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12      PROCEEDINGS OF THE WISCONSIN STATE
growers, who will be willing to undertake their further
propagation on such terms as the association may prescribe.
The seed qf the above varieties produced at the Experi-
mental station was planted on sections of the Experimental
station for the purpose of ascertaining to what extent their
fruit would resemble the berries from which they were
derived. In short, this was done to determine the degree of
variation that cranberry seedlings would show. As a rule,
most wild seeds are true to their parental type, but the seed
of the cranberry seems to be an exception to this rule.
Besides the seeds planted at the Experimental station, a
large amount of seed taken from fruit sent us for exhibition
at the last annual meeting was planted near the northeast
corner of the nursery.
The only other planting done at the nursery was the
completion of the upper section, which is planted to Metal-
lic Bell vines received from the Shennington marsh.
This method of seeking to improve the cranberry by
selecting and propagating such varieties as may be found
in nature shQuld be continued as long as men continue to
grow cranberries. While much might be done by cross-
fertilization, this method requires skill, time and scientific
training that we are not likely to be able to-secure, and
even if we could secure it, it is doubtful if we could secure
larger results than may be secured by diligently selecting
such varieties as nature produces.
We have now nearly all the varieties to be found in the
United States, and while we expect to add in the future
mostly foreign varieties, we do not expect from them any
specially fine results. It is seldom that any imported plant
does even as well as it did in its native country. The best
results will be secured from improving our native varieties.
and the chances are that it would be best for each grower
to improve the natural varieties found in his vicinity.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
JAMES GAYNOR.
The Blossom Bud.
Every observant fruit grower, whether interested in
apples or cranberries, has noticed that one year he will have
a great profusion of blossoms, and another, a decided
scarcity. Without blossoms there can be no fruit, hence.
it is of the highest importance to determine what the con-
ditions are that give a fair supply of the blossom buds.
upon which success depends.
The cranberry vine, like most other plants, is divided
into joints. While these joints are not as apparent as in
the corn stalk, the elder bush, or grape vine, yet they are
joints all the same, and at the end of each joint there is a
leaf, and in the crotch or axil of every leaf, a bud. A bud
in the axil of a leaf is called a lateral bud to distinguish