ant buds at its base, ten rosettes of leaves from
the other buds, and a pushing terminal shoot.

On my branch this year, therefore, are 5 plus 3 plus 4, or 12 dormant
buds of all the years; 2 plus 14 plus 10, or 26 spurs; 1 terminal bud
continuing the onward growth.

[Illustration: 3. The bloom of the apple-tree]

It is evident that the last two years were good ones for my apple
limb, for the growths were long (19 and 15 inches) and most of the
buds produced spurs. The result is evidenced also in the fact that the
limb is this year laden with potential bloom. On 1918 the two spurs
bear flowers, one of them only a single bloom and the other five
blooms. On 1919 twelve of the fourteen spurs are bearing flowers in
the following numbers: 5 flowers, 5, 5, 7, 5, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 = 63
flowers. On 1920 are no spurs bearing flowers, but the terminal bud
(as is frequent on vigorous young trees) bears five flowers. Here,
therefore, on this yard of three-year-old twig are seventy-four
blossoms.

But there will not be seventy-four fruits; some of the flowers are
small and weak; others, as the petals fall, show unmistakable signs of
failing. A few of them show the plump form of an embryo apple: I think
there are a score of such promises. But I know that others will fail
later from physiological causes, and others probably from onslaught of
insects or disease or from accidents. If six fair fruits mature on a
branch like this, the crop will be good; and probably the branch would
not have vigor enough to set as many fruit-buds the following year or
to bear as many fruits.

It is good to watch the opening of the apple bloom: pink buds swelling
and puffing out each day, the woolly stems elongating, the five
overlapping incurving petals spreading and growing big, the stamens,
about twenty, straightening up and lengthening their filaments that
are attached on the flower-rim; the big light yellow anthers shedding
pollen; the five green styles in the center. In some flowers the
styles do not develop, and we have one reason why many flowers are
sterile.

The flower-clusters differ much among themselves, in size of parts,
number of flowers, color; on some trees the flowers appear in advance
of most of the leafage, but usually they are coincident with the
leaves. Sometimes the flower-stems or peduncles are branched, bearing
two or three flowers, and in that case there may be a small green leaf
or bract where the fork arises. The placi