1894. Shoot grew from D to beyond E.
Side bud of 2 grew to 4, and made a fruit-bud on its end; the other side bud grew on to 5, and there made a fruit-bud.
Side bud of 7 grew on to 10, and the other one to 8, each ending in a fruit-bud.
Buds on old shoot—1 to 12—still remained dormant.
Some of the buds on the 1893 growth—12 to D,—remained dormant; but some of them made fruit-spurs,—14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.
1895. Shoot grew from beyond E to 28.
Flowers were borne at 4 and 5; but at 4 the fruit fell early, for the five or six scars of the flowers can be seen, showing that no one of them developed more strongly than the other; that is, none of the flowers "set." A fairly good fruit was probably borne at 5. At the base of each, a bud started to continue the spur next year.
Upon the other spur, flowers were borne both at 8 and 10. At 10 none of the flowers set fruit, but a side bud developed. At 8 the fruit partially matured, and a side bud was also developed.
The buds upon the old stem from 1 to 12 still remained dormant.
Some of the spurs on the 1893 growth—12 to D—developed fruit-buds for bearing in 1896.
Some of the buds on the 1894 growth—D to beyond E—remained dormant, but others developed into small fruit-spurs. One of these buds, near the top of the 1894 growth, threw out a long shoot, starting from E; and the bud at 26 also endeavored to make a long branch, but failed.
1896. Main shoot grew from 28 to the end.
The side bud below 4 (where the fruit was borne the year before) barely lived, not elongating, as seen above 3. This branch of the spur is becoming weak and will never bear again. The side bud of 5, however, made a fairly good spur and developed a fruit-bud at its end, as seen at 6.
The side bud of 10 grew somewhat, making the very short spur 11. This branchlet is also getting weak. The bud of 8, however, developed a strong spur at 9. Both 11 and 9 bear fruit-buds, but that on 11 is probably too weak ever to bear fruit again. In fact, the entire spurs, from 1 to 6 and 1 to 9, are too weak to be of much account for fruit-bearing.
This year several of the spurs along the 1893 growth—12 to D—bore flowers. Flowers were borne from two buds on the first one (at 13 and 14), but none of the flowers "set." One of the little apples that died last June still clings to the spur at 14. A side bud (15) formed to continue the spur in 1897. Flowers were borne at 16, 20, 21, and 23, but no apples developed. Upon 16 and 20 the flowers died soon after they opened, as seen by the remains of them. Upon 23, one of the flowers set an apple, but the apple soon died. The spurs 17 and 18 are so weak that they have never made fruit-buds, and they are now nearly dead. The spurs 19 and 22 have behaved differently. Like the others, they grew in 1894 and would have made terminal fruit-buds in 1895, and would have borne fruit in 1896; but the terminal buds were broken off in the fall or winter of 1894, so that two side buds developed in 1895, and each of these developed a fruit-bud at its end in 1896 in the spur 19, but only one of them developed such a bud in 22. Upon these spurs, therefore, the bearing year has been changed.
Upon the growth of 1894—D to beyond E—only three spurs have developed, nos. 24, 25, 26. These started out in 1895, and two of them—25 and 26—have made large fat buds which are evidently fruit-buds. The shoot at E grew on to EE, and all the buds on its lower two-year-old portion remained dormant.
On the 1895 growth—from beyond E to 28—all the buds remained dormant save one, and this one—27—made only a very feeble attempt to grow into a spur.
The buds upon the 1892 growth—1 to 12—are still dormant and waiting for an opportunity to grow.
What an eventful history this apple twig has had! And yet in all the seven years of its life, after having made fifteen efforts to bear fruit, it has not produced a single good apple! The fault, therefore, does not lie in the shoot. It has done the best it could. The trouble has been that the farmer either did not give the tree enough food to enable it to support the fruit, or did not prune the tree so as to give the twig light and room, or allowed apple-scab or some other disease to kill the young apples as they were forming. I am wondering, therefore, whether, when trees fail to bear, it is not quite as often the fault of the farmer as it is of the trees?
LEAFLET XXXII.
THE BURST OF SPRING.[44]
By L. H. BAILEY.
Spring is coming! The buds will burst and the birds will sing!
How do the buds burst? Watch them as the spring opens; or, if you are impatient, cut long twigs and place them in bottles of water in a living-room, and the buds will swell. First, notice what the winter buds are like,—that they are spherical, or oblong, or conical bodies lying close to the limb and tightly covered with scales. Notice that there is a mark or scar beneath the bud, showing where a leaf was borne.
It is excellent practice to collect winter twigs of different kinds of trees and bushes, and to compare the form and color of the shoots, and the size, shape, color, and make-up of the buds. Lay the twigs side by side on the table and notice how one differs from the other. What part of the twig grew last year? Notice the "ring" at the base of the last year's growth. After all the differences are noted, put the twigs in water, as you would a bouquet. Sometimes flowers and leaves will appear. If the twigs are two or three feet long, the buds are more likely to grow, for then there is sufficient supply of food in them. Change the water frequently, and cut off the lower ends of the twigs so that a fresh surface will be exposed to the water. It will be two to five weeks before the buds open, depending mostly on the kind of plant.