270 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
SHOULD HAVE UNIFORM PRICES . 
The Sooner Leading Nurserymen of Country Come Together and 
Fix a Price for the Different Grades the Better It 
Will Be For All—Franklin Davis Nursery Company 
Declares That It Can Be Done—No Reason 
for Price Cutting This Season. 
Baltimore, Oct. 10.—Franklin Davis Nursery Co. : “ We 
are just in the midst of our fall digging, and while the weather 
is warm, stock is in pretty good condition for handling. 
“ Our sales for this season are beyond our expectations, 
especially in the wholesale line, and we are already sold out 
on a great many kinds of apple, plum and peach. 
“ Cherries are scarce and high, and very few two-year-olds 
can be had. japan plums are also scarce. 
“ Peaches will be scarce for spring delivery, and we look 
for an advance in prices. We can see some inclination with 
nurserymen to cut prices, and we must say that we are sorry to 
see it, especially when there is no occasion for it. Prices for 
a few seasons have been fair, and it should be our aim to keep 
them there. 
“ It is better to burn a few thousand trees and use the ashes 
on the poor land, then to sell them off in job lots at less than 
cost of production. We should have uniform prices for the 
different grades, and the sooner the leading nurserymen of the 
country come together and fix a price, the better it will be for 
all of us. It can be done. 
“ Our plantings last spring were heavy, especially in apple, 
peach, plum and cherry, and with a few exceptions our buds 
and grafts are looking well. We budded about 400,000 apple, 
and planted about half a million grafts. We have secured a 
new farm of 400 acres, adjoining us, and expect to jump on 
that next spring and plant about the same quantity as usual. 
Last spring we planted about 500 pounds of Japan pear seed 
and now have the finest lot of stocks we have ever grown. 
“ During the entire summer we had an abundance of rain 
and stock generally has made fine growth. 
“The labor question is getting to be a serious matter with 
us, as with others. Hands are scarce, and cannot be had at 
any price.” __ 
LENGTH OF GROWING PERIOD. 
F. Cranefield of the Wisconsin Experiment Station cites the 
following experiments : 
The length of the growing period of apple, pear, cherry, and 
plum trees has been studied by the station for the past 2 years. 
The growth of the branches was determined by careful 
measurements of selected branches at intervals of 2 to 4 days, 
until no further growth in length could be observed. On the 
trees under observation, no increase in the growth of the pear 
occurred after June 1, nor the cherry after May 27 With the 
apple, the branch growth ceased about June 4, and with the 
plum June 23. Examination of several hundred other orchard 
trees during the following July and August showed no indi¬ 
cations of further growth. The author points out in this con¬ 
nection that these observations were taken after one of the 
most severe winters ever known in Wisconsin. 
During the season of 1900 no growth on any of the trees 
under observation occurred after July 10, while with the pear 
tree growth ceased June 18, and with the apple and plum 
June 29. Other trees in the same orchard, however, continued 
to grow until October 1, “at which time most of the terminal 
buds examined appeared to be plump and fully formed.* This 
second growth on the other trees in the orchard began about 
July 15, and out of 325 trees examined 66 per cent, of the 
trees on cultivated soil and 21.1 percent, of those in sod made 
a second growth. “Several of these second-growth shoots 
were measured as in the previous case and were found to be 
growing rapidly, in some cases at the rate of x /i in. per day.’’ 
“No second growth was found in the cherry orchard, con¬ 
sisting mainly of Russian varieties, nor on any native plum 
trees, but all of the Japan plums developed a strong second 
growth. . . . Many apple grafts, top-worked on orchard trees 
in the spring of 1900, continued to grow several weeks later 
than the stocks. No flowers opened at any time, showing that 
only leaf buds developed, and of these only terminal buds.” 
In connection with these experiments, observations were 
made to determine, “if possible, the earliest and latest date 
on which the bark would peel or separate from the wood 
readily enough to permit of budding, and if this condition 
prevailed continuously throughout the season ; also to learn if 
the bark ‘set’ or tightened earlier on the smaller or larger 
branches. The method employed in the season of 1899 was 
to make T cuts similar to those employed in budding in 
branches of various sizes on trees of the various species 
previously mentioned. Several thousand of such cuts were 
made during the season, and as a result it was found that the 
bark could be peeled readily at any time on both large and 
small branches up to August 15 ; that after this date the bark 
was set on many of the smaller branches, although it could be 
easily peeled on the larger ones ; that no difference appeared 
to exist between trees of different ages ; that cultural condi¬ 
tions appeared to exert no influence ; that a wide difference 
existed between trees of the same variety, age, and external 
appearance, and that the difference was often greater between 
different branches of one tree than between different trees.” 
During the season of 1900 the bark slipped readily on all 
branches up to September 15. After this date it was found 
impossible to slip the bark from branches in. or less in 
diameter. On the larger branches it separated easily up to 
about September 25, and after October 3 it appeared firmly 
set on all branches, both large and small alike. “From this it 
would appear that the time when the bark sets varies with the 
season, as it could be peeled one month later in 1900 than in 
1899. It would also appear that it sets first on the smaller 
branches.” 
The duration of the period of root growth was determined 
by digging a narrow trench on May 25 about 2 ft. from the 
trunks of the different trees. In doing this, many roots were 
cut. The trenches were then filled with well-enriched earth. 
This earth when examined, July 10, showed that many active 
new roots had pushed out into the soil from the cut ends, the 
most extensive root growth being found with the cherry, 
followed in order by the plum, pear, and the apple, which had 
made the least growth. The new growth of roots was then 
cut off and the trenches refilled. An examination of the roots 
August 22, and again October 6, showed that in all cases good 
root growth had been made, although no growth of twigs had 
occurred on any of the trees later than July 1, as determined 
by a careful system of measurements. 
