26« 
the rural, nkw-yorker 
March 2. 
then as it is to-day 3nd as old in nature as the world 
in which he discovered it. 
THE FIRST EXPERIMENTS OF NOTE.—The 
first of our American scientists to prove to the hor¬ 
ticultural world the beneficial effects of the cross¬ 
pollination of varieties of orchard fruits was Mr. M. 
B. Waite of the United States Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. This was done with pears, apples and quinces 
in the course of some experiments of a pathological 
nature in certain orchards in New York and New Jer- 
SPRAYINH ON HILLSIDE. Fig. 80. 
sey, from 1891 to 1893. He proved conclusively that 
there was material improvement in size, shape and 
color of the fruit and development of seeds from 
crossing the varieties as contrasted with those pro¬ 
duced by the use of their own pollen, except in case 
of the quince, which showed no such improvement. 
There was, however, no evidence of the transmission 
of the size, shape, color or flavor of one variety by its 
pollen to the fruit of another variety. The change 
wrought was from the greater potency or vitalizing 
influence the strange pollen had over the ovules and 
their surrounding flesh and skin than had their own 
pollen. It caused the fruit to attain its true or nor¬ 
mal development. This carried with it larger size, 
more plumpness of shape and a susceptibility of the 
skin- to take on more color. The Bartlett pear and 
the Baldwin apple were the most noteworthy examples 
in this series of experiments. They were far better 
because of better development. Subsequent experi¬ 
ments by Mr. Waite have confirmed the conclusions 
then reached. 
Following the work of Mr. Waite were a number of 
worthy efforts to delve deeper into this hidden subject 
of the adaptability and unadaptability of one variety 
for another and for themselves in the matter of polli- 
ration. Dr. T. V. Munson, of Texas, had long been 
studying deeply into the facts of grape pollination and 
worked out many of the problems of the infertility of 
some of the varieties of this fruit.. To : day his work 
and writings on the genus Vitis are, without doubt, 
far the most comprehensive, searching and accurate 
of any that have ever been attempted. Among the 
others who have worked more or less in the line of 
cross-pollination of fruits are Dr. S. W. Fletcher, 
A TWIX APPLE. Fig.81. 
Prof. C. I. Lewis, Prof. F. A. Waugh, Prof. S. A. 
Beach, Prof. U. P. Hedrick, Prof. C. P. Close and 
Prof. H. L. Phillips. 
EXPERIMENTS IN MICHIGAN AND WEST 
VIRGINIA.—The work of Dr. S. W. Fletcher, now 
the Director of the Virginia Experiment Station, was 
one of the most painstaking and fruitful of results in 
definite information. It covered a period of 12 years 
and principally in Michigan and West Virginia. His 
efforts were mainly devoted to the Rartlett and Kieffer 
pears, and the Gold Drop peach. Every reasonable 
means was used to secure the most exact information. 
And it may be well to explain here somewhat in de¬ 
tail the way to proceed, for the dearer understanding 
of those who may not know the botanical construction 
of flowers and the operation of the organs of repro¬ 
duction. 
Most flowers have their male and female organs in 
a single flower. Such is the case with the apple, pear, 
peach and all of our common orchard and garden 
fruits Inside the showy part of the flower, or the 
petals, are these reproductive organs. In the center 
are the pistils, usually five in number in fruits. They 
have long stems and sticky or waxlike heads that pro¬ 
trude above the wall organs or stamens which sur¬ 
round them. The stamens when fully developed give 
out tiny seed-like grains of dust that is called pollen. 
Some of these grains are supposed to fall on the sticky 
heads, called stigmas, and from them rootlets or 
sprouts go down the whole length of the pistils to the 
cavities at their bases when the seeds are formed. 
Without this operation there can he no seeds, and 
there is usually no fruity part around them. This is 
the whole mystery of pollination and seed or fruit 
formation. 
Now the experimenter must know what variety of 
pollen gets onto the stigmas to be certain of whether 
a certain flower and the resulting fruit (if one is 
formed) is cross-pollinated or self-pollinated. The 
opening flower buds must be enclosed with coverings 
that will keep out all foreign pollen to make sure of 
self-pollination; and if a certain cross is desired all 
the stamens must be cut out before any of their pollen 
has ripened and been shed. This is done with tiny 
scissors or nippers, and when the stigmas are in the 
receptive condition the desired pollen is applied with 
a delicate brush. H, E. van deman. 
(To be continued.) 
LIME AND WEEDS AS FERTILIZER. 
There have been many lime cranks in this country, 
but we doubt if any of the others worked on stronger 
wheels than A. T. Repp, of New Jersey. Mr. Repp 
is one of the best-known successful fruit growers in 
his State. He was president of the State Horticultural 
Society, and has a farm in Gloucester County that is 
a wonder for production. Such a man would not he 
likely to get far off the track on the fertilizer ques¬ 
tion. He would he more likely to go ahead, and he 
thinks he has done so on the lime proposition. 
Two years ago the State society met at the Repp 
farm in August and he certainly gave them an object 
lesson. As we drove from the station we passed along 
a fine road which ran through orchards and gardens. 
Some of these orchards were well kept and clean. At 
last we came to one which seemed like the abode of 
a shiftless man. It was full of weeds. There wore 
ragweed, pigweed, and similar pests shoulder high— 
actually hiding part of the fruit, while below them the 
surface seemed a network of crab grass. I remember 
saying that Mr. Repp must feel disgusted at having- 
such a slovenly looking place close to his own. 
"But that is Repp’s own orchard!” said the knowing 
ones. It surely was, and this fearful growth of weeds 
was part of a definite and well-studied plan. Large 
dressings of fertilizer were used in the Spring, and 
thorough culture given up to July or thereabouts. 
Then, instead of sowing a cover crop the workmen 
simply got out of the orchard and let it alone. The 
weeds came in and" served a double purpose. They 
drew so heavily on the soil for moisture and plant 
food that the trees stopped making wood and ma¬ 
tured their fruit Had the growth of wood gone on 
through the hot season blight would have spread like 
wildfire through the orchard. The weeds saved the 
loss of plant food, since they took it out of the soil 
and held it in their stems and leaves. When plowed 
under in the Spring these weeds returned the plant 
food and filled the soil with humus. There could lx* 
no question about the value of the fruit which crowded 
those trees. There was a load of it—and of the high¬ 
est quality. The late Prof. E. B. Voorhees, probably 
our highest authority on fertilizers and manures, said 
that Repp's method was sound and based on scientific 
practice. For Mr. Repp used fertilizers heavily with 
large quantities of organic nitrogen. He did not use 
clover or some cover crop, becaues this would give 
more nitrogen than he needed. The weeds saved 
loss of plant food from the soil and provided humus. 
But now Mr. Repp has struck a new plan—no less 
than substituting slag ami ground limestone for fer¬ 
tilizers. While last year he used 100 tons of chemicals 
he is now inclined to cut them out entirely and use 
slag or phosphate powder and lime. The phosphate 
powder furnishes phosphoric acid and some lime. 
First experimenting with this Mr. Repp found that he 
obtained full crops—equal to those grown on fertilizer. 
Then the ground limestone wals used, and gave great 
results, not only in this orchard but on poor outside 
land. In fact Mr. Repp says he can revolutionize 
South Jersey with ground limestone. There never 
was a man with stronger faith in a new plan for keep¬ 
ing up the soil. 
Now of course the average farmer will say that 
this lime treatment may work for a few years, but 
then it must fail, since the soil will be exhausted of 
FLOWERS OF KIEFFER PEAR. Fig. 82. 
plant food. For some years now plant food has been 
poured into the soil of the Repp orchards. The fruit 
has carried away some of it, but not much, and those 
big weeds have held what would otherwise have been 
lost, and put it back each Spring. How much plant 
food does fruit take anyway? Burn 1,000 pounds of 
apples and you would have hut little over two pounds 
of ash and less than one pound each of nitrogen, 
potash and phosphoric acid. The actual plant food in 
100 barrels could lie carried in a basket. Thus the 
fruit removes hut little. When this big weed crop is 
grown the leaves are nearly all held. The wood 
growth requires something, but it is easy to see that 
if the soil is once well filled with available fertility 
and the weeds grow and are plowed under it will be 
many years-before “exhaustion” will occur. The lime 
and the high culture cause the weeds to give up their 
plant food. The fruit is supplied—then come the 
weeds again to save the remaining plant food. This 
round goes on again and again, and we may see why 
Mr. Repp is so confident that lime will carry it 
through. He uses the ground limestone, as it is 
gentler in its action than burned lime, and does not 
cause a waste of the humus. We do not advise this 
plan to all. but merely explain it as the well thought- 
out scheme of a good fruit grower and conservative 
man. 
A CULTIVATED MULCH ORCHARD. 
Mr. W. R. Bailey of Augusta Co., Va., has worked 
out a plan.of handling an orchard which he calls a 
cultivated mulch. This was a new one to us, for the 
“mulchers” and the cultivators argue strongly against 
A WELL UliOWN ALTHAEA. Fig. 83. 
each other’s practice. How can the two be com¬ 
bined? So we asked Mr. Bailey how he worked out 
his plan: 
“Stringfellow, with his root-pruning, sod culture. 
Summer pruning and consequent horticultural millen¬ 
nium ; Repp’s humus-producing weeds with thei - 
ameliorating soil effect; Vergon’s and Hitchings’ sue 
cess with sod, and Hale’s with cover crops and culti¬ 
vation; Blank’s many times disking his Alfalfa; these 
with Campbell’s made one do some real thinking and 
