asso- 

 ciation." The last " Eeport of the Woburn Experimental Fruit Farm " 

 also gives a careful record of the flowering of apples based on a six years' 

 record on both crab and Paradise stock. 



In the apple the leaves unfold before the flowers open, the inflor= 

 escence is very frequently composed of six flowers, of which the central 

 one usually opens first and produces the strongest and best fruit. The 

 pollen is abundant and is more easily obtained than from the pear. 

 The stigmas are ready for fertilization before the anthers have com- 

 menced to shed their pollen, and as tlie flower matures the stigmas 

 grow out I inch to J inch beyond the stamens. Bees and humble bees 

 visit the blossoms. 



The time of blossoming does not appear to be inEuenced by the stock 

 on which the variety is grafted, as ' Stirling Castle,' ' Cox's Orange 

 Pippin,' and 'Blenheim Orange' grafted for comparison on crab, 

 English broad-leaved Paradise, French narrow-leaved Paradise, or 

 ' Doucin * and tEe ' Nonsnch,' blossomed practically simultaneously 



