466 
JOURN'AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  8,  1893^ 
BLOSSOM  BUD  FORMATION. 
Taking  the  four  questions  propounded  in  the  Journal  of  Horti¬ 
culture  lor  the  week  ending  May  llth,  seriatim,  the  first — “  What  is  a 
blos-iom  bud  ?”  is  superficially  a  simple  question,  although  underneath 
lie  X iture's  secrets  of  reproduction.  Secrets?  Yes,  and  such  as  will, 
probably,  never  be  divulged  to  the  keenest  scientific  vision.  Lmerson 
defines  this  limit  in  saying,  “All  we  know  of  the  egg  (the  embryo) 
from  each  successive  discovery  is  another  vesicle  (cell),  and  if  after  five 
hundred  years  jmu  get  a  better  observer,  or  a  better  gins-’,  he  finds 
within  the  last  observed  another.  In  vegetable  and  animal  tissue  it  is 
just  alilte.”  A  blossom  bud,  as  I  take  it,  is  the  embryo  fruit, 
os  the  wood  bud  is  the  embryo  o'  woody  growth ;  or,  in  the  animal 
kingdom,  the  egg,  or  other  vesicle  oontaining  the  germ  of  life  is  the 
embryo  animal. 
“  Ilou)  fs  it  Formed'^  ” — By  a  change  in  life  of  the  tree,  jdnnt,  or 
other  vegetable,  arising  from,  or  contingent  upon,  what  Dr.  Lindlev 
has  termed  the  age  of  puberty.  'I'he  doctor's  theory,  which  is  very 
|iracticil  for  our  purpose,  is,  that  the  time  of  this  change  depends, 
in  a  measure,  upon  adventitious  circumstances,  but  more  upon  the 
idiosvncra.sy  or  constitutional  peculiarity  of  the  individual.  The  latter 
is,  of  course,  an  inherent  hereditary  power,  not  liable  to  change,  but 
capable  of  being  affected  in  some  degree  by  external  influences. 
“  What  Ilelin  and  trdiat  Hinder!^  it'.  Production  1'' — Dpon  this 
compound  question  is  hinged  the  door  opening  to  those  external 
influences  included  in  “adventitious  circumstances.”  The  age  of 
puberty  is,  to  more  or  less  extent,  the  age  of  maturation  ;  such 
maturation  not  necessarily  implying  the  completion  of  g'-owth  (as  in 
many  annuals),  of  which  there  are  innumerable  examples  in  both 
kingdoms  of  life,  showing  that  reproduction  is  not  the  sole  end  and 
aim  of  individual  existence.  “  Adventitious  circumstances”  are  many 
and  varied,  comprising  both  helps  and  hindrances  to  natural  plans. 
Those  pertinent  to  our  present  purpose  may  be  briefly  stated  as  h'cal 
suitability;  checks  to  gross  growth  by  root-pruning,  and  judicious 
pinching  and  pruning,  which  matters  have  lately  engaged  the  attention 
of  writers  and  readers  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture.  Such  aie 
undoubtedly  aids  to  maturation,  and  consequent  fruitfulness,  and  to 
health.  The  laws  of  health  embrace  the  functions  of  life,  and  fruit¬ 
fulness  to  the  end  of  reproduction  is  a  piimary  power  in  the  well-being 
of  the  subject. 
Q  icstion  4  introduces  phases  which  appear  to  be  departures 
from  the  normal.  Given  a  healthy  tree  furnished  with  well  developed 
(ruit  buds,  it  does  not  seem  within  the  bounds  of  possibility  to  change 
them  by  any  course  of  treatment  into  growth  buds.  That  treatment 
could  be  employed  to  render  the  blossom  buds  abortive  is  another 
matter;  in  wiiich  case  the  sip  would  (as  1  believe  is  not  seldom  the 
case)  be  diverted  to  the  formation  of  wood  buds  upon  the  spur  in 
proximity  to  the  abortive  blossom  bud.  Probably,  and  my  limited 
observation  tends  to  this  theory,  the  blossom  buds  produced  from  the 
spur  are  generally  accompanied  by  obscure,  latent  wood  buds  ready 
for  development  should  the  function  of  the  former  fail.  Superficial 
observation  of  this  ]rrocedure  may,  of  course,  give  rise  to  the  supposi¬ 
tion  that  a  blossom  buil  (the  embryo  fruit)  can  undergo  the 
metamorjihosis  of  cju version  into  a  growth  bud. — K. 
Dnder  the  closing  paragraphs  of  “Pinching  Fruit  Trees,”  a 
subject  that  has  recently  claimed  a  prominent  notice  from  several 
well  known  contributors  of  the  Journal,  the  questions  on  the  above 
subject  call  for  deeper  thought  than  did  the  pinching  of  fruit  trees. 
This  comes  under  the  heading  “  Blossom  Bud  Formation,”  divided 
into  four  separated  jraragraphs. 
What  'IS  a  Blossom  .^—Thi.s  requires  an  education  in  scientific 
terms  to  satisfactorily  explain.  Briefly,  it  is  the  organ  containing  the 
various  and  delicate  parts — pistil,  stamens,  petals,  &c. — that  go  to 
form  pollen  grains,  whereby  the  flower  becomes  fructified,  either 
naturaliy  or  by  insect  aid,  and  is  distinguished  from  the  wood  or  leaf 
bud  both  in  formation  and  purpose. 
How  is  it  Formed?  is  a  question  not  less  difficult  to  explain 
definitely,  since  the  process  of  formation  extends  throughout  the 
autumn  and  late  summer  months,  slowly  developing  from  one  stage 
to  another  through  the  influence  of  sunshine  and  rain,  and  the  ebb 
and  flow  ot  sap  in  the  bark  channels.  There  would  seem  to  be  mu:h 
greater  activity  in  the  autumn  in  the  growth  of  the  blossom  bud, 
which  goes  to  show  that  the  change  in  the  constitution  of  the  s^p  has 
a  direct  bearing  on  the  formation  of  Iruit  buds.  The  leaf  or  wood 
bu]  is  apparent  in  early  summer  nestling  in  the  axil  of  the  leafstalk 
in  stone  Iruits,  but  not  so  the  fruit  bud;  and  in  Apples  or  Pears  it  is 
not  easy  to  decide  definitely  which  are  flower  buds  at  such  an  early 
date. 
It  is  curious  to  note  what  a  contrasting  difference  there  is  betw'een 
Peaches  and  Nectarines  that  are  forced  and  those  which  are  allowed  to 
make  their  growth  under  more  natural  conditions — -in  cool  houses  or 
jU  the  open.  In  the  latter  case  the  buds  assume  a  plumpness  by  the  j 
autumn  that  is  seldom  witnessed  in  a  forced  tree,  and  they  are  suscep¬ 
tible  to  weather  change.s  that  d)  not  seem  to  aff.ct  trees  that  are 
forced.  With  a  mild  winter  tlie  buds  in  a  cold  house  will  show  more 
activity  in  bud  with  the  ventilato.-s  lully  open,  than  will  those  in  the 
early  house  after  several  weeks  close  confinement,  accompanied  by  a 
little  fire  heat,  and  daily  syriniing  of  the  branches. 
What  Helps,  and  ivhat  Hinders  its  Production  ? — The  state  of 
the  wother  is  accountable  for  much,  either  in  help  or  1  indrance,  and 
so  are  the  means  and  provisions  for  attending  to  the  cultural  needs  of 
the  trees  from  the  snring,  when  the  leaves  appear,  until  their  fall  in 
autumn.  Extreme  drought  on  the  one  hand  and  continuous  wet  on  the 
o'her  arc  both  hindrances  to  a  certain  extent,  as  also  is  indifferent  root 
cultivatioti.  'Frees  whoae  roots  are  allowed  to  penetrate  deeply  into 
the  old  subsoil  make  a  rampant  growth  that  can  seldom  be  made 
fruit'td,  no  matter  what  the  conditions  of  culture  may  be  otherwise. 
Wall  tries  that  have  their  roots  near  the  surface,  and  are  neither 
watered  nor  mii'ched  with  some  kind  of  protective  material  in  times  of 
severe  droughr,  fail  to  develop  healthy  buds,  as  they  do  when  the 
roots  are  deeply  dug  annually  and  the  ground  cropped  with  strong¬ 
growing  vegetables. 
Insect  enemifs  of  fruit  trees  in  their  varied  forms  account  for  some 
hindrances,  especially  if  they  are  not  promptly  dealt  with.  In  the 
case  of  P’  aches  on  open  walls,  wh  ro  there  is  no  glass  coping  or  other 
ample  jirotection  ]>rovided,  llis  ering  of  the  leaves  will  sometimes 
assume  serious  ]  roportions.  I  have  had  to  remove  leaves  twice  and 
three  times  during  the  early  season,  almost  entirely  defoliating  the 
branches  for  the  time.  This  certainly  hinders  the  production  of 
blossom  buds,  and  seriously  weakens  the  trees.  'I  he  judicious  pinching 
of  the  summer  shoots  is  a  means  for  materially  extending  bud  pro¬ 
duction.  If  pinching  is  practised  too  early  in  summer  it  forces  lateral 
growth,  which  often  is  too  soft  and  late  to  form  flower  buds. 
Jf  and  in  what  way  a  Blossom  Bud  can  he  changed  into  a  Groivth 
Bud? — I  have  often  noted  in  App’es  and  Pea's,  which  prior  to  the 
time  of  prur.ingin  winter  had  buds  giving  every  indication  and  promise 
of  being  blossom  bmD,  change  the  j'ros]  ect  most  disappointingly 
later  on  when  one  1  loked  for  the  expanding  ilowirs.  I  have  n  diced, 
too,  that  those  who  persist  in  shortening  strong  shoots  of  eitln  r  Apples 
or  Pears  often  get  s;  arse  croi'‘=',  (rom  what  I  piestime  to  be  a  conversion 
of  fruit  into  wood  bids?  Vines  wh’ch  am  unsatisfict''Ty  at  the  root 
and  are  not  well  ripened  in  th-’ir  lateral  wood  will,  if  hard  forced  in 
spring  nroduce  tendrils  instead  of  Grape.s.  Cases  have  been  recorded 
where  Vin-s  which  in  the  first  break  produced  bainn  laterals  have  by 
skilful  mauipulation  change  1  into  fruitful  ones  the  same  season  by 
severe  pruning,  .and  forcing  a  second  break.  Needless  to  say,  this 
occurred  only  with  early  started  Vine«. 
Brief!}’,  “  bh  ssoaa-bud  formation”  depends  largely  on  tl;e  methods 
of  pruning  adopted,  erneral  cultural  a'trntion  bo  h  in  root  and  branch, 
and  the  weather.  Neglect  the  roots  in  st’ong  sod,  and  blossoms 
become  scant  thn  ugh  over-luxuriance;  in  poor  soil  bud  formation  is 
hindered  through  starvation,  while  ra'io’ial  treatnaent  in  both  cases 
reMilts  in  abundance  of  healthy  buds,  v?hidi.  with  favourable  weather, 
is  followed  ly  full  crops  of  fruit. — W.  S.,  Wilts. 
A  GREAT  and  important  subject  was  opened  by  the  qiustions  in  the 
Journal  on  IMiy  llth,  and  if  only  a  thhe  of  the  readers  express  their 
opinions  end  lelite  their  experiences  lully  the  Editor  would  have 
sufficient  “  copy  ”  to  last  for  a  year  or  two.  Each  of  the  questions 
would  require  a  long  discourse  to  do  it  full  justice,  and  much  would 
still  1)3  lelt  unsaid.  I  rather  startled  a  had  recently,  who  thought  he 
could  master  the  avhole  art  and  science  of  horticulture  in  six  months, 
by  telling  him  that  I  was  “ stiff  learning,”  and  he  seemed  to  think 
it  an  appal  dm:  state  of  affairs  tlat  a  man  at  my  age  should  be  “  still 
learning.”  I  fancy,  with  regard  to  the  subject  started,  that  this  will 
be  the  condition  of  manv  of  yo'ir  realers,  as  it  is  most  complex,  and 
requires  working  out  most  caiefully  to  arrive  at  any  definite  con¬ 
clusions. 
1,  What  is  a  Blossom  Bud  ? — Theoretically  it  is  a  metamorphosed 
or  altered  growth  bud,  in  which  all  the  parts — sepals,  pet.als,  .stamens 
(anthers),  .and  carpehs  (pistils),  represent  a  leaf  structure  converted  to 
a  special  purpose,  either  protective  o'-  reproductive.  We  therefore 
find  occasional! V  all  these  paits  assuming  the  true  leaf-form,  colour, 
and  mture.  We  also  find  the  parts  becoming  converted  into  each 
other;  thus  stamens  may  develop  iido  petals,  and  even  c.arpels  will 
also  become  petaloid  in  perfectly  double  flowers. 
2,  How  is  it  Formed? — All  blossom  buds  originate  from  the 
accumulation  of  substances  in  the  branches  or  stems,  elaborated  by 
leaves  mostly  as  starch  rendered  soluble  and  transferable  as  some  form 
of  sugar  with  probably  other  matter.  In  the  case  of  deciduous  trees 
thi.s  is  partly  deposited  at  the  b<ase  of  the  leafstalk,  hence  it  is 
commonly  in  the  axil  of  the  leaf  that  b(th  flower  and  growth  buds  are 
formed.  Without  healthy,  well  developed  leaves,  we  either  get  no  buds, 
or  they  a'e  weakly  and  imperfect.  The  lul  is,  therefore,  firmed  by 
the  leaf,  just  .as  in  the  case  of  Begonias,  Bryophvllum,  and  some  other 
plants,  growth  buds  are  formed,  under  suitable  conditions,  on  their 
