THE FRUIT TREE COBBLER

Northern Advocate, 18 February 1926, Page 6

THE FRUIT TREE COBBLER

ME HATTON TALKS ABOUT THE AET OF SHOEMAKING AT MAULING.

Few New Zealanders know much about the valuable research work, in progress at East Mailing Research Station. The “ South Eastern Gazette” gives a very interesting account of a lecture given by Mr. R. G. Hatton, M.A., director of the East Mailing Research Station on the subject of “ The East Mailing Research Station: Its Origin and Aims.” Mr. Hatton illustrated his talks by a

series of photographic and diagram-

matic lantern slides. Referring to the experiments in apple growing, the Erst problem, the lecturer said, was why trees of the same variety grew to such ■different heights. After experiment the trouble was found to be that the trees had a different size of boot! In other words, it was the same size that had been grafted, but the root system was quite different. There were trees where the shoe pinched and hindered devlopment, and other cases whore development went on unhindered. It seldom followed that the more wood the greater tlie fruit—generally ' the reverse was the fact. Haying discovered this, it was now possible to propagate very rapidly the right size of boot for the right soi;t of trees, which was the explanation of the little dogs’ graves (stool mounds), as he had overheard his growing root systems humorously called.

What an advantage it was to know, when buying, exactly what size tree they were going to have, was apparent, when they remembered the untidy gardens and the unprofitable orchards that could be thereby avoided. The experiments with the “ correctly fitting boots” were surprisingly successful in results, even the Bramley Seedling, which normally bore fruit only after it - had grown into a I large tree, had been kept a dw.atf, and had borne fruit ip its third year. Experiments had,'also been made in pruning, which very forcibly showed that the, normal method of pruning apple trees was not equally applicable to all varieties. Trees were like people, some wore irritable and easily vexed by the use of the knife. It was evidently easily possible to cut off just that part of the tree where the fruit bud would appear. - >

Turning to black currants, the lecturer showed* how they' had proved that, though called by a hundred different names, there were really only five different classes of Hack currant. Big bud could be destroyed by washing, but the wash must be applied at the moment the pest was issuing from the bud. When that was, the department which investigated the life of pests had been successful in discovering. In regard to raspberries, the surprising discovery was that there were only some 00 names for about a hundred dillerent varieties. By differentiating these the Research Station had made it possible for people to purchase what was being sold, and not some comparatively useless “ sport ” which went by the same name. \

In conclusion Mr. Hatton told of the increased interest being taken in the station. Every year inquiries were mnlti plying rapidly; visits were being People from as far as the united States, and even Japan, and the number of consultative visits by Mr. Hatton and his colleagues to fruit farms was increasing steadily.