Title: Pennsylvania State {Horticultural Association news, 1937 Place of Publication: State College, Pa. Copyright Date: 1937 Master Negative Storage Number: MNS# PSt SNPaAg229.7 <2076226> * Form:serial 2 lnput:HHS Edit:FMD 008 ENT: 980309 TYP: d DT1: 1924 DT2: 19uu FRE: a LAN: eng 037 PSt SNPaAg095. 1-097.5,229.7-229.8 $bPreservation Office, The Pennsylvania State University, Pattee Library, University Park, PA 16802-1805 090 20 Microfilm D344 reel 95.1-97.5,229.7-229.8 $cmc+(service copy, print master, archival master) $s+U1V4X1924-U22V1X1945 245 00 Pennsylvania State Horticultural Association news $cpublished by the Association 260 State College, Pa. $bThe Association 300 V. $bill. $c23 cm. 362 1 Began in 1 924 500 Description based on: Vol. 1 , no. 4 (Mar. 1924) 515 Proceedings of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania for 1929- also called 65th annual meeting- 51 5 One number each year called also: "Proceedings of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania", and carries its own numbering, 1924 (6th annual meeting)- 533 Microfilm $mv.1,no.4-v.22,no.1 (1924-1 945) $bUniversity Park, Pa. : $cPennsylvania State University $d1998 $e4 microfilm reels ; 35 mm. $f(USAIN state and local literature preservation project. Pennsylvania) $f(Pennsylvania agricultural literature on microfilm) 590 Archival master stored at National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD : print master stored at remote facility 650 0 Fruit-culture $xPeriodicals 650 0 Fruit-culture $zPennsylvania $xPeriodicals 710 2 State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania 787 9 State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania $tProceedings of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania for ... 830 0 USAIN state and local literature preservation project $pPennsylvania 830 0 Pennsylvania agricultural literature on microfilm r; i- V \ ). t Pennsylvania State Horticultural Association News PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION luued Quarterly at Stote College, Pa. Subicription Included in Annual Duei of $2.00 Entered 0$ xecoruiddji matter at the Post Office at State College, Pa. Vol. XIV State College, fa.. March, 1937 No. 1 Proceedings of the Seventy-eighth Annual Meeting Farm Show Building, Harrishurg, Pa. January 20 and 21, 1937 SPRING TIME AND PLANTING TIME ARE JUST ABOUT HERE THE WISE MAN Plans and Plants or tne Future WE SPECIALIZE IN APPLE TREES and PEACH TREES STRAWBERRY and RASPBERRY PLANTS GRAPEVINES and ASPARAGUS PLANTS We Offer one of the Most UP TO DATE and PRACTICAL LISTINGS OF NEW AND IMPROVED FRUITS AVAILABLE TO THE PLANTERS TODAY. INCREASE YOUR PROFITS BY PLANTING ONLY THE BEST. OUR PRODUCTS ARE GROWN SCIENTIFICALLY AT A LOCA- TION GENERALLY RECOGNIZED AS A FAVORED SPOT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HARDY AND THRIFTY NURSERY STOCK. OUR FRUIT TREES ARE INSPECTED YEARLY FOR TRUENESS TO NAME BY THE GREATEST AUTHORITIES IN THE WORLD ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF VARIETIES BY LEAF AND GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS. OUR STOCK IS DUG WITH THE MOST MOD- ERN DIGGING EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE. "OUR SERVICE AND STOCK WILL PLEASE YOU" ONE OF THE EASTS LARGEST NURSERIES, SELLING DIRECT TO THE PLANTERS, AWAITS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE YOU. SEND FOR OUR COMPLETE CATALOGUE TODAY- Bountiful Ridge Nurseries PRINCESS ANNE :: :: MARYLAND "A Progressive Nursery Striving to Always have the Best for THEIR Patrons" Pennsylvania State Horticultural Association News PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION Issued Quarterly at Slate College, Pa. Annual Dues, Including Subscription, $2.00 Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at State College, Pa. Vol. XIV State College, Pa., March, 1937 No, 1 Proceedings of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania for 1937 ^ Seventy-eighth oAnnual SMeeting Held in Harrishurg, Pa., January 20-21 19 3 7 SPRING TIME AND PLANTING TIME ARE JUST ABOUT HERE THE WISE MAN Plans and Plants For the WE SPECIALIZE IN APPLE TREES and PEACH TREES Future STRAWBERRY and RASPBERRY PLANTS GRAPEVINES and ASPARAGUS PLANTS We Offer one of the Most UP TO DATE and PRACTICAL LISTINGS OF NEW AND IMPROVED FRUITS AVAILABLE TO THE PLANTERS TODAY. INCREASE YOUR PROFITS BY PLANTING ONLY THE BEST. OUR PRODUCTS ARE GROWN SCIENTIFICALLY AT A LOCA- TION GENERALLY RECOGNIZED AS A FAVORED SPOT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HARDY AND THRIFTY NURSERY STOCK. OUR FRUIT TREES ARE INSPECTED YEARLY FOR TRUENBSS TO NAME BY THE GREATEST AUTHORITIES IN THE WORLD ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF VARIETIES BY LEAF AND GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS. OUR STOCK IS DUG WITH THE MOST MOD- ERN DIGGING EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE. "OUR SERVICE AND STOCK WILL PLEASE YOU" ONE OF THE EASTS LARGEST NURSERIES, SELLING DIRECT TO THE PLANTERS, AWAITS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE YOU. SEND FOR OUR COMPLETE CATALOGUE TODAY- Bountifui Ridge Nurseries PRINCESS ANNE :: :: MARYLAND "A Progreasive Nursery Striving to Always have the Best for THEIR Patrons" w \ h^ h* f. Pennsylvania State Horticultural Association News PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION litutd Qu.rttrly at Stole Coll.st, P.. Annual Du«f, Including Subscription, $8.00 Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at State College, Pa. Vol, XIV State College, Pa., March, 1937 No,l Proceedings of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania • for 1937 ^ Seventy-eighth oAnnual Meeting Held in Harrisburg, Pa., January 20-21 19 3 7 INTENTIONAL 2ND EXPOSURE State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania OFFICERS FOR 1937 President R. J. Gillan, St. Thomas Vice President J. A. Runk, Huntingdon Secretary Treasurer J. U. Ruef, State College C. B. Snyder, Ephrata Executive Committee: The above named officers and C. J. Tyson, Gardners; H. M. Anderson, New Park; J. Eric Linde, Orefield; H. F. Hershey, Hamburg. STANDING COMMITTEES Legislation and Representatives on Agricultural Council: C. J. Tyson, Ch.; H. S. Nolt, Columbia; R. T. Criswell, Chambersburg, (Representative on Tax Com- mitt^). State Farm Show and Exhibition: John Ruef, State College, Ch.; Paul Thayer, Carlisle; R. C. McDonald, Shippensburg. Insect Pests: H. N. Worthley, State College, Ch.; H. E. Hodgkiss, State College. Plant Diseases: H. W. Thurston, State College, Ch.; R. S. Kirby, State College; K. W. Lauer, Harrisburg. Game Laws: J. A. Runk, Huntingdon, Ch.; Geo. Balthaser, Wemersville; R. H. Bell, Harrisburg. True-to-Name-Trees: F. N. Fagan, State College, Ch.; G. L. Baugher, Aspers. Inspection Fund: R. R. Wilkinson, Bureau of Markets, Harrisburg, Ch.; M. E. Knouse, Peach Glen; C. J. Tyson, Gardners; Norman Davidson, Chambersburg; H. F. Hershey, Hamburg. 4 4 • SECRETARY'S REPORT R. H. SUDDS, State College With this meeting I terminate my seven-year term °{^^'^^^l\^^^ Association as Secretary, because of acceptance of a P^f '?f '" J.^f. Virginia. Only one other man has served you longer m this capacity he was the late Enos B. Engle who was secretary for a total of thirty- *7 have\een secretary through one of the most trying times in the 78 years history of this association. The depression ^f^^^^^^^^^ °«Xled swing in 1930 when I was elected; now, when I am askmg *« ^e jelieved of the duties of this office, recovery has come out completely from around the corner where it was in hidmg for so long. I point with great pride to the progress we have made during the past severyears. The mWbership has been increased moderate y and the association is a more compact and unified group than when 1 hrst tooK over Ou? News Letters other than the Proceedings have been increased Ts ze and value and our advertising has become an important feature of our revenues. Now our Proceedings are sent all over the world. The correspondence connected with the secretary's office has increased manv fold so that the number now exceeds a thousand a year. 1 ne Tlue of this society to all of you has been increased greatly and it will "^The Droeress made by the Association is not a result of the work of onlv one man I have been fortunate in having as presidents a dis- Suished succession of men: I refer to Dr. J. S^ Ri"enhouse, Lora^e; Mr R T Criswell, Chambersburg; Mr. F. C. Reiter, Mars, and Mr. HFHerehey! Hamburg. You are indeed fortunate to have had such Jntlemen to'^pfeside over your deliberations. May your selections continue to be as wise!. „ , , ^ I must not neglect to mention Mr. C. B. Snyder, Ephrata, our treas- urer who has held that position for nine years It is with regret that I se^eT offidal connections with Mr. Snyder as one of the fellow officers of the society. Don M. James, Bureau of Markets, has been of great service to us at each winter meeting. Manv others of you have been of considerable assistance to the wel- fare oF^his group as a whole and if I have not referred to you by name, it is not because I have failed to appreciate your efforts. Now for a more personal note: I am leaving Pennsylvania simply because I have been offered a much superior Po^'t'"" '" ^est V.rg n a. I see there an opportunity to be of greater service to the industry. Although m another statef I shall often be closer to you in southern Pennsylvania than when at State College, for I shal have the hort - cultural work at the KearneysviUe station as a P"* "^ ^/JfP""^;^'^: ties. I hope that when we meet elsewhere you will not fail to make yourself known, for I may not recognize all of you immediately. To proceed with Association affairs, at this time I regret to report the passing last September of Mr. H. E. Rozelle, Pittston. He was a familiar figure for many years at our meetings. — 3 — No banquet was scheduled this year because of the lack of a suitable place in which to hold it. The banquet last year in which we lost 54 dollars showed that it is indeed hazardous to guarantee any large attend- ance during the weather conditions liable to prevail during Farm Show week. Although you decided to continue meeting with and during the Show, I predict you will come eventually to considering some substitute, unless conditions at Harrisburg, both in the city and in the Show Build- ing, improve greatly. Our Summer Meeting, held at State College, on the last Monday and Tuesday of July, was quite a success. I would remind you that no motion was made relative to the place and time of the 1937 Summer Meeting. The 1936 Summer Tour, through New Jersey, was a great success although very poorly attended. I shall be glad to have the Association's 1937 Summer Tour visit West Virginia, if it be the judgment of your affairs that there is the place to go. Should you decide to come, I shall be pleased to plan and escort your group during your stay in West Virginia. County tours will also be welcome. Certain nurserymen are still showing a tendency to rename varieties already properly named. Along this line, I shall have for your later consideration, a resolution which is now being promoted at the January meetings of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association. The im- proper renaming of varieties is at least a source of confusion and as it is usually practiced is downright dishonesty. Mr. J. T. Bregger, Waynesboro, Associate Secretary of the American Pomological Society and Chairman of the Summer Tour Committee of that body, requests me to announce that the American Pomological Society is planning for this year a three-week tour to the West Coast. This tour will be made in special Pullman cars and probably will cover the Grand Valley, Colorado; one or two California fruit districts; Rogue River and Hood River Valleys of Oregon; Yakima or Wenatchee Valleys of Washington, and perhaps the Bitter Root Valley of Montana. The probable date will be the last half of June and the first week in July. If you are interested, please see Mr. Bregger. I would call your attention to discussions of two growers' organiza- tions engaged in promoting the apple publicity welfare of fruit growers in Pennsylvania. J. Eric Linde, Orefield, will speak on the Berks- Lehigh Mountain Fruit Growers Association, while Sheldon W. Funk, Boyertown, will explain the organization, aims, and operation of Appa- lachian Apples, Inc. The S. W. Fletcher prizes for essays on horticulture written by voca- tional high school students will be awarded by Dr. Fletcher in person. We hope this anntial award will stimulate interest in fruit growing among the younger people. The arrangements with the American Fruit Grower will likely be continued. That magazine has held up in quaUty thus far and is the only real fruit growing publication in the East. Interesting Uttle items from you are always appreciated by the editors. — 4 — TREASURER'S REPORT, 1936 C. B. SNYDER, Ephrata Receipts to January 19, 1937- l'o39.44 Expenditures. ' — ^ t^ u J 255.94 Cash on nana \ i^" i 622 96 Savings Account, Ephrata National Bank__- onnoo University Ave., N. Y. City Apartment Bonds ^^-^ $1,078.90 We have audited the accounts of the State Horticultural Association of Pen^yWania as submitted by the treasurer, Mr. Snyder, and found them to be correct. (Signed) Auditing Committee. Geo. Rohrer Francis G. Reiter. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES Resolutions Committee The following resolutions were submitted for the decision of the association and acted upon as indicated: . , ,, „,:^, WHEREAS it appears that certain nurseries have revived the practice of ™ing varieties; and whereas this practice can only ^e^f ^^^^^^^^^ fusion and ultimately in injury to the nursery concerned, be it resolved th«t the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvama assembled in conven^^^^^^^ Pennsylvania, condemn this Practice and be ft Ser resolved that the secretary be instructed to send a copy of this reslt^^^^^ nurseryman guilty of the practice of renaming varieties. (Approved) WHEREAS: We realize the value of meeting with fellow fruit- growers from our neighboring states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland a^d have enjoyed%nd profited by the exchange of ideas with them individually, and WHEREAS: We believe our problems and interests are so closely allied as to be practically common problems and interests, and WHEREAS: We beUeve that a close associadon between the fruit- growers of our four States would be of inestimable value in our efforts Essfuny tJmeet the problems which will confront us, now, therefore, RF IT RESOLVED: That our officers should confer with the officers of the Horticultural Societies in the other three states to see what can be done t^ bring about the closest possible cooperation between the four Societies, and be it further RESOLVED: That our officers suggest the advisability First, of Joint Annual Meetings. Second, of a joint publication of outstanding merit and value. Third, The formation of a Four-State Association of Frmt-Growers to be organized and operated along efficient hnes for the material advantages to be mutually gained. (Approved) -5J- BECAUSE the agricultural interests of Pennsylvania cannot progress and prosper without safe, adequate highways, and BECAUSE the farmer and his truck constitute an important part of the highway transportation industry of the state and contribute a large share of license fees and gasoline taxes, and BECAUSE there is an ever present tendency to use the funds built up from these fees and taxes for expenses that bring no benefit at all to the highways, THEREFORE, we, the members of the State Horticultural Asso- ciation of Pennsylvania hereby resolve that the only method of genuinely protecting highway funds for our own use is through an Amendment to the Constitution preventing any diversion of these funds. We also hereby request that such an Amendment be enacted by the Legislature as soon as they can do so. (Approved) WHEREAS the 1935 session of the General Assembly, in Act No. 423, appropriated $600,000 (later reduced to $25,000) for the purpose of studying the effects of vitamin concentrates on undernourished school children of Pennsylvania, WHEREAS Pennsylvania abounds in milk, fruits, and vegetables, and, WHEREAS it will benefit not only the producers and dealers in such products but also the children to use natural foods, NOW THEREFORE be it resolved by the members of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania, that any further appropria- tions for the purpose of securing vitamins or minerals as an aid to cor- recting malnutrition in children include also the purchase of milk, fruits, vegetables, and other foods containing vitamins or minerals in their natural form. (Approved) WHEREAS, Don M. James, Bureau of Markets, has again been of great value to the Association for his services in connection with our annual meetings, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the members of the State Horti- cultural Association of Pennsylvania, that we thank him once more for his work and that we send Secretary French a copy of this resolution. (Approved) WHEREAS, Dr. Richard H. Sudds, for a period of seven years has served the association efficiently as secretary, BE IT RESOLVED that this association express sincere appreciation of his efforts and extend to him best wishes for success in his new field of endeavor at West Virginia University. (Approved) WHEREAS, the intolerable conditions in the assigned meeting room, made it impossible to conduct our program in a satisfactory manner, and, WHEREAS, the conditions are becoming worse each year, — 6 — Arsenate of Lead ^i^^':'-^ Containing as high percentage of kilhng in- gredients as is possible to incorporate m an approved commercial arsenate of lead, ORAb- SELLI assured you of a high percentage control of codling moth. When used with summer oils this product acts as both an insecticide and an ovicide. In addition, it goes into easy suspension in the spray rig and works well through long lines, thus eliminating costly delays due to sludge, clogged screens and nozzles and blocked Ime^. See your Grasselli dealer. NUREXFORM ARSENATE OF LEAD NuREXFORM is unusually effective in con- trolling codling moth and many other chewing insects It is the ideal Arsenate of Lead for combining with Lime Sulphur, the natural reac- tion being reduced to a minimum. NuREXFORM remains in suspension. No settlings in the tank of your sprayer— no sedi- ment to be scraped off the bottom and thrown away. E I DU PONT DE NEMOURS & COMPANY, INC. E. I. UU l-^y^gj^jl^Ll CHEMICALS DEPARTMENT ^ (jjjjp) Wllmin9ton, Delaware — 7 THEREFORE be it resolved that the State Horticultural Associa- tion of Pennsylvania transfer the place of its annual winter meeting to Hershey or another satisfactory place. (Rejected) Resolutions Committee, H. W. Skinner, Chairman. Legislative Committee (Including Representation on State Agricultural Council) The State Council has undergone some changes in organization and owing to an error in the records, this association has not been notified of recent meetings. Many matters of importance to Agriculture have been fostered and worked out by the Council over the years since its organization, among such matters being: Rural taxation studies and the endorsement of tax reform measures; extension of rural electrification advantageously to our farm people; the support of State College in the Legislature, especially in regard to agricultural research and extension. It was moved, seconded and carried, to continue the representation of the State Horticultural Association in the State Council of Agricultural Organizations. The following matters of legislative importance have been referred to your committee. The following resolution was presented by the Legislative Committee to the members of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania at Harrisburg on January 21, 1937, for approval or rejection. The resolution was approved. ** Whereas, fruit growers and farmers of nearby states are exempted from state tax on gasoline, kerosene and fuel oil used exclusively on the farm, and whereas, the payment of such tax adds greatly to the cost of producing crops, placing our growers under a serious handicap in competing with farmers in adjoining states, *'Be It Resolved: that the State Horticultural Association of Penn- sylvania through its officers and members, exert every effort in favor of legislation which will exempt farmers from the effect of state taxes on gasoline, kerosene and fuel oil when used exclusively for farm purposes." A proposed bill to require marking of all fruit with a specified grade, whether in open or closed packages, when sold, exposed for sale, or transported within the state was explained and discussed. It was voted to disapprove this bill on the gronuds that it would affect too many growers adversely. The action of the State Highways Patrol in arresting drivers of farm trucks when on the public roads without inspection stickers and license plates was informally discussed. Since the meeting this matter has been followed up and two bills before the Legislature, exempting "Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers," also "tractors and trailers" are being pushed. The following communication offered by the Legislative Committee was signed by the officers of the Association and forwarded to the Sec- retary of Agriculture. — 8 February 6, 1937. To Hon. J. Hansel French, Chairman State Farm Products Show Commission Harrisburg, Penna. Dear Mr. French: -rr x- i. i At the seventy-eighth Annual Meeting of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania, expression was given to some important matters which are transmitted herewith. . • +u^ e«+ ,ir. 1 You are to be commended for many improvements in the set-up and conduct of the 1937 Show. Among these are better ventilation, some progress in dust control, elimination of many clap-trap exhibitors and especially the changes in Fruit Show staging. ,. f a 2 You are following a wise course in keeping education as the tounda- tion of the Show. It is the one point on which our Show stands out above all others. To this end you need the stalwart support of the thirty or more associations meeting in Harrisburg during Show week 3 Unfortunately, when the Farm Show building was built, ardor for a great show clouded the judgment of the builders and the plans over- looked adequate convention and committee rooms Our association met again this year under crowded and most uncomfortable conditions. This was especially true Wednesday afternoon when the speakers on our program literally competed with those of the Holstein Breeders, to make themselves heard. . ^^rrl^^■ i u;«k 4 Our association is mindful of the serious difficulties under which the"show Management has operated in assigning meeting rooms. In a desire to reduce this strain as well as to meet our own needs we most urgently recommend that foremost in your plans for new building you keep the importance of holding the many agricultural organizations together in a strong group. To this end we recommend that the plans include at least four major convention rooms and a considerable number suitable for smaller groups and committees We further recommend that a study be made of the membership rolls past and present, of the various associations, together with their growth prospects. These suggestions are offered in the best of spirit and with a sincere desire to cooperate. Respectfully submitted, STATE HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF PENNSYLVANIA R. J. GiLLAN, President J. U. RuEF, Secretary. Respectfully submitted, C. J. Tyson, Chairman. Game Committee The Game Committee has done little work during the past year except to check on the new legislation proposed by the Game Commission and to safeguard the laws now on the statutes to protect the fruit growers and farmers' interests. It has registered an objection to the proposed — 9 — dual system of granting small and large game licenses and to a too long closed season on female deer. The Committee desires to caution all fruit growers who are subject to deer damage to ask for and insist on the special open season on female deer whenever they feel that such a season is needed and is advisable for their respective communities. These special open seasons have been the best protection we have secured thus far plus, of course, the pro- vision for fencing special areas which is available to only a special few and expensive to all. The Committee desires also to call to the attention of all Pennsyl- vania fruit growers that the Honorable Seth Gordon is again the Execu- tive Secretary of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and that we can be assured of a sympathetic and understanding hearing when we carry our problems to the Game Commission. Com. J. A. RuNK, Chairman, R. H. Bell, George Balthaser. State Show and Exhibit Cominittee The fruit exhibit at the 1937 Farm Products Show was the largest display of fruit in the present building. There were 869 entries made by 127 growers from 17 counties. The ''Gabriel Heister Award" was won by the Franklin County Horticultural Association. The ''Pennsylvania State Horticultural Association Cup" was won by Guy L. Hayman, Northbrook, Chester County, as a reward for showing the best bushel of apples in the show. The award was won with a bushel of Staymans. The 1937 award makes the third time Mr. Hayman has had the distinction of showing the best bushel and along with the third win goes permanent possession of the cup. Congratulations! The alterations in the display resulted in many favorable comments, but the committee is open to suggestions that would make for a more attractive show in the future. It also wishes to extend its appreciation to the exhibitors who make the show possible and the members of the fruit committee who set up the show. J. U. RuEF, Chairman. True-to-Name Trees Coininittee Prof. Fagan, Chairman of this committee, has written me asking that I report no activity of this committee during the past Summer, but plans are now being made for a variety School to be held in the Sum- mer 1937. An extensive study on the identification of stone fruits is being plan- ned. This study will possibly be held under the direction of Prof. Upshall at the Vineland Experiment Station. George L. Baugher, — 10 — Nominating Committee For President: T. J. Gillan For Vice President: J. A. Runk For Secretary: J. U. Ruef For Treasurer: C. B. Snyder organization, and C. J. For Executive Committee . i he otticers oi uie ^ „ , secretary w ^^ Schieferstein, W. E. Grove, Fred Dickenshied WINTER INJURY IN PENNSYLVANIA ORCHARDS IN 1935-36 R. D. ANTHONY, State College SbA^s to^rd^t^onditions aeeom^^^^^^^^^^ to find if there are control 'ne^^^'-f.^^^LeraCe inTury is complicated decrease the losses. Any study ^ low tf^^^^^^^Jbie to find any two by the fact that it would be difficult f, °f^™P°f ^^es have been the vears when the casual conditions and the tyP?^,f '"^^.T^.'^^iy " . ot^er serious injury to fruit trees auriug ^i f , ^ f ^j^jg j^jury and siderable areas of Pennsylvania To find the ex^^^^^^^ preventing the states. Weather Conditions A^ ^( +Ko ivPflthpr records in the area covered A careful study was made of the weather recora „ ^^i^ by the survey*. The period fom October 5^^^^^ minimum throughout Pennsylvan.a_ „At|t^t^.,^°25 decrees, 27 degrees, and 29 temperatures on October 7 8 and ^^^^^^^^^^^ .^^ J^^^ • degrees F, "''^h cprresponaing u ^ j, ^ j hanging on the of 19 degrees, 22 degrees and 22 ^egreesK PP^^^.^ ^^g,^^^ ^^ ^^^ rt^Td^S temptltrs wet'not soiw as in the College orchard 'ZS;tj:r^:^oi^^^^o^ ^L state. Those leaves -^^^S^^T^the weather studies were made by William S. Clarke, Jr. which did not drop at this time held on much later than usual. Appar- ently the normal formation of the abscission layer was upset by the freeze In the late fall there was less than the normal amount ot sun- shine The immediate effect of the cold period on the apple fruit was to cause the stem to separate from the spur much more readily and in ten days to two weeks there was a yery heayy drop throughout the state. The frosted fruit softened rapidly; fruit picked eyen before the heayy drop had to be disposed of before Christmas. January, 1936, will long be remembered by Pennsylvanians. The first half of the month was mild, with Uttle snow cover in the eastern half of the state. On the nineteenth there was a sudden temperature drop accompanied by a bhzzard. The weather moderated rapidly on the twentieth and twenty-first. The morning of January 22 was warm and bright and pruning crews in the western part of the state were working in their shirt sleeyes at ten o'clock; by fiye o clock a blizzard was rapidly blocking all roads and the thermometer had dropped to 10 or 15 degrees below zero,— a total drop of from 40 to more than 50 degrees. This sudden drop in temperature with snow and high winds was general throughout the state; but as the storm moved from south- west to northeast,^ the drop in temperature was progressively later in the day from west to east. At State College the temperature drop began early in the afternoon and did not reach its lowest point until late in the evening. In the main fruit regions of the state, south and east of the Allleghenies, it was a late afternoon and evening storm Because of this change in the time of onset, the degree and intensity of the drop decreased to the east of the higher areas of the Allegheny Plateau. Total temperature drops in parts of southeastern Pennsylvania were as little as 30 degrees. There was also a lessening of the intensity ot the cold beginning about halfway between Pittsburgh and Lake Erie and extending northward. , * i i ^n After this sudden drop the weather continued abnormally cold until nearly the end of February. At State College there were 13 days of sub-zero weather up to the 20th of February, when it was 8 decrees below zero. The blizzard of January 19 gave 15 inches of snow at btate College and a heavier cover to the east. The snow cover was about two feet deep until March. The Survey Peach injury was so general and so severe throughout the state that this fruit was not a good guide to use in determining causes so most of the survey was confined to apples. Although peach injury was general the southern and southeastern regions of the state had a crop at least two-thirds of normal. Some branches and many buds were killed or injured but enough fruit buds escaped for a crop. In majiy peach orchards fruit buds proved more hardy than fohage buds and in some places peaches escaped with little injury while nearby apples were con- siderably injured. r i x u i ui^ The sweet cherries along the roadsides were found to be a valuable guide in each new region. Where these trees— chiefly Mazzard seed- lings—showed any considerable amount of branch killing, some apple 12 — trunk or branch injuries. iniuries. Considerable care had to ^^ "-^ in XP^^'-^f^^^^ Tboti . particularly with sweet cherries^ .FhadrnUired many fruit trees in all the winters of 1933-34 and 1934-35 had mjure^a ma y ^^^_^ fruit regions of the state Much of th.s .njury «°;^'«\^^^^,,, ,^„ these of trunk cambium covered by unbroken bark, ^ew g ^^^ ^j^^ until this dead bark began to come off mW36then^thJ^^^.^^.^^ injury to the winter o/J935-36 In Baiow n branches, agam ^'"V'' '^jr'^Tvlniurv escSed notice Sntil considerably later, much of the early mjury escapeu uui i„i„rv from these past It is highly probable that the full extent o mjury from^th^^ ^P^^^ three winters has not ye* become apparent in tne ^^.^^ ^^.^ College, no injury from tjjf .,">^^^\^^o\^t L chlnce that dead areas of survey was in progress and it was almost oy u thorough exami- trunk bark were discovered '"J '^t^J^P^^^^eg^ith inju^ ran|ing from nation showed a large P^oport'on o' tf ^^'^^'J^'^^^ ^.^^ ^f the a few spots the size of ^ silver dollar to areas^cover^g^ Through- circumference of the trunk; some crotch injury was lo ^ ^^.^^ out the survey it was necessary to tap t^^f un^^^'g^ f ^ ^ot 5S [n S'a'K ZX^f^rT^<^^ coufd be located by a yellowing of the foUage. Area of Severest Injury It was soon evident that, for the P-POf-JJ^^'^^^-rh'adteef no could be divided into three areas: Y'TregLoseverr injury where damage from the winter of 1935-36, / ,'*'|'°';g°^a„ orchards had as some entire orchards h'jd bee" kiU^d ^^^^^ or marginal S ^l^rV^Jcronaf o^haXuSVme injury but where the total X%rtri:"orchards was m^^^^^^ in an elliptical area centering roughly ^^,'^^^^^^"1^11 city, and 75 approximately 50 miles nortli ^^"^ 25 miles soutno, y ,^ ^^^ miles east with a somewhat indefinite western Mm ^^^ ^^^ Pittsburgh area lik-ise P-^J^ed ^■^f/XoH^^^^^^^ trees, regardless uncommon to find in one "^^^^^l";'' J u:i j^ another orchard, only f fr'^LlrTheTSf ?pr!?e^:^^^^ any visible signs of 'The initial factor predisposing the trees to 'njury in the PiUsb^^^^^^^ district were the heavy f-'ee^es of October 7, 8 an^ X ^SKSTbleTtL^'Xr^^^^^^^^^ ^o sevfre ex- ""S^^X^^^ was not a factor in this area, since the ground was heavily blanketed with snow. — 13- The type of injury exhibited by apple varieties other than Baldwin Rhode Island Greening, and Wagener, consisted of a complete or partial bosening o? the entire^bark cyUnder of the trunk f^oViri"?n'vr.'%Ic oToiind line to or even including the bases of the scaffold hmbs Mc- fntS which i usually considered a hardy variety, frequently showed this typl of injury. In many instances, the bark cyhnder split wide open bfspr n so that the grower was able early to see some of the injury^ TotKsef , while the bark was killed and ^^-^-f, P^^^f ^^^^^^ not crack open in the spring and, to all appearances at that time, nothing seemed to be wrong with the tree. '.r.oo o^ Baldwin was the variety most often injured, as in 1933-34, even in orchard^ where no other varieties were affected. When individual trees had not borne a crop in 1935, the degree of injury was either reduced or apSrently eliminated. Wagener and Rhode Island Greening also were injured severely. Trees of these three varieties showed limb and Top k n ng, not the loose trunk bark type found in the other varieties. Next to Baldwin, the chief sufferers were Stayman Winesap, Red Delicious, Rome, and Mcintosh. Wealthy was not particularly resistant ''S^'hT™ in the Pittsburgh area, it became apparent that old standards of hardiness to freezing were of little value when the killing was chargeable to a lack of maturity, instead of to the minimum tem- peratures attained. There were no hardy apple varieties when con- ditions of 1935-36 entered into the picture in this area of excessive ^' Apple trees injured at the collar or higher up on the trunk in 1933-34, and which showed in consequence areas of dead bark, were apparently immune to damage in 1935-36. , , , i Apple bud injury was fairly conspicuous in this area, although several orchards losing the greatest proportion of their trees because of loose trunk bark had what the orchardists claimed was a nearly normal bloom and crop. Abnormal apple blossoms also were observed by many growers. ri ^u Apple trees of both extremes of vigor were harmed, while those more nearly midway within these limits were considerably more resistant, all other factors being equal. It was evident that wet eet, previous drouth damage, a thin soil, severe spray injury, defoliation by scab, unchecked San Jose scale attacks, and the Uke had all played their part in increasing the amount of injury to trees of low vigor. One large orchard injured most seriously was on a thin fairly light soil of low fertility on which the trees had not recovered fully from the drouehts of 1929 and 1930. In this instance, fertilizer applications were rather light, spray injury in 1935 was severe, the 1935 drop was heavy and abundant autumn rainfall followed by the October freezes prevented the attainment of a proper degree of tree maturity. This orchard of about 100 acres was completely wiped out and the trees have been removed. On the other hand, heavy applications of animal manures or com- mercial fertilizers likewise resulted in severe losses, especially ii accom- panied by late cultivation. One orchardist applied in April, 19.35, IZ — 14 — Choose and Use %HUuis SPRAYING AND DUSTING LIMES "BELL MINE" HYDRATED Where "Hydrated Lime" is specified "BELL MINE" PULVERIZED Where "Quick" or "Stone Lime" is specified Do not jeopardize the success of your spraying and dusting by using interior lime Lllanier AGRICULTURAL LIMES FOR USE AS SOIL AMENDMENT 4^1 AMERICAN LIME & STONE DIVISION BELLEFONTE, PA. MORRISVILLE, PA. PHILADELPHIA, PA. — 15 — i pounds of ammonium sulfate per tree, disced the sod before bloom, ^en followed this with two pounds more sulfate per tree late in June. This liberality cOst the owner a third of his fine, 22-year-old apple trees, chiefly Stayman Winesap. Another grower applied in the sprmg 8 pounds of sulfate of ammonia per tree, then cultivated frequently until late August, in the meantime fertilizing his trees very heavily with the manure from his large dairy herd. These practices have cost him dearly, for in addition to winter injury, fire blight in the summer of 1936 was raging on what vigorous trees were left relatively uninjured by freezing. An attempt was made to correlate the usual commercial forms of nitrogen-carrying fertiUzers with the degree of injury but no conclusion could be drawn from the evidence. Most of the growers in the Pitts- burgh area had used calcium cyanamid in 1935, chiefly because of its considerably lower price per unit of nitrogen at that time as compared with other forms of nitrogen. When comparisons could be made with other forms of nitrogen, there was no evidence that cyanamid had either increased or decreased the degree of injury. Most growers with severe tree injury had observed a heavy premature drop of leaves in 1935 following the October freezes, although sonie with considerable losses stated that the leaves had persisted abnormally late — until January and February. Trees picked previous to the freezes tended to show less injury, al- though the distinction was not always clean cut. There was some indication in this area that late autumn pruning had been a factor in promoting trouble, although too few growers had be^en able to do any pruning before the severe January weather to make this observation as well substantiated as might be desired. Intermediate stocks utilized in several orchards with double-worked trees were a source of weakness. Spy was a failure as an intermediate stock for York and Stayman Winesap in the 28-year-old orchard of The Pennsylvania State College. Likewise, intermediate stocks of Winesap at an elevation of 2300 feet cost the owner all of his fine mature trees of Stayman Winesap. An intermediate stock of an unknown variety was responsible for injury to Northern Spy, Mcintosh, and Stayman Winesap trees when trees of these varieties of a similar age, but not doube-worked, showed little injury. In all three instances, the loose trunk bark did not extend above the upper graft union into the top variety. Cherry trees, sweet and sour, but chiefly the former, suffered severely, especially when heavy 1935 crops were followed by premature defolia- tion by leaf spot. At one side of a young apple orchard just coming into bearing in which the loss of Wealthy and Mcintosh trees was complete because of a loss of all trunk bark, half a dozen large sweet cherry trees were unharmed in wood, although all blossom buds had been killed. These sweet cherries had received two sprays after picking in 1935 which prevented leaf spot and held the leaves until they were frosted off. Just across the road from these cherries, every Baldwin tree in a four-year-old planting was completely dead. Practically all bearing peach trees in commercial orchards in the Pittsburgh area were either killed outright or so severely injui^ed that — 16 — snow line were common. Marginal Zone of Fruit Tree Killing The amount of injury in the Pittsbu.^^^^^^^^^ difficult to determme casual conditons * n^arginal areas where Western New York. 1 he ireeze m ^^^ ^^^^ ^j ^^^^ there as in Pennsylvania. A^^out a *hird ot tne ^ ^^ fruit dropped soon ^f^^ds^ ^J^^^^ ^^ treme longer than usual. The temperaiure u y j ^^ ^j^jg ^^ the major nor as rapid as i was furth^^^^^^i " 'Sr injury in this area. . factor responsible for the ^'^f^2I^Jj°I"J^^^t^iiJ?ennsy\ymm lie in Nearly all of the two ""''^hern ^Ve^V «o«^^^^ ^rees Fruit trees a region in which there was I'^le or no >n^«ry « ^^^^^^^^ ^j were unharmed at elevations of 1200 to 1400 ^ee^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ Pruiius Pennsylvanica were k»"ed at eievai o wilUamsport, on nearby hills. In ^^^t™ ^^^f So inS to trunks or branches some bud kiUing on apples was noted but no inju y was seen. ij„„„<,„ivania around New Castle, about 60 In the western part of^ Pennsylvania, arouna ^^^^^^_ miles north of Pittsburgh, tlj^^^'^^^./tHeTe the October frost was transition zone extending east ^^^ we\*„„f %'o to 35 degrees About not so severe and the January drop was on y ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ half the bearing Pef«»^,f^,,r[oss "in younger bearing orchards, espe- orchards escaped with little 'oss in y s ^^^^^ ^^ the cially those in cultivation '"^"y .^^^°'°"„%r^^^ but showed weakened trunks. Baldwins were l^^^. ^^""J^^.k thre^-^uarters of the trees lower branches. In .one orchard « J ork tn q ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ will die. Heavy f'^'^^'lh^/'f "^^^JiXnto Ohio where it includes the Sttrn' ;°ar?oPcolumUr a^nrMahoning Counties and then con- tinues westward for some distance^ changes in elevation on The small number of orchards and the rapwc ^^ in^possible to the Allegheny Plf^'^^^/'^heir damage tTfruit trees in this region, secure a clear picture of the ^'^ter aamag phic center of the Orchards near State CoUe^e, which ^s in tbe g^f Pi^,^, except the state at an elevation of 1200 f"''^' ^"""^VioLs in central and south orchard on the Col ege farm In g^nera^^osse ^^^^ conditions central Pennsylvania seen, to be f footed w above the average rather than f th a lack ot v^go ^^^ ^^^ _ In the eastern third of ^h^^^ •'.J^p^e^P^Hh Mtle damage fron. the Ser ^iTrc:^ Eb^f fTuirr^in^^prof and Lehigh Valleys at elevations below 1000 leet. — 17 — In the Lehigh Valley south of the Delaware Water Gap in the vicinity of Easton, in Northampton County, peaches and sweet cherries showed some injury from the past winter but not as much as from the two previous winters. Eight to ten miles west of the river at elevations around 400 feet in a small percentage of the Stayman Winesaps and Mcintosh trees the trunk bark split and sometimes rolled back. Official minimum temperatures for Lehigh County on October 7, 8, and 9 were not much below 32 degrees F, but there were killing frosts on each of these nights which brought down some of the leaves and caused a heavy drop of fruit on the 20th of October. On January 23, 1936, the temperature in one of the larger orchards in the southern part of the county dropped from 37 degrees above to 6 degrees below zero. Apple trees in this orchard had considerable bud killing and some trunk bark splitting, chiefly on trees lacking somewhat in vigor or standing in spots of poor soil. Golden Delicious trees had much trunk injury under unbroken bark. Mcintosh exhibited both bud injury and trunk bark splitting. Commercial sweet cherries had so much fruit bud injury that there was a very small crop. Peaches showed branch killing and some trunk splitting but had a fair crop in 1936. Across the road from this orchard, a block of 16-year-old apples had been over-cultivated for many years until serious soil erosion had lowered the vigor of the trees. Here 200 to 300 Grimes, Stayman Winesap, and Rome trees had the trunk bark split wide open. A younger and more vigorous block of Stayman Winesap, Baldwin, and Delicious showed little injury. Two miles away from these orchards, a large peach orchard had been fertilized for a number of years with 1000 pounds of chicken manure per acre per year. The trees were heavily pruned each year and some of them had made as much as five feet of annual growth. Ninety per cent of these peach trees showed excessive trunk cracking but had less branch killing than in nearby peach orchards which had not been pushed so hard. Injury was least in those parts of the orchard which were least fertile. This orchard was interplanted with seven and nine-year-old apples. Less than a dozen of these showed any signs of injury and then only slight trunk cracks. In two large orchards north and west of Allentown at elevations of about 600 feet, alfalfa and clover sods have been used extensively and the soil is highly fertile. Less than one per cent of the trees showed either split trunk bark or dead areas under unbroken bark. Injured trees were scattered among several varieties but the heaviest loss was with Rome. Peach trees exhibited only a small amount of branch kiUing and produced a good crop in 1936. In general in Lehigh County, apple orchards of average or better than average vigor had little or no injury; those on the poorer soils or in wet areas showed the most injury. All through Berks County the roadside Mazzard seedlings escaped with little damage; some of them had a full crop in the summer of 1936. Some cherries had been killed or seriously injured by the two previous winters, 1933-34 and 1934-35. Two large groups of orchards in the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ include over a thousand a«^f« "^ apPles^^^^ FZ 400 to^lOOO feet and the planted to 18 years old. Elevations ra,ngeirom^uu ^ ^^^^ sites have excellent air and 'jf^^^d^'XuDDlied wWh o^^^^^^ "^^tter well cared for the -.1 fs fertile and we sup^^^^^^^ .^.^^^_ from sod rotations. Although P«f^" '^r^^'ooe Between 200 and 300 a very good peach ^'pP was harvested in 1936^ sunkeTareas with dead apple trees show trunk b'^'^k racking or sUghtlysun^ ^^^ Qravenstein rw^rthrtsttrury. y^; ^^^^^i^^j^^^ti^i^ LTuT^rpSulaff^errl^Kpfftiont :u1tuXpractice seemed o^be'assodafed with an increased amount of -jury A higher percentage of trunk W on both ^PP^^^^ ^^^PJ^f Vere seen in an orchard along theSch^ylfall River below B^^^^^ ^^ Sy^nT^^X-rd'^RrSowed'S ^^I^^than other varieties. We'a^as had more injured trees than ^hose well drained^ North of Reading much of the i^^^^^^^^^^^ SL^ssTh^noUS^^P^^^ juries due to the winter of 1935-36^ Rome ana »uiy ^^^^^^ showed trunk and crotch injury. One Woek ot Mcinw^n n.uch injury from Previous -t- -^^^owed ^^^^^^^^ V .^ mT T^'ol'ly^acLTwhicTseemed to be associated apple tree iniurv was low vigor which was usually due to poor sod Halfway between Reading and Philadelphia on the P-d-nont side of the ll raV of hills lies an area of J-cal Xke^c;^^^^ Thi. area -- ?:-ll ~slfi Hlgt7recr^^^^ ru'l^il-aSrxcJssi^e fe"rt=il^f de"ad -as under -^^^^^^^^ ^runk bark were common, especially on Rome and Golden Deicous. The record in one orchard not far fr- the Schuy k U River near Norristown -^ -P^„7;f.7XvS^ £ Rome hid dropped heavily considerable defohation and all vanet ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^ around the 21st. ,„iJl®fj,"^^g 'iygj f^m 8 to 12 pounds of cyanamid and fertilized; in If^S^'^^/the orchard had been cultivated to a po nt early in March, ^^one time th« ore nara ^^^^^^ ^^^^j,y where erosion was startmg, smce meu it hoa^ ^ Fiphtoen- disced in the spring. Nearly all \-f ^ad a heavy^rop in 935. Eighte_en^ Grimes, and Baldwin showed little, if any, mjury. — 18 — — 19 — It seems highly probable that the excessive injury to Rome in this orchard and indeed in much of the state was due to the heavy crop and the fact that the fruit was not picked until November; it was the last fruit to be harvested. However, in addition to this factor, the orchard has been pushed harder by pruning, cultivation, and fertiliza- tion than most of the orchards in the county. The performance of two nearby peach orchards is interesting. In both orchards the trees ranged from 8 to 16 years old and were of the same varieties. In the one, the orchard was cultivated throughout the early summer and seeded to rye in October; in the other, cultivation was stopped in June and a heavy growth of weeds covered the orchard through the winter. Where the late cultivation created conditions un- favorable for tree maturity two-thirds of the trees were killed or seriously injured. Where the heavy weed growth was undisturbed, there was no killmg of trees and a good crop was produced in 1936. In all the southeastern section of Pennsylvania, the study of winter injury to fruit trees due to low temperature in 1935-36 was complicated by trunk injuries caused by low temperatures in the winter of 1934-35. Typically these injuries produced dead areas covered by unbroken bark and many growers failed to detect this until the dead bark began to come off in 1936, so that the damage was attributed erroneously to the winter of 1935-36. The low temperatures of 1934-35 came on Jan- uary 28 and February 7 when minimums of 15 to 18 degrees below zero throughout this section were from 9 to 12 degrees below those at State College and equaled or approached closely the record lows. Very little difference in injury from the past year was found in the Cumberland Valley as compared to the valleys to the northeast. Al- though sweet cherries showed considerable damage from other winters, that of 1935-36 did not injure them enough to prevent many having a lull crop the following summer. The smaller, 5 to 10 acre, apple orchards which are usually considerably neglected and in permanent sod, show almost no injury from the winter of 1935-36, though many lower branches are dying because of injury from other winters. On the other hand, in well-cared-for apple orchards, considerable injury seems to be asso- ciated with areas of poor soil which produced trees of low vigor Also there has been much heavier killing in low areas of peach, cherry, and apple orchards. There are likewise a few cases of winter injury to apples where too high a scale of fertility delayed tree maturity. Injury to peaches in Franklin County in the lower Cumberland Valley will run somewhat higher than with apples. In general all peaches had some branch and bud killing, yet the county had about two-thirds ot a tull crop of peaches in 1936. Many trees show trunk bark splitting but otherwise seem in fair condition. Trunk splitting appeared to be more severe with vigorous peach trees while branch killing was greater with less vigorous trees. Winter Injury in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and Ohio There was considerable killing of apple trees in the northern pan- handle of West Virginia and in eastern Ohio. Throughout most of this region the October freeze was as severe and the January drop was as extreme as in any part of Pennsylvania. In "^^^^.^^^^^^^^^tse^^^S which were injured the factors responsible seemed to be those which delav tree maturity— heavy crop in 1935, late cultivation, heavy priming, Ss ^e fS'tiUzaUon or too low a plane of fertility and poor soil drain- age Exposure to the west and northwest winds has also been a con- tributing factor in this region but apparently not in Pennsylvama. Summary of Conditions Which Caused Injury from the Low Temperatures of the Wmter of 1935-36 The manifestations and the apparent causes of winter damage differed so from one area to another that, at first, the survey seemed only a collection of conflicting evidence, but as soon as it was realized that tree maturity was the one common factor the evidence became cumu- Xe rathe/than conflicting. Hardly any of the injury from the winter of 1935-36 was due to excessively cold weather. Nearly all the orchards injured had been subjected to"^ temperatures 10 to 20 degrees lower during one or both of the two previous winters. j • ^ xu Aoparently throughout most of the northeastern states and into the Ohio VaUey, fruit tries went into the winter of 1935-36 poorly matured. There was a heavy crop in 1935. The unseasonable freeze in early October injured the leaves and checked the normal maturing process. The sudden drop on January 22, starting from above freezing and going down to 10 to 20 degrees below zero, was too severe for immature tissues The higher the initial temperature, the more rapid the drop, the lower the minimum, the greater the exposure to heavy wmds when these low temperatures were reached, the greater the injury. Tissues injured are those typically slow to reach maturity-the bases of the buds, the cambium of the inner portions of large crotches and of the lower trunk of most varieties, and the sapwood of the lower branches in Baldwin and Rhode Island Greening. i u ,„^ Trees were injured both because they were too vigorous and because they were too low in vigor. Excess fertilization, heavy pruning, late cultivltion, thin soil, spray injury, heavy bearing, all caused damage to trees in one place or another. . i ^i • • In the case of Rome, late picking seems to have foentuated the injury and in a few orchards there was evidence that early prunmg had caused Tk^e and amount of fertilizer applications seem to have influenced the degree of injury only when they have mcreased or decreased the rnaturity of the trees. Source of fertilizer does not appear to have been a factor in modifying tree injury. Suggestions. What can we do about it? Is injury from winter temperature something we must take when it comes or is it possible to mRi^ate such injuries by some modification of our cultural methods? Even in the areas of severest injury there were orchards which escaped with little or no loss; in all but two or three of the most^ severely in- jured orchards there were individual trees or even whole bocks which were uninjured while adjoining trees or blocks were kiled. What caused such extreme variations' To answer this fully it would be necessary to study each variety and each block of trees and perhaps each — 20 21 — individual tree; however, through all the S^^ certain common factors ff ^m^d to be respons We^n^r j ^^ ^.^^^^ .dverec TOlher to cure .uch <1«™*' " ""'f.'^ „fZ«.tily in th. factors which are more under man s control. M..u,it, (olio.. »h.„ 'i-"£. rta.r;rXy".V'S." the .prtng and mmm, '»•?■>'' *,'j''Xto iJ tttoul.t. h..M.y vieorous enough. Every cultural operation influenc^s^^^^^^^ ous of damage which has resulted from each cuimrap ctices to ZS^ ^Z^Jo^i^^^:^^ hardier threes. Location The chief cau.^^^^^^^^ this past wmter but m all wmters has been unw ^^^^ excessive rx°p°osu;e ToThrco^TifdsJtvnnT/one method of control-plant the orchard in some other place. • . j •„„ fV,p r^othlrf men'aVvariety, ev£such a hardy -e a^Spy o^ M^^^ Intosh, is taken out of the ""r'nalchn^at^c range .^^ ^^ ^ normal maturmg process upset. 1 his is especially is taken too far south of its best range. may delay maturity. . j u • ir»,f Sli,^r« Trees in low vigor may be made more hardy by in- creS thTiertSion or by Ling manure ^^J^^^ season are best to aid in maturity. cropping. Excessive -oppmg tX^l^^'avT^^L^r of less than average ^'go"- Thinmng the crop sav ping. — 22 — 4 COSTS DOWN "QUALITY UP dIvco products lead the way TAR0CIDE....CR0.A1183%011 EMULSION POMO FOOD...ORANIIIATEDFERTIIIZER 40 FACTORIES IN 12 STATES BflTABUSBED HI ISSS CENTRAL CHEMICAI. DIVISION ___^„ THE DAVISON CHEMICAI CORPORATION BALTmORE, MD. — 23 — Soravin^. Healthy leaves are necessary to mature a tree. Defolia- tion from diseases or spray injury has permitted winter temperatures to kill many of our trees. . Pruning. In the winter of 1935-36 and in previous wmters there have been a number of cases of heavy losses to trees pruned m the earlv winter when adjacent trees pruned later escaped undamaged. Why thL is so we do not know but it raises a question of the wisdom of beginning pruning as soon as the fruit is picked. FERTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF ORCHARD SOILS FIRMAN E. BEAR, American Cyanamid Co., New York City When a man plants an orchard he should be thinking ahead for a period of aJTout Eo years. During that period th-e will te extr^ne^y drv summers, and summers of excessive rainfall. There will be autumns when tre^s will have abundant opportunity to prepare for winter, and other autumns with sudden drops in temperature and very unseasonable weather There will be mild winters, and winters of extremely low Temperatures and drying winds. There will be years in which winter isTong ddayed and breaks suddenly into spring, and years in which the trees will begin their spring growth and later be caught by frosts. And in duJ time there will be the exceptional year-worse than any in the Tpcords Among the important points to be considered in preparing the trees to rn^et these abnormal conditions are: (1) the type of soil and the ay of ?he land- (2) the tree varieties and their rootstocks in relation to the soi and curate; (3) the time and method of planting the trees and their care Kg their early period of growth; and (4) the management and utilization of the orchard, once the trees have gotten under way. This paper deals with the last of these problems. I have carefully examined the experimental work reported by the horticulturists of the several agricultural experiment stations and have talked to hundreds of growers, including producers o ^pples peaches cherries citrus, bananas, pecans, rubber, and a variety of other fruits, nuts aAd other types of trees. As a result, I am impressed both by what we know and what we do not know about how to deal with orchard %^he one well-established and experimentally-verified principle in the management and fertilization of orchards is that of supplying readily SablT nitrogen regularly to the trees. This nitrogen may be that released bvc of the soil. It may be that supplied by the growing of legumes and their incorporation into the soil It may be fharLpplied in the form of manure or fertiUzer. Whatever its source, the effect of making nitrogen available to the trees is always the same Nitrogen always^roduces a marked increase in the diameter and leng h of terminal growth; in the size and number of leaves in the size^md number of fruit buds; and in the size and set of fruit. If a nitrogen dXciency is allowed to develop, there will be a marked slowing-down in the growth of the trees and a marked reduction m their fruitfulncss. — 24 — If we do only one thing to the soil to make the trees more productive, that one thing should be to supply nitrogen every year. Before leaving this phase of the subject it may be well to consider the trends in the use of nitrogen fertilizers. One of these is toward sub- stituting nitrogen for cultivation. A second is that of changing from around-the-tree applications to broadcast applications. A third trend is toward applying the nitrogen in the fall (winter in the South) rather than in the spring. , This last trend, that of applying nitrogen in the fall, is now receiving a great deal of attention. Experimental evidence covering periods ot 12 to 15 years, and large scale trials by orchardists during the last 5 vears have shown that fall application has a number of advantages and no known disadvantages. Fall application aids in getting the trees off to a better start in the spring, and in taking advantage of the better supply of moisture in the soil at that season of the year; (2) in over- coming biennial-bearing habits; and (3) in bringing the tree and the fruit through to maturity at an earlier date. There is also evidence that fall application aids in protecting the trees against winter killing, and against injury from spring frosts. Applying the fertilizer in the fall has the further very practical advantage of getting the job out of the way ot early-spring work. Probably 25 per cent of the nitrogen used on decid- uous fruits in the United States is now applied during the fall and winter months. . • ^u + A second well-established principle of orchard-soil management is that of supplying large amounts of organic material. This may be in the torm of a winter cover crop; a combination of summer and winter cover crops; or a permanent sod, with or without the supplemental use of hauled-in mulching material. Of these several methods, the growing of a well- fertilized permanent sod of grasses and clovers is the surest way ot maintaining an adequate supply of organic matter in the soil, ims method has very important advantages. It is the most economical. It stops erosion, by far the most serious enemy of fertile soils. It avoids competition for water by deep-rooted weeds and cover crops particu- larly alfalfa and sweet clover. Many of the best orchards with which I am familiar have been in permanent sod ever since the trees were well established. These orchards are largely apples, but include peaches, cherries, and citrus as well. Wherever grass can be made to grow satisfactorily, we believe the sod-cover system has every advantage and no serious disadvantages particularly on rolUng and hilly land. Proper treatment of this sod ordinarily consists in the use of more nitrogen; in clipping the grass and weeds with a mower, if required; in occasionally breaking-up the sod with a disc or springtooth harrow; and in applying phosphate, or phosphate and potash, to bring in the white, red, or alsike clover (Lespedeza in the South). The phosphate and potash should be applied in advance of discing the soil so as to get them down where they will do the most good, not only for the sod and the clover, but for any possible beneht they may be to the tree as well. Grass sod is the great healing and regulating agent in orchards In case of drouth, the grass, being shallow rooted, stops growth and the — 25 — tops die. In case of excess moisture or over-feeding, the grass grows very rapidly, thus offering effective competition for excess moisture and any excess of available nitrogen. Only in case of nitrogen deficiency, and particularly when the trees are young, does the grass offer too serious competition. This can easily be remedied by discing-up the sod in young orchards, or by using extra nitrogen in older orchards. Unfortunately many orchards are located on soils that are too poor to grow grass and clover. In other orchards, the original fertility of the soil has been wasted by excessive cultivation accompanied by leaching and erosion. In still other orchards, the rows of temporary trees have never been cut out, the result being that the soil is shaded entirely too much and most cover crops will not grow. And finally, the use of acid- forming nitrogen fertilizers, sulphur dusts, and sprays, has resulted in making many orchard soils strongly acid. For these and similar reasons, the soils of many orchards are in no condition to grow their own organic material. In some cases these conditions can be remedied by the use of hme and mineral fertilizers. In other cases it becomes necessary to haul-in organic material grown on some other area. The practice of hauling-in organic materials is growing quite rapidly. It merits con- sideration by all orchardists. At this point it may be well to consider the mineral needs of trees as distinct from their need for nitrogen. It is safe to say that over 90 per cent of the orchards of the United States receive no fertilizer treatment other than nitrogen. Those receiving phosphoric acid, potash, and other mineral fertilizers are the exception rather than the rule. Examination of the experimental work with mineral fertilizers is dis- appointing. In many cases the tests were carried out without adequate consideration of the variations in the soil and the differences in the trees. The plots were not replicated sufficiently. The methods of application were not such as to be sure that any considerable amounts of phosphoric acid and potash were delivered to the roots of the trees. Phosphoric acid, in particular, does not move downward in the average soil to any appreciable extent but is fixed by the soil at or near its point of contact with the soil. Considering all the evidence, it is my impression that no adequate case has been made for mineral fertilizers on fruit trees except on sandy, gravelly, and shaly soils. However, the mere fact that a soil is largely sand or stones is no assurance whatever that the trees growing on it will show any direct response to applications of mineral fertilizers. In fact, as recently shown in a report on fertilizing rubber trees, the evi- dence indicates that phosphoric acid and potash are likely to be most effective in the earlier stages of growth of the trees and before their root systems are well established. Once the trees have gotten a good foot-hold, fertiUzer need reduces itself to nitrogen. Quick chemical tests of the portions of the leaves of the trees, which anyone can make, are useful in satisfying one's mind in this regard. On the other hand, it is seldom that the cover crops (particularly the clovers, either alone or in sods) growing on such soils are not benefited by phosphoric acid, potash and lime. — W — Tuddng bv what agronomists know about this problem it would seem that if mlne^raTfertilizers are to be satisfactorily dehvered to the feeding roots of the trees in orchards growing on the heavier types of soil, it wnibe necessary e^ to use a mulch of organic material, thereby bring- wiU be ^^^f ^?;7.^''i. ts of the trees to the surface where they can be'frd" o plow t^e ferll^^^^^^^^^^^^ or disc it down deeply into the soil; ^ V ' ov? nl of a soil augur or similar device for placing the fertihzer in'holeTboredlto'th" s^^^^ the spread of the branches of the trees. I havrS faith in the usefulness of any ordmary amount of phos- ohor^c acid and potash, if applied on the surface of the average orchard s^oUinsofar as any direct effect on the trees is concerned. I have a great deal of falh in the effectiveness of phosphoric acid and potash on the cover crops growing in the orchard, and possibly on the trees as well ff Ihese fertiUzers are applied in liberal amounts at the time the cover Jron fs Dlan^^^^^ or if they are disced down into the soil, in the case of permLnrsods'. Certai/ly a handful of phosphate should be placed in the bottom of each hole when the trees are planted In mv yard is a large oak tree which is probably 100 years old. It standrfirmly on a bed of granite rocks over which there is only a very U^^^^^^ soil-barely enough to grow grass To build a house it was neces^^^^^ to blast out the soUd rock where the basement was to be More than enough rock was thus provided for the foundation and fn; tl^P first storv On such a foundation this tree flourished for at least 90 JeLs^^^^^^^^ was built, without receiving any fertihzer of ^^LmPhow this tree in spite of its hazardous location, has secured from the aTr the r^cks a^^^ a little soil formed from these rocks and from decav'ng lea^^^^^^ nitrogen and mineral elements it required to decaying leaves, a ^ produce its annual crops of leaves and ro^ns" ?erEuorby surface^ppl^ during the last 10 years has been of great help to the tree but I see no evidence of the effective- ness of anything except the nitrogen contained .n the fertilizer. Mv neighbor also has a large oak tree-almost a twin to mine- located on the same kind of rock, covered by about the same amount of son Last year he hired a tree specialist to care for his tree^ The special- Lt bored holes in the soil and loose rocks under the tree and put complete ertiUzer down in these holes. This fall, my neighbor's oak tree was in better condrtion than mine. It held its leaves longer. Possib y the feeding roots of his tree found their way to the mineral elements and absorbed some of them as well as the nitrogen. ^ . ■ ,. , , I mention these oak trees for the purpose of emphasizing the fact thBtTerHlkine trees with nitrogen, and fertilizing them with phosphoric IS SpotLt present two 'fundamentally fZlL't'tZVii time method and frequency of application. Nitrogen, as soon as u be^omS nitrate, is mobile in the soil. It moves readily either up or dowT depending upon the direction of movement of the soil water. A See appUcation of nitrogen meets all the requirements. On the other hnnd Dhosnhoric acid and potash are fixed by the soil near their point of contact wUh it The phosphoric acid will not move downward a quarter of a^ inch. The surface inch of an acre of average clay loam — 27 — soil has the capacity to fix a ton of potash. This potash may be grad- ually released and carried down into the soil by rainwater. Neverthe- less if potash applications are made to the surface of the soil, they will have to be quit^heavy to be effective. Materials carrying phosphoric acid and potash should be placed down in the soil where they are close to the roots. The only exception to this is in the case of the sandier types of soil through which some movement will occur before fixation ^''s^mlaTly, phosphoric acid and potash should be placed down in the soil, near ti^e seed, at the time of sowing the cover crop They should be cultivated deeply into the soil in the case of sod orchards. They need be used only from time to time as the appearance of the cover crop, or sod, makes their need apparent. When applied, the rate of application of phosphoric acid and potash should be generous, in order to more or less saturate the soil with them and with the hope of delivering the surplus directly to the feeding roots of the trees. The excellent effects of hauled-in organic materials for mulching pur- poses may be due in part to their supplying considerable amounts of phosphoric acid and potash, particularly the latter, which are readily feached out of the dead plant material. The feeding roots directly under or in the mulch, are in condition to absorb these leached-out mineral elements and to make the best possible use of them. The use of nitro- gen and mineral fertilizers has important possibilities in the production of more and better materials for hauling-in purposes Before concluding, I want to stress particularly the seriousness of the nroblem of acid soils. Soil acidity is a menace in many orchards. When a soil becomes too acid, the cover crops do not grow luxuriantly; organic materials (cover crops, or sods) do not rot readily; and phosphoric acd ^ locked up by the soil in a form that is relatively unavailable even to the cover crop. The prevention of an accumulation of acid in orchard soils is justified if for no other reason than its very favorable effect on the growth of cover crops, particularly clovers, and its usefulness in effecting their decomposition once they are incorporated into the soil. An acid soil prevents full utilization of nitrogen, whether derived from cover crops or fertilizers. In many orchards, the use of lime would reduce the need for nitrogen, benefit the cover crops, and permit of longer life and greater fruitfulness of the trees. THE HAIL INSURANCE PROBLEM NORMAN W. WEBBER, Hartford Fire insurance Co., Fellow sufferers,-I shall thus begin this talk due to the fact that 1936 caused hail losses of more than one-half a million dollars in the State of Pennsylvania alone. The insurance companies were also heavy losers, oaving more than $63,000 in hail losses on tree fruit only. Farmers in the United States annually suffer more than 8100,000,000 in bail damage, with a great many states receiving annually damage in excess ot $1,U0U,- °°Let us now digress a bit and define the reason for these hail-storms which cause so much loss to a farmer's income. Scientists explain the cause of hail in the following manner: — 28 — Hail storms usually occur during severe electrical storms or durmg an ovtrpmplv hot snell The reason for hail storms forming at this par- STtimelies^n the fact that a rain cloud will descend upon a com- munUv and will begin to precipitate drops of water toward the ground whicf wm irlurnte caught by strong convectioning currents which Tre unrisine heat waves. This force carries small particles of water fnto^he strltosDhere where they come in contact with sub-zero temper- ature wh^chiZed^Itllvfreezes^them. They are then pulled toward the around bv gmvity and once more if the conventiomng currents are Srons enoulh Iw are drenched with water in the rain cloud and again pushe'dTntofhe stratosphere, thus accumulating various sizes depending uDon the strength of the conventiomng currents. When they nave reached a weight which will overcome the uprushing air currents they aU in a bombardment of ice to the earth. Scientists have advanced manv theories as to why certain localities are more susceptible to hail TmLe than others, but United States meterologists say that few parts ofThe country are s^fe from heavy hail, and there is no way of knowing where it will strike next or how great the damage will be when it does occur Hailstorms of varying degrees of severity ^ve fallen in variojl^^^^^^^ ties within the »nited States. One broke in 1927 in the Estate oii\ansas wherT haS drifted to a height of from eight to fifteen ff*.Natu ally anv crop which was subjected to this punishment was a total loss A toss sZar to this occurred in the Township »f O"*;""^",/^^^! Countv in 1936 when several farmers reported total crop losses. xm\ can easilv see that with farm crops suffering a damage of between $75,- OoS,000 and $100,000,000 a year in hail losses that many farmers are WpH to call upon various agencies for financial assistance. Hail losses sH&s i^^q=- t=BBB of hail losses in Pennsylvania to tree fruits would probably be ^^^.'J^^'J'J forced to either neglect their orchards altogether or to partially neglect them and in some cases finally lose them altogether. There are two things a fruit grower should carefully consider in decid- ing whether or not he should carry Hail Insurance. First- He should consider his financial condition. If hail were to manv erowers who could financially survive a. severe hailstorm carry Sa^Insrance as a sound business-like proposition which will protect their present financial condition. — 29 — Second: What has been the experience of my orchard — the frequency and severity of hailstorms? Have I had hail damage which would have placed me in financial difficulties or has forced a curtailment of my normal expenditures for my orchard and home? It would seem to me that the answers to these questions will in part help you solve your problem of Hail Insurance. Just last week a fruit grower in Massachusetts was telling me about the difficulties he got into three years ago. It seems he owned a small orchard but had a chance to purchase a large orchard nearby, which he did at a considerable expense. The first year he operated this new orchard hail caused almost a complete loss with the result he has been forced to mortgage his home farm in order to meet his obligations. As he put it— ''I am now carrying Hail Insurance but feel like the farmer who waited until he had a horse stolen from his barn and then locked the door." If this man had protected his investment the first year he might have been today the sole owner of this orchard. Each of you growers has a different problem to face and you can only solve your individual problem by analyzing the facts concerning them. I might say here that the rates you gentlemen are paying for Hail Insurance are promulgated on actual experience, whick means that the premiums the companies receive for each County are placed against the losses they have actually paid in the respective Counties in the State. This accurately determines the susceptibility of the various Counties of the State to hail damage. The fact that during the last eleven years Pennsylvania fruit growers have purchased more than $2,000,000 in protection against damage by hail shows that there is a definite need for this protection in the state. Let us now proceed to insure a fruit farm which, for example, will consist of twenty acres of fruit in Adams County. The first thing to consider in coming to a conclusion regarding the advisability of carry- ing hail insurance is the expense you will go to in caring for your fruit orchard each year. The cost of spraying, pruning, cultivating, and otherwise giving your orchard the best of care will cost approximately $50.00 per acre to bring fruit through to maturity. This cost of $50.00 should be the least amount of insurance one should carry on fruit if the fruit set so warrants such an amount of insurance. Let us suppose that this twenty-acre fruit farm is made up entirely of York apples and that an exceptionally fine set is in prospect, and you decide to insure it at one hundred per cent to value. Your estimate of the crop is for a 6,000 bushel yield. Early crop reports would indicate that fruit will bring an average price of $1.00 a bushel, a fair average on which to base your estimate. Thus you will need a $6,000 hail policy or $300.00 per acre. The cost of such a policy in Franklin County last year would have been $360.00 or $6.00 for each $100.00 of insurance you buy. Incidentally^ the insurance companies set $300.00 as the maximum amount of insurance ^\hich can be placed on any one acre of fruit. Now suppose that hail comes rattling down some hot afternoon during a severe electrical storm. The first question you ask yourself is, "What shall I do about my insurance?" — 30 — I The first thing to do is to examine your orchard carefully and estimate in your own mind the extent of the damage and place this in the notice of loss which you receive with your insurance policy and forward to the insurance company by registered mail. The insurance company may m turn advise your good friend. Professor F. N. Fagan, that you have suffered damage and he will make an inspection of your orchard and later make an adjustment when the fruit reaches maturity. Here I might say that a great many fruit growers differ with the insurance companies in that they ask for an early adjustment when hail causes damage to their fruit. . i ., • j- i. It is the experience of the insurance companies and their adjusters that hail marks on fruit will grow larger as the apples mature and if hail losses are adjusted later in the year, the fruit grower will get a much better and fairer adjustment than he would have gotten if the loss had been adjusted at the time of the damage, due to the fact that an adjuster will be able to know definitely the condition of the apples and to what extent they will keep after harvesting. When the adjuster finally arrives at your orchard to make the adjustment, he will go into the orchard and pick approximately one hundred apples from representative trees in various sections of the block insured. The number he counts will vary with the severity and uniformity of the hail storm. (The following example to be worked out on a blackboard). Let us now analyze one sample of the adjustment where the adjuster has picked one hundred apples from all sides of the tree and has dumped them in a pile ready to be graded. The Standard Tree Fruit Endorse- ment discloses the fact that for each apple that has been hit by hail and lowered one grade 35% damage shall be allowed For apples which have been lowered two grades, a percentage of 70% of loss is allowed, and for apples which have been lowered three grades, to cider or evap- orator stock, 90% to 100% damage. In the fourth pile the apples which have received no damage from hail will be placed. Thus if the damage shows that 45 apples have been lowered one grade, 15 apples are lowered two grades, and 35 apples being graded as cider or evaporator stock, and five (5) apples have no damage on them at all, the result will be a loss of 61.25%. Thus, if this owner of the twenty acres of York had WHEN SHIPPING FRUIT THINK OF ALBERT C. ROEMHILD COMMISSION MERCHANT 122 Dock Street Philadelphia — 31 — carried a $6,000 policy on his orchard he would have received from this hail storm a loss of $3,675, which with the amount of insurance carried should properly compensate him. If there exist any questions which you would care to have answered, I shall appreciate your writing me in care of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Hartford, Connecticut, and I assure you that we will be glad to answer any questions you may send me, BERKS-LEHIGH MOUNTAIN FRUIT GROWERS ASSOCIATION J. E. LINDE, Sec'y, Orefield, Pa. Following the meeting on March 17, 1936 and the subsequent organi- zation of the fruit growers of Berks and Lehigh Counties, the Berks- Lehigh Mountain Fruit Growers Association was molded into an organi- zation which has been profitable to its members. The organization is co-operative in nature. The organization has for its goal the promotion of the best interest of the fruit industry in the territory, the establishment of a reputation for high quality fruit, and the maintaining of a marketing bureau. The association collects beneficial information by its continuous contact with potential markets and makes such information available to its members for their personal use in marketing fruit to the best advantage without price fixing. The association is neither a buying or selling organization but essentially a service organization for its members for more efficient marketing. The membership in the association is entirely voluntary but is limited to the fruit growers of Berks and Lehigh counties and such additional fruit growers in nearby counties as may be accepted by a majority vote of the governing board. All members in good standing receive the same information relative to the markets and agree to protect the entire membership by reporting to the association any firm or individual who has defaulted in payments or contracts since December 31, 1933. As previously stated, the association is not a buying or selling organi- zation. Each member makes all decisions relative to the sale of his fruit. The annual membership fee is $10.00. The expenses of the association are met by assessments levied on each member in proportion to the reported packed bushels sold wholesale. The assessments are based upon the grower's estimate prior to harvest and a report of whole- sale sales when the crop is harvested. When this data is received the board levies its permanent assessment and adjusts all accounts with its members. The association members are desirous of building up a reputation for Berks-Lehigh Mountain Fruit; consequently the association furnishes labels to be used upon containers of fruit grading U. S. No. 1 or better. Failing to comply with the provisions of the constitution and by-laws is cited as a violation. Any member found guilty of such a violation can be removed by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors. The executive committee consisting of three members, the president being one, conducts the business of the association, such as employing a manager, locating and maintaining a central office with the necessary facilities for proper and efficient operation. A definite schedule is maintained for the collection and dissemmation of information to members, so that early in the day the night's market prices, clean up, and future demands may be available to the menibers. Later in the day information as to the distribution of the day's pick or pack is available. Initially the association was established for the purpose of promoting a more efficient marketing of early apples and peaches in the Berks- Lehigh territory. At the request of the groWers the apple deal is also being handled by the association. i .u • The association has been in operation about a year, but the service rendered the growers has been well worth the effort. Had the peach deal been unsatisfactory, there would have been little reason or demand on the part of the membership to insist upon continuing the service in order to market the main apple crop. A number of reasons could be cited as factors in the success of the organization, but undoubtedly the sincere team work of all the members and the capable manager who contacted the markets are paramount. , The growers were fortunate in being able to secure the services ol Mr J G White with his years of inspection service work and market contacts. Mr. White's first assignment in the newly formed organiza- tion was that of covering the principal markets to which the producing area ships its fruit. The purpose of this assignment was to make con- tacts, obtain information on the reliabiUty of dealers and the possibilities of various markets. Mr. White visited Washington, Baltimore, Phila- delphia, New York, Providence, Rochester, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and a number of smaller markets. j .• f The association has functioned smoothly and has been productive ol excellent results, judging from the remarks of growers, many saying that they were more than pleased and that the small assessment to the association has been returned a hundred times over. AN EASTENER VISITS NORTHWESTERN ORCHARDS R. H. SUDDS, State College, Pa.* It is to be hoped that in reading my would-be facetious reference in the Program to Mr. Fagan's preferring to raise sheep rather than to face the problems of the fruit grower in the Northwest, you do not acquire the wrong impression,-that I am trying to belittle either party concerned. It is not in my power to add or detract either to Mr. t agan s reputation nor to that of your Northwestern competitors who show so much heroic courage in the face of titanic obstacles. This summer I went to the Northwest to see for myself how things were; also I visited friends and former students now located there m the fruit industry. What I heard and saw made me marvel for there it anywhere in the history of fruit growing, men are putting up a mag- nificent fight against unfair odds. *Now of West Virginia University, Morgantown, W. Va. — 32 — 33 My first stop was at Spokane, capital of the "Inland Empire" of the Northwest. The Spokane Valley was once a thriving apple district which, however, was slowly declining for several sufficient reasons, until the autumn and winter of 1935-36 made practically a clean sweep in eliminating it. The northern Idaho districts met an identical fate. At Lewiston, Idaho, and Clarkston, Washington, about 100 miles south and east of Spokane, is an irrigated area of several thousand acres in the Snake River Valley; here the fertile soil now is devoted to sweet cherries, peaches, and a large assortment of truck crops. Once this area was chiefly apples but now this fruit is comparatively rare; the only reason for its disappearance was that the apples could not be marketed to advantage. On higher priced land in a semi-arid cfimate such as this, unprofitable economic plants disappear quickly. To kill an orchard here, all that has to be done is to refrain from irrigating it for a comparatively short time; the end is never in doubt nor long delayed. It was at Moscow, Idaho, the town where the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station is located, that I saw twenty-five year old eastern black walnuts and apple trees getting along so beautifully side by side that I was moved to comment in print on it later. Hereby I started a discussion which is not settled yet. Now for the famous central Washington districts. The Wenatchee and Okanogan districts produce over half of the entire apple crop of Washington State. Yakima, about 90 miles south of Wenatchee, is the next largest fruit district which is much more diversified than the former; here are grown apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, and a wide variety of vegetables. Some growers even have a cow or two. Wenatchee business conditions are a good barometer of the status of the apple industry; it is truly a one crop town. Yakima, the larger city, is not so subject to violent economic ups and downs. Conditions in the Yakima area did not reach quite the same rock bottom level as in Wenat- chee. Yakima also has developed the by-product outlet considerably. The men actually engaged in growing the fruit in central Washington are about sixty per cent college graduates, I was informed. They are generally alert, resourceful, and courageous individuals possessing un- usual intelligence and tremendous capacity for taking terrific economic punishment which certainly has been meted out to them in large doses from 1931 to 1935, inclusive. Since my trip, every time I hear someone remark that Americans farmer are becoming soft and cannot take it, I turn back mentally to these fruit growers of the Northwest who can. Most of the orchards are in relatively small units of from 5 to 15 acres. The largest operation I saw, — a company orchard, — was about 940 acres, but not all of this was located at one place. The usual ranch, as it is called, consists of a small bungalow type house, a garage, and one or two other small buildings, one of them being the stationary spray plant. There usually is no land lying fallow and the orchard occupies every available foot of good land. At the exact hairline where the irrigation quits, the semi-desert begins with its monotonous sagebrush and worthless wastes. Most of the irrigation is by gravity, although it is necessary in the case of some orchards on higher land to force water up a lift vertically equivalent to 300 feet The annual per acre cost of water alone varies from about 5 dollars, in the case of some of the older irrigation developments, to more than 20 dollars in certain of the newer tracts. Sub-irrigation by water seeping from newer developments at higher levels has rendered some of the original land in the Yakima Valley unsuited for most crops because of its concentration of salts in the surface layers of the soil. Water is applied to the orchard soil at intervals of about two weeks, for from 4 to 6 applications per season. It is the lack of more water which would limit much additional expansion of this irrigated orchard industry even if other economic conditions made it desirable. The newer areas are farther and farther from the railheads,— another costly item to add to the overhead. Cultural methods seem to have changed considerably from the old davs of clean cultivation. The object now, I was informed, is to give the orchards little or no cultivation. Many of the growers drag down the biennial sweet clover cover crop or alfalfa sods rather than mow them Any plant that will grow in the dense ground shade to be tound in many of the orchards is quite welcome, for organic matter is necessary even for such wonderfully fertile and remarkably uniform soils they have discovered. Another reason why cultivation is to be avoided is that it means a reditching for irrigation,— just one more item of avoid- able expense. Nitrogen in some commercial form is the chief fertilizer used, although thanks to the energetic activities of some of the fertilizer dealers, the picture presented to the growers is terribly confused,-quite needlessly and purposely so, I felt. As with us, potash and phosphorus in moderate amounts give some measure of response in additional cover crop or sod growth. Propping of the apple trees is a universal practice and I counted many times more than 20 props under one apple tree. When the trees are often no farther apart than 27 feet, and when the numerous props are in place, a mature orchard looks very much like a very thick wood lot of fence posts when one squats down to peer along under the leafy canopy^ No wheeled vehicle can get through under such conditions, which helps explain the stationary spray plants. Many of these central Washington growers have never seen apple scab and some do not even know what it is; the hot and dry days of the growing seasons are not conducive to scab. But how they do fa^r the codling moth! Those of you who believe you have too much difficulty in controlling worms should visualize what the Northwestern growers must face every year, with some seasons much worse .than others A codling moth loss of about 10 per cent is expected during the usual season, and in some years half the fancy pack for the district may be lost just because of this single pest. Some growers may make on y one slight mistake in attempting to outguess the worms, and as a result, the whole crop may be lost. And when a grower gives up the battle for any particular season and surrenders his orchard to the worms, his neighbors reaUze they too are in for it, because so often only the rancher knows — 34 — — 35 where his orchard ends and the next one begins; the codHng moth simply does not bother making any distinction between adjoining orchards, other things being equal. Northwestern spraying practices amazed me most of all, for accord- ing to their standards, we in the East do not spray at all, — we simply go through the motions. On trees where we would apply between 5 and 10 gallons, I found the spraymen busily whitewashing the trees with from 50 to 75 gallons per tree* at each application with about 3 pounds of lead arsenate per 100 gallons. The term ''whitewashing" is not the exaggeration you might think and it is used advisedly, for some of it was just that. Even to attempt to control the codling moth in the worst areas may require from 7 to 10 such pioson sprays! And the worst is that the end is not yet in sight, for heavier and heavier spraying is being required annually, I was told. No wonder some of the Yakima growers have torn out their apples and set other fruits. Some of the minor apple areas likewise have abandoned apple growing for the same reason. This tremendous amount of lead arsenate applied annually is doing notable things to their soil, and to their cover crops and sods,~and even the trees in some instances. Many of the older orchards cannot grow a cover crop because of the concentration of arsenic in the soil. And when an old apple orchard is torn out to be replanted— often at the ripe old age of 25 years— the new trees have an unpleasant habit of failing to grow. This is giving much concern to the experiment stations in Washington and Idaho with no good generally practical remedy thus far discovered. Again, since the apples are so heavily covered with residue, there is never any doubt whether or not washing will be necessary,— so nobody bothers to raise this question but rather assumes washing as inevitable. Chemists revealed that in some cases the lead arsenate coatings reached such figures that I could scarcely imagine such amounts adhering to the apple. Most of the apples are washed in tandem machines, first in acid, then in a basic solution, or sometimes the process is reversed, if necessary. At the American Fruit Growers' packing house at Wenatchee, 4 or 5 combinations of washing solutions are kept set up in their battery of washers. When a certain lot of fruit is brought in, the packing house boss attempts to learn from the grower just what combinations of lead arsenate, oil or kerosene, soap, and other chemicals have been applied, then he attempts to wash a sample by a method which he thinks will reduce the residue as gently as possible. The washed sample is rushed to a laboratory and the rest of the fruit is held for the chemist's report which is made in an hour or two; if favorable, the balance then goes through the solution used on the sample; if the lead is still too high, trials must be made with other combinations of solvents until something does work. But if it seems to require too much time during the rush, 1 *If»*^l runoff even with these heavy applications is nearly plain water. A "Floccu- lated bpray is used which sticks to the surface of the fruit in proportion to the ad- hesiveness of the "Floes" and the amount of pressure with which they are applied. A coarse driving spray is used. the whole lot is set aside to work on later at leisure. Once in a while, I heard, a given lot will not clean. Until one has seen the residue prob- lem as it exists in Washington, he does not know the importance of this factor. The red mite which all of you know so well is likewise a standard pest on the coast. Another insect, — the two-spotted mite, really a spider, — which you can thank goodness you do not know — gives them some severe losses at times. Sulfur sprays are not used in summer except for the two-spotted mite, and summer oils are required on occasion for the red mite. I saw just as severe sulfur burns on fruit and foliage where it was used in Washington in the summer of 1936 as any of you had ; where no sulfur sprays had been applied there was no burning at all. The timing of the sprays in both Yakima and Wenatchee was done by field men working for the insecticide companies. It was quite amusing to me to see the work you here expect to have done by Mr. Hodgkiss and Dr. Kirby and -their men from State College, being carried on just as carefully and conservatively there by the commercial fraternity. These field men are real experts on general orcharding affairs as well as in their line and can spot codling moth eggs on the fruits at surprising distances; they have to be accurate and conservative or else the next lot of lead arsenate will likely be sold to the grower by a quick-witted competitor. The growers in the Northwest buy materials only for one spray at a time, not for the season in advance, and merely a dozen companies are fighting for the business. I could continue considerably longer on their spraying problems which were a revelation to me. Most of the total apple crop of Washington is shipped out, for the local markets so many of you are fortunate to have are seldom to be found in the Northwest. More than three-quarters of the total crop is Delicious, Winesap, Jonathan, and Rome. The future trend indicates a slight increase for Winesap and Rome, with a marked increase for Delicious. Jonathan will show a considerable decline as it has been unsatisfactory for several major reasons. While reliable estimates place the number of acres of apples pulled last winter in Yakima alone at more than 1000, the production will not decrease proportionately, because the acreage was chiefly poorer orchards already out of the economic picture. The small number of varieties has created quite a pollination problem, for as in the East, Winesap is a poor poUinizer. Delicious is an excellent poUinizer for the others and in turn may be pollinated by Rome and Jonathan. Many varieties which are good poUinizers are very difficult to sell. Bees are either rented from professional beekeepers or are secured as package bees from Oregon and California. Frosts are not a problem in Washington nor are cloudy dull days. The finish obtained is far ahead of what most of you in the East can equal. Yields are completely out of line with those we expect normally. In order to stand a chance of being profitable, a Northwestern orchard must pack out consistently from 800 bushels an acre up, I was informed. 36 37 — This is not impossible, for I saw one orchard owned by Mr. Roy D. Cain, Wenatchee, that had averaged 1165 packed boxes per acre per year for 14 years. At the College, our heaviest yielding variety has' probably been Mcintosh which produced, orchard run, 700 bushels per acre in 1935 and about 500 per acre in 1936. In the Cumberland-Shenandoah Valley, yields of from 200 to 300 bushels tree run per acre are considered gen- erally as a good yield. If it were not for such heavy yields, no apple industry could exist in the Northwest. Beside the nefarious activities of the codling moth, your chief protec- tion here in the East is the freight rates. In all my trip through the Northwest, this was the chief cause of complaint of the growers. The rate of one dollar a hundred to the Mississippi River and to a few points east of that, is a tremendous barrier, for in order to move their fruit, they must ship most of it east by railroad and pay at least a dollar. The central Washington districts of Yakima and Wenatchee-Okano- gan alone expend several hundred thousand dollars per year in adver- tising,—probably several times what the whole East invests in the same manner. The East, however, is showing some signs of casting off its lethargy and becoming slightly more awakened to its possibilities. I discussed the situation with many well-informed people in the North- west as to what is the future of that important apple growing section. These persons were well agreed that the chief hope for the Northwest to make any large general profit lay in having a heavy crop during years when the East was light. In seasons when the Eastern crop was normal, their profit would be confined chiefly to the Northwestern growers producing apples most efficiently. In years of gluts, quite likely only a few of the western growers would make anything. From 1931 to 1935, inclusive, only a few of the latter preferred group made money regularly and until this season, the condition of most of the growers was deplorable. Most of the orchards were said to be mortgaged to the hilt and how long the owners can continue to lose money is a question nobody can answer. The season of 1936-37 brought some degree of encouragement; a few good seasons in succession will help set the Northwest back on its feet. Several more bad ones hand running will likely do more to reduce the Northwestern apple industry than any plan of crop limitation and reduction planned by man. Most of you in Pennsylvania are lucky and I hope you begin to realize it soon if you do not already. However, do not rest on your oars in your plans to grow, market, and advertise better and better grades of superior varieties. Your Northwestern competitors are still dangerous and with even a fractional opportunity, they will give you plenty of the severest kind of competition; with anything Uke an even break, they will practically steal your show as many of you are now plodding along, indifferent to the changing apple world about you. All respect then, to the apple growers of the Pacific Northwest! Just to hear of their gallant fight against great odds is to admire them and to know them and their problems first-hand is merely to intensify one's admiration of their courage. — 38 — BASKETS CHARACTER Have you noticed on the streets in our receiving markets that baskets closely portray human nature? Many of them, beaten in their endeavor to perform their duty, have drooped shoulders, misshapen feet, broken backs and hairy, haggard faces. Other baskets portray real character in their straight shoulders, their excellent carriage and their clean-shaven, smooth appear- ance. These baskets stand out in front— not bent, not broken in the performance of their duty, they proudly display their protected contents and their name, "MARVIL U. S. No. 11." **Marvil Products Protects Contents" MARVIL PACKAGE CO LAUREL, DELAWARE 39 — ORCHARD BEEKEEPING GEO. H. REA, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. There is no longer doubt as to the efficiency of honeybees as cross polHnating agents for fruit bloom and in fact their absolute necessity has been established for many orchards. In many fruit growing locali- ties the wild insect population is entirely inadequate to properly work the great number of fruit blossoms in the short period of time in which this is necessary. Apparently there has been a marked decrease in the wild insect population in many sections in recent years, because of clean cultivation of the soil and cleaning up of the wood lots where the solitary bees and other useful insects make their nests. Since it is not possible to propagate the wild insects and have them in abundance in the orchards at the right time, we must turn our attention to the honeybee which has a high commercial value in the honey crops which it harvests and which can be reared in as large numbers as desired and placed in the orchards when needed. It is not the purpose of this article to attempt to induce all fruit growers to keep bees. This would be foolish propaganda because there are so many factors involved that the average fruit grower would only lose his investment if he should attempt to keep bees. The bees must have certain attention at the right time and if this attention is not given at that time failure is Ukely to result. Since the business of the fruit grower is to care for his orchard and the fruit crops, a compara- tively minor detail like working over a few colonies of bees when there are big things to be done is likely to be neglected. Some persons are highly susceptible to bee sting poison and many are so much afraid of bees that they cannot work with them. Such persons should not think of keeping bees. Most fruit growers prefer to rent colonies of bees from reliable bee- keepers who supply bees for pollination purposes as part of their regular beekeeping business, or to purchase package bees from the South each spring. These phases of the beekeeping industry are growing and for a very large portion of the fruit growers will be the continuous sources of colonies of bees for their orchards. However, there are some fruit growers who derive a lot of pleasure out of keeping their own bees and prefer to do so rather than to depend on someone to supply the bees when needed. Orchard beekeeping has some advantages and some decided disadvantages. The chief advantages are that the bees are there when needed and at no greater cost than rented bees, some honey is harvested for use by the family and sometimes for sale, and the beekeeper has a delightful avocation. The disadvantages are that it is another detail to be looked after when the fruit grower may lose more than is gained if he stops to give the bees attention; bees left in the orchard are often poisoned by spray or dust; they sometimes are objectionable to members of the family or to the workmen and may sting animals if placed near the buildings, and in some seasons in some locations the bees may not gather sufficient honey to keep them over winter, and additional labor and expense is involved in feeding Mkmh. — 40 — Simple Beekeeping Methods Necessary The necessity for colonies very strong in field bees at fruit bloom time cannot be over-estimated. Since this is the main objective in orchard beekeeping the beekeeping practices of the whole year must focus on this one point. To acquire these maximum colonies, five main factors must be present for a period of at least eight weeks previous to the time of fruit bloom. These factor: are a good sized cluster of young bees, a prolific queen, plenty of honey and pollen stores, plenty of room for stores and brood-rearing, and plenty of insulation. These things cannot be supplied at this time but must be provided at the time or previous to the time when the bees are packed up for winter in the previous October. Methods for accomplishing these things are not difficult but are seasonal and would be better taken one step at a time during the summer and fall. The use of the two-story Langstroth hive is urged so that the fullest egg laying capacity of good queen bees may be utilized. It is best to requeen the colonies each year so as to offset heavy losses which may occur from faiUng queens. In most localities if the bee- keeper supplies the queen and plenty of storage room for all of the honey which the bees may gather during the summer, leaves plenty of honey for the bees in the fall, and adequately insulates the hives before freezing weather occurs, the matter of a good cluster of bees and the satisfactory progress of the colony in the spring will normally occur. Securing and Using the Bees Fruit growers who wish to rent colonies should contact those who have bees to rent at an early date so that there will be no slip-up when the bees are needed. Weak colonies are useless and normal colonies should have at least six combs of brood and the rest of the combs well covered with bees at fruit bloom time in order to be called a good colony. Experimental work by several workers has proven the comparatively high value of strong colonies over weak colonies in their ability to fly and work on blossoms especially in low temperatures. Colonies should be moved into the orchard if possible a day or two before the first blossoms open so that they will be present every minute of the possible time when work may be done. This is especially true in sections of the country like western New York where much of the weather during fruit bloom may be cool and cloudy. In this region it is highly important that the bees be well distributed through the orchard rather than to be located in groups or in one apiary. In many seasons the bees never have weather favorable for flight farther away from the hives than two or three rows of trees during the entire period of fruit bloom. In sections where weather conditions are more favorable it may be possible to have good work done by the bees when they are placed m groups in or around the orchard. It is better to play on the safe side and have the bees well distributed throughout the orchard than to take chances on a poor set of apples by saving a little labor m distributing the bees. Seasons vary greatly in the amount of cloudy and cool and windy weather and it is best to be prepared for the poorest bee flight conditions. Sunshine and fairly high temperatures are essential to long bee flights. — 41 — Package Bees Package bees should be ordered from the southern shippers several weeks ahead and they should arrive before fruit blossoms begin to open. It is best however, not to have i°'^t»re is needed by both tree atSTO to«7n^'nJr'°" '' w['f"lu^ 'V^'' ■■"'" °f "^"hard land valued stte in the F«^? i"^ l?''!-!, ^?" ^^' ^'''r °f *h« "'•d'n^y P'^ach orchard fmmedi^t'e conlideSion'' '"''"''*"'" °' ''"''' ''^"^ '^^ ''^°^'- ^'^--ds fhJ^f '■'^P'/^'^y °f erosion in an orchard may be directly correlated with hnv^"^ /' '^'' r^'^Sement being practiced. In other words we may conditions''" "' '^° '"*"■""'" °^ ''°'''''' ^''^""^^ ""^^^ °'<=hZd „f ^J^^V '' Pf ""anent sod, the common ground cover in apple orchards of most eastern and western states, erosion has probably been little o? no greater than exists upon other grass or pasture land. The orchards of the Pacific Northwest, for instance, under a more or less permanent alfalfa sod, do not have an erosion problem. Even when the grass or sod in broken up each spring but allowed to grow up again immediately little or no physical loss of soil or fertility takes place. On the other hand, we may have our severest erosion under orchard conditions, and we find such a condition in the peach orchards of many sections of the country. This means, of course, that the entire top or fertile soil layer of an orchard may be completely lost during the lifetime of that orchard, ranging from 15 to 20 years. Erosion of such severity is too common and its importance or danger cannot be overstated It must be acknowledged that ordinarily we cannot avoid the easily eroded types of land in choosing peach orchard sites. In other words, peach trees require good water and air drainage, such as our hilly and sloping lands usually afford. The solution of the erosion problem lies therefore in the manner in which such land is handled rather than in choosing another type of soil and a different location. In general there are two ways in which rainfall may be prevented from causing erosion. The first of these is to prevent accumulation of large quantities of water in one place, while the second is to slow up the speed with which the water runs over the surface of the soil. In dealing with the correction of these two causes of water erosion, we usually speak of the mechanical and vegetative methods of erosion control. The prevention of water accumulation is largely an engineering prob- lem. While it may not always be possible to prevent water from coming into an orchard from the land which lies above it, there are methods which can be used to take care of this water before it enters the orchard. A so-called diversion ditch may be used to accomplish this. When it comes to handling the rainfall which falls on the orchard itself, unless the slope is too long, we become largely concerned with the necessity for slowing down the speed of the run-off. Whenever the accumulation does occur at any point, diversion of this excess water is also of importance. The speed with which water flows determines to a decided degree its soil-carrying power. If we consider a very important formula in hydrau- lics, we fiud that under field conditions the transporting power of water varies approximately as the fifth power of its velocity. In other words, water moving at the rate of two miles per hour, will carry 32 times as much soil as it can carry at one mile per hour. How to slow up this flow of water, once our rainfall reaches the land, is the all important problem, and therein lies the need for the practical methods of modern erosion control. Unfortunately most of us have certain prejudices or traditions to ''unlearn," whenever we try to change a set of practices in regard to the culture of any given crop. The fruit grower, like the people in all other walks of life, has been handicapped by tradition. For example, he has been planting round hills on a square system. Although the best method for planting orchards on sloping land may be to follow the contour of the hills, few orchardists in the eastern states have seen it done that way, and consequently even the most progressive fruit growers I — 44 — 45 — still use the old square system. As soon as the benefits of contour planting become better known— both the economy in the use of horse or tractor power, and the greater conservation of soil, water and fertility —there should be a decided change in the direction of contour planting l^ew orchards in America are planted on the contour. And yet it is a very simple matter to plant a new orchard in this manner, and to ter- race it also if the soil is suitable. In fact contour planting goes hand in hand with terracing, although it may be done without terracing under some conditions with success. In California, the general recommenda- tion IS to contour plant orchards on slopes ranging above four percent using bench terraces with permanent vegetative risers on slopes greater than 14 percent. The terrace is probably the outstanding example of mechanical erosion control. In Its application to orchard use terracing may have several variations, though the general principle remains the same. I here is evidence that terraces were used by the Mayans and the ±;eruvian Indians as long ago as the dawn of American history. A system of terraces begun 4,000 years ago by the Igorotes of Ifugao in the Philip- pine Island has been improved and extended even to the present day lerraces of the bench type are used on the steeper lands of Germany, L.mna, and Japan and by the planters of Java and Sumatra. They nave been recognized as an accepted agricultural practice in the South tor more than 75 years, but only a few widely scattered examples were to be found in the Northeast, up to the time the Soil Conservation service began putting on terracing demonstrations. At least two of these older terrace systems, however, were constructed for orchards and in both cases they have proven highly satisfactory. Terracing is easiest as applied in the establishment of new orchards since there is then an opportunity to make every tree row a terrace. Such terraces need not be very large, as the water-holding capacity need only be great enough to hold tiie maximum rainfall which occurs on the average 20 or 25 foot interval between rows. After the accurate laying out of the tree rows— TnV! To /^^ terraces if the rows are short, or with a slight gradient (U.l to 0.3 foot drop per 100 ft.) if the rows are long— an ordinary plow may be used to build the terrace high enough to allow planting of the trees. As time goes on, the terraces are maintained by additional plowing toward their crest or ''berm" or by the use of a home-made V -type drag. fJV^r^ ^^'I'^^^^f'^^^on work on the Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, project, ine & L. fe. has also used a method of terrace construction whereby every rourth or hfth row is terraced at the standard narrow or wide-base tevTRce size, serving in this capacity as a ''master terrace." In this way any abnormal thunder showers or cloudbursts are prevented from causing water run-off which might occasionally break through the smaller inter- vening terraces before they become fully established and settled. Such a terrace at the top of the slope would also serve to intercept overflow water which might run into the orchard from the field above. A simply designed diversion terrace will in such cases save untold soil losses and prevent the formation of the gulliefe which are a constant source ot inconvenience in the performance of all orchard practices, involving the use of heavy machinery. — 46 BEAN PRODUaS FOR ORCHARD AND CROPS The finest yet most reasonably priced equipment that money can buy for spraying, dusting, grading, cleaning, or washing. Equipment of the most modern design, built to render efficient money saving service. The Bean Royal Armored Sprayers have earned a reputation for greater efficiency and effectiveness — practically no troubles and long life that every grower desires in his sprayer. Bean Sprayers are built in a range of sizes from 6 to 60 gallons at pressure up to 800 pounds. Somewhere in this range of sizes is a sprayer that will exactly meet your needs and give you better service than you have ever had before — yet the price will be within the Umits of the investment you will make in a sprayer. We suggest that when you need a sprayer, grader or cleaning equipment that you consult us and get literature describing the latest equipment for this work. In doing so you will be pro- tecting any investment you may make. JOHN BEAN MFG. CO. Division Food Machinery Corporation. LANSING, MICHIGAN — 47 I Regular terracing machinery may be used in orchard terracing:, but such machmes have their Hmitations, particularly in the orchard which is already established. The original cost of such machinery in many cases might be reduced by cooperative purchase and use by a large number of iruit growers, sometimes already together in an association for the pur- pose of marketing fruit or purchasing supplies. The problem of terracing is naturally far different in the case of orchards already planted as compared to those to be newly planted. 1 he use of terraces in established orchards is being tried, however in cases where soil losses have been severe. Such installation usually requires the removal of a certain number of trees, especially if the ter- races are large or put in with large machinery. On the other hand, if they are small and close together it may not be necessary to remove any trees, though in such cases the terraces or furrows are more tem- porary and must be reconstructed annually. There is need for much experimental work in this kind of terracing, however, before it can be determined definitely how much benefit will accrue to the remaining trees through the conservation of soil and water to offset the loss of the trees removed and the expense of construction. Vegetative Control and Erosion The principle involved in vegetative control of erosion concerns the decreasing of the speed with which water travels, so as to reduce its eroding power to the minimum and allow for a maximum penetration and conservation. The types of cover crops used in commercial orchard practice are varied, but may be divided into groups on the basis of their effectiveness in controlling the flow of run-off water and resisting soil losses. On the one hand we find thick blue grass sod almost perfect in this respect At the opposite end of the list we have buckwheat, showing little or no ethciency in erosion control. Fortunately for the apple grower, his normal soil management program in most areas includes a permanent sod or cover. This may involve cultivation for only a brief period in the late tall or early spring (sometimes only once every other year) for the purpose of correcting a sod-bound condition and in order that the benefits of nitrate and other fertilizers applied will be fully and quickly available to the trees. The alfalfa sod in the orchards of the Northwest serves the same purpose as the bluegrass or sweet clover orchard covers in the Northwest, and of the Korean lespedeza cover crop in the South- east. Sod culture under Pennsylvania conditions is limited almost entirely to apple orchards, although alternate rows or buffer strips of a per- manent vegetative cover are sometimes used in peach orchards. For many years most of the commercial apple growers in this state have been practicing a system whereby a permanent sod cover is maintained throughout the period of the year when erosion can take place, thus conserving their soil resources to the maximum. In New Jersey and a few of the adjoining fruit areas, however, the apple orchard is cultivated much the same as a peach orchard, and under such conditions, especially when orchards must also contend with sandy soils and torrential rains, it has been found difficult to secure adequate erosion control through vegetative methods alone. As in the case of farm pasture, improved growth of sod in the orchard will result in better erosion control. The fruit grower should therefore apply sufficient lime and phosphorous, when these are lacking, to in- crease the growth and thickness of the cover crop and thereby effectively conserve soil. Leguminous cover crops particularly respond to such applications with excellent results. For some reason the idea is prevalent among fruit growers that peach orchards must be cultivated, frequently and continuously through- out the growing season of the tree and fruit. Such a practice has of course been largely responsible for the severe erosion found generally in these orchards. Furthermore it has been noted many times that non- cultivated orchard trees on good soil show more tree growth than culti- vated trees on eroded soils. The average peach grower objects to the early seeding of a cover crop because he believes such plants tie up too much nitrogen and compete too strongly with the trees for soil moisture. These difficulties, though usually magnified, may largely be overcome by following a slightly delayed planting of the cover crop after the early spring growth period when trees demand the most nitrogen, and later by mowing the cover crop during the dry summer period when there is not enough moisture for both trees and cover crop. This clipping of the cover crop will further aid erosion control, and result in greater water absorption by the mulching effect which it produces. Experiment at Pennsylvania State College have already shown that the cultivation period of a peach orchard planted on deep soil may be shortened to accomplish little more than a complete preparation of the ground in the early spring. Any competition of the trees and coyer crops after that period may be settled in favor of the trees, not by culti- vation, but by mowing of the cover crop. The confinement of cultiva- tion to alternate rows is another method which demands further investi- gation, as occasionally this practice has been observed in orchards and little or no injurious effect on the tree or fruit crop has resulted. The use of cover crops for peach orchards presents no easy problem. \ cover crop must be found which is not too deep-rooted and will make fairly rapid growth of a spreading nature in order to quickly cover the ground after it is sown. A crop which may be mowed in case ot dry weather is preferable, though in most cases cover crop plants are so shallow rooted that the soil moisture which they require would be a negligible loss to trees. Moreover crop plants suffer from dry weather sooner than trees and in some cases they conserve more moisture by preventing run-off than is utilized for growth. Cover crops which have been used in peach orchards during the past year in soil conservation demonstration work include millet (golden millet seem to be the preferable type), Sudan grass, crimson clover, rye, and hairy or winter vetch. In some cases millet or feudan grass has been mixed with soybeans or cowpeas, which by themselves, like buckwheat, are poor cover crops for erosion control. — 48 — — 49 periodTofTe "uT'^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ke into consideration the growth that the Elberta peactTor nS^^^^^^^^^ ''^''^-^ have deteSeJ ment during about 50 days fol S ft k1 ^"'^- ^"'^^^ ^^ ^^"^^ enlarge- next 30 to 35 days, very little .rZ^f blooming period. During the the second period of grow h exte^I*^. • ^""^fl^T^^^ takes place Then harvesting. The cultfvXn period o^^h.''?. ^\^^'' ^^ ^^ ^^ days before extend only to approximatelfthe e^ orchard needs therefore not have made any aDnreoi/hll L .u u ^^ ^^®* growth period it will only important eoi^prtirfSn'^^^^^^^ «^ 4 *^-^- ^h" of fruit growth, at which time fhl^^ would be dunng the last period resorted to if d/y weather pSed "''''^ "^ '^' ^^^^^ ^^^P eouTd b^ may' S'em'loyet To7tZZkT,^ two so-called cover crop ''systems'' single and dVble cove" X ltelr?n";^^^^ "^ ""T ^^"'^ '^e '"he commonly found in Pennsylvania th^ r^iii f '^'? ^^ *he former, more without soybeans), or crimen dVerwh^^^^^^ ^"^"^ ¥^'' (^^^h or early summer is allowed to remain on Thi ' ^V" '^ ^^^e spring or In the S'"" ""'"'"^ '^" fol wLg spw^^^^^^ "^^^^ ^he beginning land, there'^ar? Ursl'eZL'of ^.^^^^^ ^^^ instance in Marv rye With or withourveX is pffi^^^^ Under thisX' plowed or disked under thp fnii^^ ^". ^"^^^^ or September to hL high. This allows a coSerlT^^'P^"^ f^f" '' ^' 15 t^lS' inches to remain on the surface where t w7h^l' "^ P^^^^^-down vegetS brief cultivation period which usua^v ^!p P^^^^.^t erosion during the when a soybean crop (prJfS vwf/h il'l' ""l^'^ '^'"^ ^i^e in June and allowed to grow'uL'tillrtf sL^^^^^^ ^tl TJf'"' ^''^'^ ^« P^^^ted Where Korean lespedeza grows J^u\ I "^ '^"^"^ '"'^"^ cover crop, if not allowed to^pIteW'tfff^^ "V^^^^ erosion-resisting low moisture supplv Such ^^"^,P^f .^ith the orchard during periods of slopes as a moreVr less permanent ^o'^'" 7'^ ^^^^ ^^' ufeTn steep FuTSm^^e,^^^^^ the above cover crop systems involves bringing in a cert^ain arounfo^ erosion.^^^^^^, measure whTch the orchard This may be hay or straw wK 't'''? "^^^^"^^ ^'^^ outside effectively slow up the flow of Lter /n Ji.^''ll: '^ ^PP"^^ properly, will m?k^.^"™J the^heavy mins'^'oile/aT^^^^^^^^ makes good mulch material becauT thl ^^^7 ''^ ^^^^wy manure matter to the soil as well as prevent erost/ '^^ ^'''^''^ ^^^ ^^ganL neg^^^^^^^^^^^ water conservation program is fruit yields during the li^'^f^lr^rchTrd^ Tl'' P^^^^ble^^iSed will actually prolong the life of the orchird NJ^'"^ '^ '^ practiced, but land fertile for the next crop. ^^'^'^- ^^«^eover, it will keep the — so- Many an orchard is short-lived simply because the soil is gone — rendered unfit for other crops until years of a building-up process makes it productive again. Soil conservation is far more economical than soil building. Water and soil conservation go hand in hand. During a dry season they may actually mean the difference between profit and loss. FRUIT GROWING IN EUROPE S. W. FLETCHER, State College, Pa. My horticultural observations in Europe were restricted to Great Britain and Ireland, northern France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Switzerland Any comparison of the fruit growing of Western Europe with that of Pennsylvania must take into consideration the marked difference in climate, which is due mainly to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The climate is much more equable than that of Pennsylvania; the summers are cool and the winters are mild. Sunshine is at a pre- mium all the year. Although the British Isles are farther north than Newfoundland, they have a climate as moderate as that of coastal South Carolina. The winters of southern England are almost frostless. Climate and Fruit. This difference in climate is reflected in the types of fruits grown. The summers are too cool for the peach; this fruit can be grown only when trained against the sunny exposures of walls or buildings which reflect heat. Sometimes peaches are grown in cold frames or in greenhouses. No wonder they cost 15 to 25 cents each. If European countries would allow American peaches to enter at a reasonable tariff, we could build up quite an export trade. The cool, humid summers are favorable for the culture of the pear, cherry and plum, which thrive here somewhat better than in eastern United States; but the apple, while widely grown, is distinctly inferior to our product. In this even-tempered climate the small fruits— espec- cially currants, gooseberries, red raspberries, and strawberries— attain a degree of excellence that we reach only in western Washington and Oregon where somewhat similar conditions prevail. The coolness and humidity have a marked effect on the color and flavor of fruit, especially of apples. Most European varieties are green or yellow (''pippins" and "codlings") or a dull, unattractive red, and quite tart. American varieties are much more brilliant in color, sweeter, and more richly flavored. A Pennsylvania Stayman so far surpasses an English Coxe's Orange Pippin, in appearance and quality, as to make the comparison invidious. European orchards are much smaller than ours. In Kent County, England, I saw several 50-acre apple orchards, but these are exceptional. The average is nearer five acres than fifty. Fruit growing is more inten- sive, and more personal than ours. With them, the individual tree is the unit; with us, the acre. American fruit growing is a business enter- prise; each orchard usually requires considerable capital and employs many men. European fruit growing is more likely to be a family enter- prise, limited in size by the labor capacity of the family. The whole family— father, mother, and children— work long hours in the orchard; — 51 — they have an intimate knowledge of the history and capacities of each tree which our growers seldom acquire. Close Planting. In European orchards the trees are planted very closely together, as judged by American standards, partly because land is scarce and dear. In the older orchards the tops make an almost con- tinuous canopy through which the sunshine — if any — penetrates with difficulty. Usually there are fillers of dwarf trees or intercrops of small fruits, vegetables, or grains. I saw several remarkable combinations in England, as an apple orchard with dwarf apple fillers, between which were currants and gooseberries, and beneath these strawberries, vege- tables and cut flowers. Obviously, horse or tractor labor cannot be used much in such orchards; human labor is cheaper, anyhow. European fruit growing still remains essentially an enterprise of human handi- craft; machinery, which characterizes American fruit growing, is absent for the most part. Of varieties there is no end. Most of them are of limited adaptation. Every country or district has its own favorites, mostly local seedlings. Different city markets demand different varieties, those to which they have become accustomed. Since distances are short and there is no necessity for shipping fruit to distant markets, there is no need to limit the plantings to a few ^'standard sorts", as we do. A ''New England Six" would be impossible in old England. As local market fruit growing increases in America, we, too, will grow more varieties. Very few of the European varieties of apples, peaches, grapes, and the small fruits are known in America; but some of our most popular pears, plums and cherries are European favorites, also; as Bartlett pear, Ger- man prune and Montmorency cherry. Nursery Trees. The European nurseryman is a commercial fruit grower, propagator and expert on varieties and root stocks, rather than a business man and employer of labor. There are no large blocks of one variety. The nursery is a hodge-podge, with different varieties in the same row, and trees trained in different ways, and worked on different stocks. Apple trees are not sold when one year old, but when four to six years old. These old trees can be transplanted more successfully in this humid climate than would be possible here. In fact, large trees may be transplanted readily. I heard of an orchard of 3,000 apple trees in County Kent, England, which were transplanted in 1935, when fourteen years old, with a 6-foot fall of roots, and bore a fair crop in 1936. This man made himself a bearing orchard in one season. Standard trees are headed in the nursery, not at two feet, but at six to eight feet. Each tree receives individual attention. Such trees sell for more than our growers would pay, sometimes for over a dollar each. These high headed apple trees are destined for the two story fruit grow- ing which has prevailed in Europe, especially in Great Britain, from time immemorial — apples above, grass or cultivated crops beneath. This type of fruit growing is associated with general farming. In recent years, however, fruit growing in Europe has begun to pass into the hands of fruit specialists, as it has long since in America. A new type of commercial apple orchard is springing up all over Great Britain and in parts of the continent. This consists of trees on semi- — 52 — dwarfing rootstocks, planted about 18 feet apart each way. Such trees are headed at about one foot, trained to open centers. They are kept about 12 feet high, and are only a little larger than our peach trees. They are grafted on "clonal" rootstocks, which may be readily propo- gated vegetatively, by layering, instead of on seedlmgs, which is the common American practice. It is claimed that such trees are much more uniform in vigor, productiveness and disease resistance than those on seedling roots Hatton, of the East Mailing Fruit Experiment Station, England, has isolated several types of apple root-stocks, of varying degrees of vigor, and adapted for use on different soils, and different ""^The British liave gone much farther than we have in the study of root systems and their relation to tree behavior. We bury the roots of our trees and forget about them. Some of Hatton's best rootstocks and others developed by Dr. R. D. Anthony, are now under trial in Penn- sylvania I am convinced that the drift in this country also, will be toward the use of smaller apple trees propogated on clonal rather than seedling roots, not only because of greater uniformity of orchard per- orman'ce but kso because it is possible to prune, spray and harvest these smaller trees more cheaply and more efficiently than the giant trees that we now Zw. There is little if any loss in yield per acre; these semiTtanda'd'apple trees, planted 18 feet apart, produce 8 to 10 bushels per tree. Sod Orchards. As might be expected in this humid and equabk climate most of the bearing orchards are in sod. 1 he grass is eitber Sor haTor is pastured; rfrely is it left as a mulch. Jh.s >s espec.a% true of the old-time two story fruit growing with high;headed trees. In Germany and Switzerland, apples, plums and cherries almost in- variably are in sod, or the orchard is cropped with grains. There the fru"t trees seem to be incidental to the cropping; they are scattered rreLkrly over the land with many vacant areas, from which hay or crops are harvested. Many of the apple trees were grafted m place, •w was the Dractice in the Colonial America. , ^ ^. In many of the modern orchards on dwarfing rootstocks, sod rotations are pmctfced as in Pennsylvania, the sod being broken every five or sW years and the land immediately reseeded. Annual cover crops are not used- they have found, as we have, that sod rotations are the most dcDendable sources of organic matter. The climate is very favorable o Se'lccumuktlon of organic matter, hence the --P^^yJ-^'^^^ZZS is adequate without adding it as a fertilizer _ P"*^^^' ^f "'*;°J^r; usually is the limiting factor. Applications of phosphorus are rarely necessary. Dwarf Trained Trees. One of the unique features of European fruitgrowing especially of France and Belgium, is the training of dwarf reeslnThe^'fruU garden", as distinct from the orchard. To a French Lardener a fruit tree is plkstic material, to be moulded into any forrn ^hlfmay please his fancf. PracticaUy all dessert fru'* P™J;;-d on ^l^^f Continent is grown on dwarf trees trained against the «™ny «f "^ walls and buildings or on wires, ^keour grape-vines The trees^ are made to assume innumerable geometrical designs-globes, pyramids, — 53 — fans, vases, espalier, cordon, umbrella, and other fanciful shapes. I saw one pear tree trained to resemble a rooster. Each bud must be counted, and each twig trained and tied. A French or Flemish gardener may spend as much time training one dwarf apple tree bearing 30 fruits as an American does in pruning a standard tree bearing 3,000 fruits. The gardener is an artist and an architect, as well as a grower. Dwarf trees receive intensive cultivation and fertilizing. The product is mainly for home use, but there are some commercial fruit gardens. Near Lyons, France, I saw several fruit gardens of over ten acres each. One man can care for about one acre of trees, from which a gross return of $1,000 to $1,500 may be expected. Dwarf trees produce fruit of great beauty and high quaUty, but few of them. The fruit must sell for a very high price; peaches and pears for 35 to 50 cents each, apples for around 25 cents each. Dwarf trained fruits have no place in American pomology except in the gardens of the rich or of the enthusiastic amateur. In comparison with these petted and pampered dwarfs, standard trees are often sadly neglected. Most of them are far too bushy to satisfy the best American ideals. Possibly this is because most of the fruit from them is used for cider. Little Spraying. The most striking deficiency of European fruit growing, as it seems to an American, is the almost universal neglect of spraying. Even in France, which gave birth to modern spraying, at Bordeaux, few fruit trees are sprayed regularly, especially when the fruit is grown for juice. The vineyard is sprayed and dusted quite thoroughly, and the French have an excellent Une of vineyard sprayers; but one looks in vain for an orchard power sprayer or even for a good hand pump. In fruit gardens, the back-breaking knapsack pump still is in common use, but usually the fruits are covered with paper sacks soon after setting. This gives them a waxy finish and a delicate coloring. Some of the modern commercial orchards of England, however, have stationary spray systems equal in efficiency to any in America. There is no room in these closely planted orchards for portable sprayers. The pipes are laid on top of the ground with hose connections every three or four rows. A pressure of 600 pounds is maintained with six leads of hose. The men push a short two-nozzle rod up through the canopy of leaves, which is about ten feet above the ground. Four to six applications a season give protection against the most serious pests, which are scab, red spider, downy mildew, ''caterpillar" and codUng moth. It made me feel quite at home to hear the growers say, "Codling moth is increasing." They use liquid lime-sulphur, arsenate of lead and nicotine sulphate, chiefly. A Leisurely Harvest. The harvest season is not as hectic a time as ours. We are obliged to rush from day break to night fall, for our fruit ripens quickly and deteriorates readily. The cool climate of western Europe makes the fruit ripen slowly; the growers can take their time in picking and marketing. Refrigeration is not needed, for fruit is not shipped long distances. Cold storage, also, is seldom used; common storage is the rule. The packages are quite different from ours and are of all sizes, shapes and materials— they are not standardized by law. Most of the baskets — 64 — IT GIVES MORE NITROGEN FOR THE MONEY too LBS. Nn-1fi% MTMCEN GUARANTEED THE AMERICAN NITRATE OF SODA IMiat H0PEWELL-VIR6INIA FtrTHtBARREH COMPANY '^^ol Side Dr^^ . "** dressing for ond it's tk ode Am SOOA ARCADIAN THE AMERICAN NITRATE OF SODA _,,. n.nnrrr AAMRAilV Hopewell. Va. • New York. N.Y. • Raleigh. N.C. THE BARRETT COmPANY CoJlbla. N. C . Atlanta. U». . J«*son. MISS. I — 65 — are heavy, returnable willow packages, and quite unattractive as com- pared with our neat gift packages. Baskets of apples are sometimes lined and covered with hay or straw. Most of the fruit is sold without the aid of middlemen. Every city, town and village has a public market, where producers and buyers meet. The European fruit grower is a salesman as well as a producer. Fruit to Drink. The great bulk of the fruit crop, however, is con- sumed in liquid form. The Europeans drink wine, cider, perry and other fermented fruit juices, about as freely as we do water. A Frenchman drinks no water except under dire necessity; an Englishman drinks it only in the form of tea. In Continental Europe, tea and coffee, not wines and ciders, are regarded as harmful, habit-forming stimulants. Since the ultimate destination of most apples is the cider barrel, there is little incentive to spray to secure perfect fruit. It was so in America until about seventy-five years ago. In Europe, cider is not a by-product, as with us, but a main product — all the crop may be pressed for juice. Other fruit by-products, especially jams, preserves, and marmalades, are used much more freely than in America. They use far less canned and dried fruits than we do; here would be an excellent outlet for American fruits — if the tariff walls were lowered. Mountain Vineyards. The most unique feature of European fruit growing, other than the dwarf trained trees, is the grape. European vineyards are quite different from those of Pennsylvania; they more nearly resemble the vineyards of California. In France and Germany the grape usually has a short, thick trunk, about twelve inches high and six to ten inches thick; it is self-supporting; there are no wire trellises. From the top of this trunk spring three to five very short canes. Each of these bear three or four shoots on which grapes are produced. Grapes are planted three or four feet apart and the canes are tied up to stakes. Some of the vines are centuries old, gnarled with age, and hoary with moss. The yields per acre are tremendous and the quality is good but most of the fruit is pressed for wine. The vineyards which clothe the steep gorges of the Rhine and Moselle rivers in Germany are the ultimate in spectacular and laborious fruit growing. Slopes at an angle of forty-five degrees, or more, are terraced and planted. Narrow shelves are cut in the face of the cliff and covered with soil brought up from the lower slopes on the broad backs of German peasants, men and women. Some of these terraces are mere pockets of soil, holding only 15 to 20 vines. The surface of the soil is covered with fragments of rock to prevent erosion, absorb heat and conserve moisture. The labor of many generations has been expended in terracing these cliffs. Contrasts with America. An American is impressed with the industry and thrift of European fruit growers. They work long hours for a very moderate recompense, and live frugally. American fruit growers, as a class, are more prodigal. We also take bigger risks. Some day America may be forced to practice the economies of Europe. The taxes of the European fruit grower are far heavier than ours. We are fortunate in not having as large a non-productive population to support — armies, navies, royalty, and aristocracy. — 56 — In Europe, fruit growing is a personal relation between the grower and his trees; he is I husbandman and a craftsman. In America, fruit growing is a business as well as an art; success depends fully as much on fhr^wdness in buying and selling, and in handling labor, as on cultural '^My observation was thai European fruit growers are not happy and Pnntented as their American brethren. How could they be, when they Te If constant drtd of ''the next war," which always seems to be imminent? More than 10,000,000 young men were killed in the last t^a^rstruggle; most of them came from farm homes. Europe is im- Doverished todky by the loss of her young manhood. She should have oursympathy, Ld our moral support to help prevent another great war, foTevery war falls heavily on the farmer, both m blood and mone- tary loss. . , .... - Export Outlook. There would be a market for large quantities of American apples, peaches and canned fruits in Europe if trade relations w^re normal I found little encouragement, however, for the hope that better Xrnational relations will soon restore the export trade we have lost and open up new markets. America is rather cordially disliked in Eurooe They think we are selfish. They point to our restrictive n^m^eration laws, our quarantine acts which debar the importation of Sean nurslry stock, our high tariff walls which shut out many European products that previously had access to our markets. But EurS tarred with the same stick. The intense economic nationalism which has sorung up since the great war, as evidenced by embargoes, auotas tarX?^mport license tixes, compensation exports, and other nrfctions have raised the greatest barriers to foreign trade in history. Our apple exports have dropped from 24,000,000 bushe s in 926 to about 10 000,000 bushels. Yet the American apple industry was built on ?L prospect of a reasonable foreign trade. Land in apple trees cannot be put into another crop quickly, as it can with wheat. Great Britain, hitherto our chief export outlet for ^PPl^^^' f ?- »VXtth" and trade agreements with her Dominions. The slogans Buy British ana "Rut Emoire" are being highly publicized, and carry great weight I saw STe very Ldiffefent apples from Australia in London labeled ''^Soifappear's?hIt' unless positive steps are taken by the United States under the Reciprocity Trade Agreement Act, to open the channels of trade that no7are cLgged by barriers of all ^nds, we may expect mnstantlv dwindling export outlet for our apples. We can only hope fh^fthP recent oroposals of President Roosevelt to discuss reciprocal Sade relations rnd'stabilization of^ currency with certain European powers may point the way to better days. SOME IMPORTANT FRUIT INSECTS OF 1936 H. E. HODGKISS, State College, Pa. A survev of insect conditions on fruit trees indicates that the year haV been notable in that unexpected situations predominated among fnsec^ pests The Periodical Cicada, Brood X, emerged according to — 57 — I V f schedule but there was no other fruit infesting species that caused damages in so extensive an area. Hence the problems of insect sup- pression were to a large extent local situations rather than state-wide or regional. The Periodical Cicada occurred chiefly in the counties east of the Allegheny Plateau. Individuals or isolated colonies were located in a few western counties but the heavy infestation of the southern tier counties extended westward as far as and including Somerset County Ihroughout the entire area apple or other fruit trees were severelv damaged Many apple growers claimed that the losses were greater than in 1919. Young and old trees were cut badly. However, those which were not of bearing age suffered the most severely. It was not uncommon to observe that entire young plantings were wiped out. In a number of orchards the fruits on cut branches sometimes were shriveled. Some fruit growers claimed that the cutting of terminal branches resulted in a greater sizing of apples back of the cut ends. 1 9^"^^^^ practices were limited to protecting young trees. Cheese- cloth shrouds were used in most instances. These either enveloped the entire tree above the lowest branches or the tips of terminals were left uncovered. In Cumberland County a fruit grower used cornstalks. He set these up and into the branches. The protection was given to trees that were 5 to 8 years old and was very satisfactory except where the ends of twigs or small limbs extended beyond the protection. The apple curculio was destructive to apple fruits throughout Eastern Pennsylvania. This is long snouted and closely related to the species that are commonly known as nut curculios. It occurs chiefly in orchards wholly or partly surrounded by woods or where individual hickory walnut or thorn trees are growing rather close to the orchard. The apple curcuho can not be controlled by the usual schedule spraying with lead arsenate on account of its breeding habit. The eggs are inserted into young newly formed apples. The grubs hatch from the eggs and remain in the apple until the new beetle has matured. Many of the infested fruits drop to the ground. Those that remain on the trees become knobbed and deep narrow openings occur at points of original \°^i^^^%ru ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ beetles often commence to emerge early in July There is some feeding by these adults on maturing apples but the insects seek winter protection rather early and remain in hibernation until the following spring. There has been a definite widespread increase in the number of in- fested orchards during the past five years. If this condition is a cri- !u.u^ evaluatmg the problem it is full time to familiarize fruit growers with the special suppression practices that are required. Any fruit grower who has had occasion to fight this pest knows that it can come back strong despite all the efforts that have been expended on control A complete cleanup and destruction of all early drop apples, the removal ot brush in adjacent fence rows, or wild growth in nearby fields, the removal and destruction before the end of June of all apples on the trees that show evidences of curculio injury and the thorough and complete coverage of foUage and young fruits between petal fall and the end ot July with the lead arsenate-powdered milk combination spray, — 68 — or the usual insecticide-fungicide combination when the spray applica- tions coincide with the regular spraying schedule are necessary practices. In order to have a coverage on the young apples a special spray may be required between the petal fall and first cover sprays. Another beetle that was destructive over a rather wide area is com- monly named the rose beetle. This is not the well-known yellow colored rose chafer The rose beetle is about the same shape and smaller than the two-spotted ladybird beetle. Its color is a uniform brilliant green. The beetle is not easily recognized at first but if the adults are not seen the peculiar marks left in the wounds or young apples place the miscreant easily The cuts in the apples appear as if made by mice which have left characteristic tooth marks. The beetles commence feeding on the fruits within a short time after the apples are set and continue until the fruits are quite sizable. The apples may become malformed and in healing the cut surface is covered with thickened corky tissue. This layer cracks as the apple sizes. In some varieties of apples the corky covering breaks off leaving a smooth, russeted surface on the injured area of the malformed apple. Apples even slightly injured are not suitable for the commercial apple pack. Our information on the life history, habits and control of this insect is somewhat meager. The field observations have indicated that the beetles emerge early and prefer to feed on apples that are not protected with a coating of lead arsenate. They have been observed to eat through the surface where a lead arsenate coating was not complete. It would appear as if the best control practice is to cover the young apples with a lead arsenate-spreader combination spray in between the petal tall spray and the first cover spray and to maintain a coverage of lead arsenate until the beetles have disappeared from the trees. I he rose beetle is so capable of causing extensive damage that growers having trouble with the insect should aim to keep it in subjection. A discussion of apple pests would not be complete if the acarina or mites were omitted. The European red spider has become a perennial invader of our orchards. While it occurs on stone fruits as well as the pome fruits we are particularly concerned with the damage to apple trees This has become more evident as growers have become accustomed to use newer sprays or to a reduction in the dilution of lime sulphur tliat has been recommended in order to avoid burning of the foUage. I he aim of the initial control practice is to destroy the eggs. A spraying oil is the most satisfactory insecticide. Combinations of creosote oils and oil emulsions have not worked out as well as the oil sprays applied uncombined. Spraying oils with lime sulphur solution used as delayed dormant sprays are of doubtful utility. A few growers have applied summer spraying oils on trees in full foliage with disastrous results. Yet it is probable that the solution of the red spider problem is to apply a summer spraying oil as a supplement to the regular dormant spraying oil which is applied against the eggs. The reason for the apparent contradiction in statements is not diffi- cult to explain. It is not easy to arrange for a program of spraying pre- ceding the application of a summer oil spray that will permit the sum- — 59 — J 'I mer oil to be used with a reasonable degree of safeness to the foliage. It is recognized that improper dilutions of summer spraying oils will cause severe foliage and fruit burning in the presence of the usual cover- age of lime sulphur solution. Where foliage burning has occurred the oil has been used within a short interval of time after lime sulphur sprays have been discontinued. Last year the excessive breeding of the mites resulted in a severe bronzing of apple foliag,e throughout the southeastern counties. In order to demonstrate that summer oil sprays could be used with a reason- able freedom from burning, comparisons were made in a Chester County orchard in which a summer oil was applied at intervals of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 weeks after the hme sulphur was omitted. The oil was diluted at the rate of 5 quarts in 100 gallons of spray at each application. The com- parisons were outstanding. Severe burning of the foliage occurred on Rome and Stayman apple trees where the oil was used two weeks after the hme sulphur was applied. A small amount of foliage injury showed where the oil was used three weeks after lime sulphur. Where the oil spray was put on four, five and six weeks after the lime sulphur was dis- continued no injury was noticeable. Two comparisons of copper sprays were included in the test. Where a 2-6-100 Bordeaux mixture was mixed with the oil and applied three weeks after lime sulphur foliage injury occurred. In another block of Stayman apples a copper spray was applied 10 days after lime sulphur and this was followed in one week by a spray of summer oil. No foliage injury occurred. The red spider control was satisfactory and the discolored foliage appeared to regain its vigor. The trees matured a good crop of apples. The Peach leaf mite, Phyllocoptes cornutus Banks is often named the silver leaf mite on account of the deep lead coloration of leaves that are infested by the acarids. The mites are spindle shaped creatures approximately 1- 125 of an inch in length. UnUke many other eriophyids this species does not cause any noticeable proturber- ances on the leaf surfaces. The ultimate deep leaden color of the foliage comes on so gradually that few fruit growers recognize that the normal coloration has changed. The condition was recognized in 1919 when it was observed through- out the southeastern peach growing counties. Since then I have seen the mites and their work each year. The mite infestation has never been so small that the silver tone has been absent from the foliage. This winter peach buds are alive with the hibernating eriophyids. The plant mites hibernate under bud scales and can be controlled by spring applications of either lime sulphur or a spraying oil made just before green begins to show in the buds. It may become advisable to destroy these pests. In any case the condition is one that is well worth a thorough investigation. Fruit growers who have banded apple trees as a supplementary practice in fighting heavy codUng moth infestations have inquired from time to time if there was any need for continuing the practice once the — 60 — infestation was under control. In order to obtam ««^^.^^^^^f "^^^^^ the relative merits of the scraping and banding operations fo^e data taken in Adams County orchards were arranged ^'^^^^^^^S ^^J^,7^^ and banding records. These trees were of large size and most ot the trunks were from 35 to 38 inches in circumference. In one block the trunks had a girth of 45 inches. The regular spraying program was applied completely in each orchard. In orchard Number 1, which had been scraped and banded for one yea?, 10 trees were examined and 1 412 larvae were taken from beneath the bands. There were 1,315 dead caterpillars and 97 ^^IL^'one Orchard Number 2 was unscraped and had been banded only one year. Here more living larvae were found beneath ^he loose bark above and below the bands than there were under the bands. On hve treelonW 124 caterpillars were collected beneath the bands, of which 112 were dead. A comparison of orchard Number 1 scraped and banded for oTe year with a second orchard which had been scraped and banded fo two years showed large reductions in cod Ung moth Papulation b^^^^^^^ supplementary practice. In the first case 1 412 larvae wfj^^ taken under 10 bands. In the second block 353 caterpillars ^^^%\«f ^^f. ^^Tj^^^ bands A third orchard scraped and banded during 1934, 1935 and ly^iD had only 41 wo?ms under five bands. Of 1,806 caterpillars collected 1,600 were dead. The value of a definite program combining «f ^Plr^' ^^^f^,^^^^^^^^ bands and a complete schedule of spraying is indicated by the followin^^ four year comparisons of conditions in an Adams County orchard before and after scraping and banding. Table 1. SrRAPiNO and Banding Apple Trees in Adams County Year Condition No. of Sprays Per Cent of Wormy Apples 1933 1934 1935 1936 Not scraped or banded Scraped and treated bands Scraped and treated bands Scraped and treated bands 5 7 7 7 36.0 8.0 6.0 1.4 In Cumberland County an orchard record shows that there was a verv sm"eduction in worminess of fruit during two years when no IcraynTand rnding was done, but there was a decided m^provement after the trees were scraped and banded. Table 2. Scraping and Banding Apple Trees in Cumberland County Year Condition No. of Sprays Per Cent of Wormy Apples 1933 1934 1935 1936 Not scraped or banded Scraped and treated bands Scraped and treated bands Scraped and treated bands 9 9 9 9 44.2 36.8 5 0 .5 Another example is of three orchards in Franklin County where a similar plan has been in operation since 1933. — 61 — Table 3. Year 1933 1934 1935 1936 Supplements for Sprays in Codling Moth Control _«^ Franklin County Condition Cover Sprays No. Per Cent Codling Moth Unscraped burlap bands Scraped and treated bands hcraped and treated bands Scraped and treated bands Orch. No. Orch. No. Orch. No. 1 2 3 6 7 7 7 52.3 14.8 6.2 2.4 18.6 13.6 3.9 .0 15.4 6,5 1.3 .4 additron"ai''coTnT/hr ^^T ^^\^ *^^* '° ^^^^''^ '"fe^t^'d orchards the the h Xr vaL nf t J ''P'""""*'""-;, ^'^''\}'"' '' diffidently covered by ine nigner value of the crops as well as the usefulness in redueini? thp attasl " P°P"l-«°n- I* should be continued for several years! coIide^r^Ln'''wHh ilf ^'''1?^'" maggot deserve more than passing countries mnnrHnt ^^^V^^"'? *'°"L P''^'''"''*'^ ^^^'^^^ these insects by countries importing apples extra efforts are required to prevent even Tere \t ™T trade'h" '')V' ^'^ ?,-"«"'- ""P-t-cTirdnfe two or three vo^rVrK ^^? "°* ^'''''^'f^ *° ^"^ «"''«"* "P to the last to ^,t ihl J ^ ^**®''® '^ "^'"■^ °^««^ '^O"' than ever for fruit growers hose orSard ^vrrlM""""/ ^V P'-^^T"""' "^ '"'^^^^t infestation In do weU torvnl/fV.J/''^ San Jose scale is a menace orchardists would ao well to avoid the hurry and confusion that results when the orchards are entirely sprayed during the delayed dormant period and not to become involved in using untried materials. Suitable substitutes have He. Jft V.l ^^''"^^r'^d for the standard spray materials on apple trels rtriSionr"^"'^ ''''' ^" "^•''^ *° P'-°-°'« --f« andTsound the^frits "" Th.U^'hrh "' '"^f "«'des, spraying machinery and cleaning are not sufficient f^ff^'^'^K *l°^^"''.y *'i "'« machinery and tools tha? oughlv Not onVcLl ''••'°''-. Spraying for insects must be done thor- ougniy. iNot one scale insect or egg should be missed Tpnf ,>r h„A TeSf'Z^'^' •'"Pr^ °f ~ injury m^fbe comp let S drenching. Misty sprays have no room in our scheme You can not vet deilseTT ^'" enough through the foliage with any type o^nozzle yet devised. It is a generally accepted fact that under surface coveraie of the foliage must be accomplished and this means insWe work The tops must be drenched from both the outside and the inside The took by which this can be accomplished are of value onlv as thev iervp thf purpose o the individual, ^he ultimate object Tto get the ob done in a way that wiU give a complete coverage of foliage fnd fruits in the fb^tfclrtKad thf *'^ r^' ^4^^'- " the outfitfaie S £ r iF t ^' ^~ ^^^^ trs?aS:x.tr =m I,1imTSu:[ n^doTui aS Seal'nVto Se ^V 1' job t^ gettmnTet'eTf '^,- ^l """^"^'^ ^ ""'^^ ^^e i^ost econo'SicaWaJ 10 get complete control of the insect infestation and not necessarilv the way _that is most pleasing because the superficial contrasts are the most — 62 — /^NITROGEN FERTILIZER that Feeds the Tree and limes the Soil SS9 1 Aero' rv'-j: . GRANULAR •^ -^ dmh A} NITROGEN CORRECTS ACIDITY caused by sulphur sprays and decayinq organic malter YASANV , ■«»»*' ■ ■ r Leaflet F-142 which tells you more about this NON - LEACHING. HIGH - NITROGEN. HIGH-LIME, GRANULAR FERTILIZER, and how to use it in growing ■ • • ■ ^ bigger yields of better - quality fruit AMERICAN CYANAMID COMPANY Producers of Granular Fertilizers 'Aero* Cyanamid—*AmmO'Pho8'*—32% 'Aero* Super Phosphate Harrisburg, Pa. New York, N. Y. •Reg. U. S. Pat, Off. and Principal Foreign Countries Feeds the Tree Evenly Throughout Growing Season — 63 — Another matter that is of essential importance to all fruit growers is the need for removing excess spray residues from apples as they are being prepared for market. During the period that the strict imposition of tolerance specifications of lead and arsenic was largely conducted in the principal export counties there was little fear from the small grower that their apples would be checked on account of excess residues. With these specifications affecting the smaller orchardist as well as the larger one, there is need for the grower to watch more closely the residue con- ditions on the fruits. Apple washing does not require an expensive outfit for the man who has a few apples nor even a man who has a large annual crop. These conditions can be met and should be met if it is the purpose of the fruit growing industry to maintain the high quality of Pennsylvania grown apples for which it has obtained a justly deserved reputation. RESEARCH WORK WITH APPLE INSECTS IN 1936 H. N. WORTHLEY, State College, Pa. Today I propose to review briefly the results obtained by the Agri- cultural Experiment Station during the past season in studies dealing with apple insects. The investigations have included materials for use in the dormant and delayed dormant sprays, the better use of insecti- cides, chemically treated bands, and traps for codling moth control, and a preliminary study of the rose leaf-beetle, Nodonota puncticollis Say. Dormant and Delayed Dormant Sprays As shown in Figure 1, the experiments of 1936 revealed again that the dormant application of coal tar oil emulsion gives superior results in the control of apple aphids. The commercial emulsions which contain 37 per cent tar oil and 46 per cent lubricating oil are used at the rate of 6.5 gallons per hundred. Thus diluted, the spray mixture contains 2.4 per cent tar oil (for rosy aphis) and 3.0 per cent lubricating oil (for San Jose scale). Tar oil alone is known to be of low value against winter eggs of the European red mite. Because of small populations of this pest in the test blocks, our experiments to date have failed to show whether or not there is enough lubricating oil in the above mixture to give satisfactory mite control. In 1936 the "silver bud" application of 3 per cent lubricating oil plus 0.5 per cent cresylic acid (treatment 2) gave results nearly equal to the tar oil. In our tests this mixture has done no damage to the trees, but reports from other States tell of severe injury to the opening buds, and it is evident that this combination cannot be recommended. This is unfortunate, for it costs about 80 cents less per hundred gallons than treatment 1, and $1.00 less than the "standard" delayed dormant mix- ture of lime sulphur, lead arsenate, and nicotine sulphate (treatment 3). This latter treatment has given variable results in aphid control. How- ever, the mixture constitutes a single early season spray, and for this reason it is still useful except where red mite is a problem or where --64 — plantings are too large to be sprayed completely during the delayed dormant period. The delayed dormant application of lubricating oil emulsion and sum- mer strength lime sulphur (treatment 4) is about $1.10 per hundred gallons cheaper than treatment 3, and it has been included in the studies for that reason. It has given consistently poorer results in aphis control FIGUFL 1 PERCENT APPLE BUBS INFESTEU WITH APHIDS FOLLOWING SPRAY TFE AT/IE NT /335 - ^ Vt2r/ct/es iff B/9L<^fi^^fIc U va/'/cf/c^ ? var/ef'/es at dfofe Co//e^c u * - Va < 'I C5J 'J3 'J^ SS^ (55 'J? -SS, 'J5 -55 '5^ 'jS % ^55 'WjiJ^ BQEMHI WMEWM BMHB mSOM WMIB mBBMl Tar oil M 'A Tktrokom oil 3 ri Lime sulphur 1-6 limt solpliur /-•»« "" '■''•' Lead arsenate 3-100 _ . , ./ ,»^ Vetrokam o,l Sf, Crespn.y I Lime Sulphur Standard 3- •■ " l-\oo •» ^'^atalytic Prtal Fa-li f 3 Cov«rs flotation f'-ioo DryLS. H^'IOO 3 Cover Sprayi Bordeaux l-(t-loo HKofx Pho$,8^ima,V''B«ntonite J-'Coposif^a^Limc y / 7 & f 3 r i. / Chart No. 1 Comparison of Fruit Russet on Stay man Winesap at State College, Pa., 1935 & 1936 Figures at top of columns indicate percent of fruit russet. Figures at base of columns are plot numbers corresponding to treatments as indicated. Chart No. 2. This is a further comparison of the same series of sprays as shown in Chart No. 1, but permits for 1936 a comparison between fruit injury and foHage injury. The figures on foliage injury were arrived at by counting the leaves on 25 terminals chosen at random for each tree. Records were kept of leaves which had dropped as indi- cated by leaf scars, of those which showed blotch or marginal burning and of those which had turned yellow. The percentages here presented represent the sum of these injuries and the average of four replicates for each treatment. It will be noticed that the differences between treatments are not so pronounced on the leaves as they are on the fruit, and yet the four best materials appear in the same order. The three plots receiving copper compounds in the cover sprays show the least injury to both fruit and foliage, and Plot No. 4, which received flotation sulphur at petal fall and in the covers, is next best. — 74 — 5JAYMA N^STATE C0LLEGEnJ3^-mG Treat mznt of Plots I. Lime Sulphur Standard I' IS I - too -f,^*<:atalytic S Pre- Bloom L.S- Standard f^tai Fxil f 3 Covers flotation S'-loo DryLS. H'f-lOO Pra-Bloomff^ial Fall 3 Cover Sprays L S. - Standard 1 Check- Hoi>pf^y Bordt&D* l'(,-IOO V*Cop Pho$.,8^J/ne,'^''B«ntonit« No Spray 1136 Fruit Russet Sulphur fjulv Heat a o ok iX |5-Vfc37 I 2. <- 7 # fc c ¥ a a. r / Chart No. 2 d /-< u t> Comparison of fruit and foliage injury on Stayman Winesap, State CoUege. Fa. 1936. Figures at top of columns represent percent of injury Figures at base of columns are plot numbers corresponding t« spray treatments as mdicated- Chart No 3 Presents a second experiment conducted in a com- mercial orchard in Adams County, Penna. and involves a comparison between 10 different forms or combinations of sulphur and an unsprayed check The figures represent averages of 12 replicates for each treat- ment' Both sets of data were secured by counting fruit and leaves on the trees during August, 200 fruits and 25 terminals per tree were counter S'the crop was a light one, the fruit counts represen a?most the entire crop. As in the experiment at State College it will be observed that the differences between these materials were brought out very nicely in the case of fruit injury, but were not nearly so pr(> nounced on the foliage. The foliage injury ^a^ high on a he plot^^ running to 17.4% on the unsprayed check. This leaf injury to the check trees was due largely to the attacks of cicada and ^as eniphasized by the hot weather, which doubtless in part explains the high per- centage of foliage injury on all the plots. These figures indicate more — 75 — severe injury on both foliage and fruit than was experienced by the average grower. This was brought about deliberately by including sulphur in a larger number of sprays than was recommended to the growers by our Spraying Service for the sake of making clear any differ- ences in the relative safety of the kinds of sulphur used. Three schedules were followed. The first using liquid lime sulphur before bloom and various milder sulphurs in the cover sprays. The second using a more dilute liquid lime sulphur fortified with a wettable sulphur throughout the season. In the third, two strengths of liquid lime sulphur were used throughout the season. In the first group (Plots 2, 3, 4 and 6) flotation sulphur and sulcoloid appeared slightly safer than magnetic sulphur for use as cover sprays, though the differences were slight and probably not significant. In the second group (Plots 7, 8, 9, and 10) it appears quite definitely that liquid lime sulphur 1-100 fortified with Chart No. 3 Comparison of fruit and foliage injury to a mixed block of Stayman and Black Twig. Sachs Orchard, Adams Co., Pa. 1936. Figures at top of columns represent percent of injury. Figures at base of columns are plot numbers corresponding to treatments as indicated. All plots received three cover sprays containing fungicide. — 76 — either flotation sulphur or magnetic sulphur was definitely more in- jurious than the same strength of liquid fortified with either cataly^^^ sulphur or Sulcoloid. Flotation sulphur used in ^^l^^^^^y ^.f .tlnnn te the worst of the four. In the third group (Plots 1 and 5) the dilute liquid lime sulphur was, of course, safer than the standard strength Of the three safest sulphurs as measured by fruit mjury, two also appear among the three safest as measured by foliage injury. If the story so far appears to place standard liquid lime sulphur in the most unfavorable position with regard to the amount of ^jury pro- duced, it should be kept in mind that the disease control factor has not here been evaluated. JOA/ATHA/V- S;iCH5 ORCHARD I95<$ ifi-f /. S. 6. % 8. 51 to- TSJh./ N " (f" zCo^rj I* />0}tinjur\f 7 To I V 3 ^ _ 9 i /O' P/ot. Sit I. 10* f^lot sTu/. Chart No. 4 Comparison of fruit and foliage injury on Jonathan, Sachs Orchard, Adams Co., ^^Figl^res at top of columns represent percent of injury^ Figures at base of columns are plot numbers corresponding to treatments as mdicated. Chart No. 4. These data on spray injury were secured from some plots laid out primarily for the purpose of testing materials and schedules designed for codling moth control. They are of interest here because of the light they throw on the effect of lead arsenate in complicating the — 77 — Ml general picture of spray injury. The figures shown in the first three charts were all taken from experiments where the amounts of lead arsenate were equal on all plots for the season and the kind or amount of the fungicide provided the variable factor. These trees were sprayed uniformly by the grower up to and including petal fall. Our experiment mvolved five cover sprays, with no fungicide after the first two. In this series, the foliage injury in particular is shown to be in direct relation to the total amount of lead arsenate used in five cover sprays. Plots 1, 2, 3, 4 received a total of 15 pounds of lead and show twice as much foliage injury as Plots 5, 6, 7, 8 which received a total of only 6 pounds of lead. Correspondingly Plots 9 and 10 which received no lead m the cover sprays show less than half the injury of the plots which received 6 pounds. Comparing Plot 5 (where the fungicide used was sulphur) with Plots 6, 7, and 8 which had the same amount of lead, but with copper as a fungicide, we find that the use of sulphur increased the amount of foliage injury. The fruit injury was negligible except on the copper plots. In this experiment both Coposil and copper phosphate were used without excess lime as a softener, the lime having been omitted for two reasons: first, because it is known to interfere with the best results from lead arsenate, and second, to find out just how injurious these two forms of copper might be, when used without lime. At the rates of application used, the copper phosphate actually contained six times as much copper as the Coposil so It is not surprising to find it producing the greater amount of injury. The difference in fruit injury among the other plots is not believed to be significant. m/so spnuf ^zviaaiiziiiZL KAYSO, Spray Spreader and Adhesive, is an essential aid in producing clean fruit: retards harmful chemical reactions in the tank, thereby making the spray safer to apply. It is especially valuable with Lime Sulphur and Arsenate of Lead as it retards the formation of the objectionable black sludge, but can be used with all standard sprays or combinations. KAYSO can now be used at the rate of ^ pound to each hundred gallons of liquid spray. ^ "Spreads the Spray and Makes it Stay" Send for literature and name of nearest dealer. GOLDEN STATE SALES CORPORATION 99 Hudson Street New York, N. Y. — 78 — SCAB CONTROL. s 5ULPHUR INJURY STAyM/{N- MCINTOSH 19.9 H Sulphur Rub!>et • n 5ca.b Coniroi on M^Moih-^SS t.i. it«.r»4 AH SpT«.y» An apm-yS L.s:^"•o,3•c*t. All Sp^a^yS i_$. Sta.n4 Percentages at tops of columns indicate percent of fruit scabby, Mcintosh 1935, or russet, Stayman 1936. Ch^rt No. 5. In this chart an attempt is made to picture for you the behavior of four sulphur spray schedules as tested for a two year period on two different varieties of apples. Here we attempt to balance Fungicidal efficiency, as measured by scab control on a scab susceptible variety (Mcintosh) in a bad scab year (1935) -'th '"^"'•y nj"*'^l^/t the same spray schedule on a variety susceptible to sulphur russet (Stayman) in a year (1936) when such in ury was pronounced. It will be Seed that, in general as the injury has been reduced the amount of uncontrolled 'scab has been increased. The one exception is a com- bination of 1-100 liquid lime sulphur fortified with so-called catalytic Sur and used throughout the season. Needless to say we consider ths a most promising material and if it <=o"tinues to prove worthy m other seasons and in the hands of other experimenters 't J' ' "o «oubt find its Dlace This sort of comparison also shows one of the reasons why the uniform spray program has lost considerable of its uniformity n recent years. It is definitely possible to use a safer fornr, of spray on varTetLs that are very susceptible to sulphur injury provided only that they are not at the same time extremely susceptible to scab. — 79 — SCAB CONTROLvsCOPPER INJURY M'INTOSH FRUIT Early Sprays nrou')\\ Petal Pall it».ty4il Copper Phoiphakt Chart No. 6 Percentages at top of columns indicate percent scab for 1935 and russet for 1936. Chart No. 6. Spray schedules designed to give a maximum of scab control in the early sprays and a maximum of safety from injury in the cover sprays have led to an increasing use of Bordeaux cover sprays. In Pennsylvania we have not generally recommended Bordeaux cover sprays but we are interested quite definitely in the possibilities of find- ing a copper spray as effective as Bordeaux and less productive of copper injury. This chart shows two years' results with three of these copper sprays used as cover sprays, following standard liquid lime sulphur through petal fall. The figures are from the variety Mcintosh which is not particularly susceptible to copper russet but they give a good idea of what may be expected in the way of scab control. Had the copper russet been measured on a variety like Ben Davis our injury figures would doubtless have been much higher, but presumably the three materials would have maintained the same relation to each other. Bordeaux could doubtless have been made to give better control, but when, as here, it is used weak enough to avoid excessive injury the control is not satisfactory. Coposil used as recommended by the manu- facturer evidently does not contain sufficient copper either to control — 80 — scab satisfactorily or to produce injury. Copper phosphate has definitely reduced copper injury when combined with Bentonite and hme and has stood up well from the point of view of scab control. From the figures presented it becomes evident that each one of the principal ingredients of the common spray mixtures is apt to produce Serious injury. Such injury cannot at present be entirely avoided if the puToe of spraying is to be accomplished. It is evident that a careful adjustment of spray schedules to varieties and to the mam disease and insect problems in any orchard must be made in such a manner as to take into account both control and injury. In many cases excessive injury can perhaps be avoided without too great a sacrifice in control. THE RELATION BETWEEN SPRAYING METHODS AND APPLE DISEASE CONTROL R. S. KIRBY, State College, Pa. The reason for the differences in disease control obtained by growers has been a question and a study for some time. Spraying information has given uniform timing and materials to the grower with succe^s^V^ control as well as to the grower who has h^ad poor control of scab Brook s spot, and sooty blotch. Spraying methods then must be the factor causing the difference in control. This study is a continuation of the one started three years ago and first reported on in 1935. To date, over 450 orchards have been visited and tKrcentage of diseased apples determined for the lower outside part of the trees, the lower inside part of the trees, and the tops of the trees. The study has been limited to orchards where the total percentage of diseased fruit on the lower outside part of the trees was five per ce.it or less The figure five per cent was taken since that is the upper limit of the aim of spraying information. The lower outside part of the tree was selected as the criterion since the apples on this part ^f the tree are closest to the person applying the sprays and therefore should obtain the best coverage of spray. When the apples on the lower outside part of the tree have five per cent or less of disease it indicates that the timing and spray material were such as to hold the total disease within the spraying objective. Differences in the amount of disease in the lower inside and top of the tree can be largely attributed to spray meth- ods In practice this procedure slightly favored the poorer spraying methods. Severe scab infection on the inside and tops of the trees tends to spread to the apples on the lower outside and raise the total disease above the five per cent limit. In making the counts, average-sized and average-pruned tree^ were selected in each orchard. Most of these trees were from 1^. to 2o years old and from 17 to 24 feet high, and had a limb spread of 2 to 7 feet greater than the tree height. — 81 — Figure 1 Percentage of Diseased Apples Occurring in Different Parts of Sprayed Apple Trees. 1934-1936 rEET 20 ^^ ^ > j ^^ ry • o ^^vJlf|/SCAB 6.6 i^ r5\ J> BROOKS 3 ? >•> SOOTY 9 ^ ^ 1 fS $ 7 8 < / 1 w 1 ^* / \ Jvj^ i) / SCAB 2. 1 scab\ 1 0 ^ / / BROOKS .7 BROOKs\ .2^^^ ^ L / SOOTY 1 .8 4. 9 SOOTY \ 3^ 1 5 ^ 349 ^o ^ Percentage and Total Number of Disease Infections per 100 Apples Occurring in Different Parts of Unsprayed Trees. 1934-1936. — W — Figure 2 SPRAYING WITH ONE SINGLE NOZZLE GUN FROM GROUND- OUTSIDE -INSIDE «. UP THROUGH. FROM GROUND-OUTSIDE- INSIDE FROM GROUND- OUTSIDE ONLY FROM SPRAYER TANK. 21 CZl: SPRAYING WITH SINGLE AND MULTIPLE NOZZLE GUNS FROM- TANK - MULTIPLE GUN. GROUND - SINGLE GUN - I NSIDE I I. FROM -TANK -SINGLE GUN. GROUND- SINGLE GUN- INSIDE FROM -TANK -MULTIPLE GUN. GROUND - MULTIPLE GUN - INSIDE FROM- TANK- MULTIPLE GUN. GROUND- MULTIPLE GUN -OUTSIDE — 83 — / "*"""• '"' ""^T„u „,„, „„ FROM GROUND- OUTSIDF - iKicr^r- I OUTSIDE INSIDE. FROM GROUND - OUTSIDE ONLY. FROM SPRAYER TANK ocSS in^'lh^ %Z7S''oiZt ctt'^ '^t' -^ -ty blotch per cent or less disease on fhe lower oMt^^^^^^^ "' ^^'''' ^''« fi^« IS also given for the variournnrTf .? / *"•. ^^^ occurrence of disease n the 349 sprayed orchard" tTe toS d^-se V'.k""^'-^^'''^ ^^^^ardl 1-5 per cent of which scab was 1 ner cent ,n . r'*''', °^" ""'^'^e was blotch one-half per cent. On the^ow»r f /' ^'°°^^ ^P°^ ^nd sooty occurred 4.9 per cent total disease o Tin th' .""*' "^ ^^' '"'^ t^ere apples. In the tops of the trees Thero L *" "?*o' "' ""^""y '"ceased apples, or over 5 times a.s many chseised anntT'' ^'^ ^'f'''' '"^^^^ed outside parts of the trees. The CTtion fh^n '''. °<"=""^^ on the lower three times disease increase on the insWe of ,h f "' '." ^^' "^"^^ of the tops of the trees If mo=t hL„ j , *"'' *^^'^^ and five times in trees, is this due t^he .^rfviS m"V^^ of more disease on the tops of t?L? ^'' ""*"'"'*' occurrence tt'? Th^J^aL-?-, rft \t ^'"'^ lor Partf ^^ greatest in the lower inside paft of the ?I ™P"'-t'int apple diseases is apple trees show that apple di,ilor,.nfh ^^^ '°""'-'' '" "nsprayed infections per apple to 1 9 nfepfinnf' ^^^ average, cause from "l 3 S srr„f -^l4= E^-' i- S':ks:s — 84 — tops of the trees since the spraying has allowed an increase of five times more disease in the tops than in the lower outside when there should have been a decrease in the top as indicated by the unsprayed trees. These comparisons also indicate that more attention should be given to disease control in the lower inside parts of the trees since disease is normally most severe there. Figure 2 gives the total percentage of disease occurring in the three different parts of the trees with 11 different spraying methods. Spraying with Single Nozzle Guns A single nozzle spray gun was employed in the first four methods. In the first method are the results from 103 orchards where the man applying the spray went inside the trees and sprayed the underside of the lower branches, made a special effort to spray up through the inside of the tree so as to thoroughly cover the underside of the top branches and then sprayed the outside. The orchards following this method had one per cent disease on the lower outside and two per cent on apples on the inside and top of the tree. This method gave an average of 1.3 per cent total disease which was the lowest of any spraying method. Ihe method also gave the highest percentage of orchards having five per cent or less total disease. Only two orchards out of the 103 sprayed with this method had over five per cent average disease. The second method is similar to the first with the exception that a special effort was not made to spray up through the inside of the tree to cover the top branches The 22 orchards found following this method had 12 per cent or six times as much disease on the tops as method one where a special effort was made to spray the tops of the trees from the inside. There was a one per cent increase in disease on the inside of the trees over method one, but the same amount of disease occurred on the lower outside part of the trees with both methods. In the third method, all of the spray was applied by a worker walking around the outside of the tree. In the fourth method, the spray was applied by a worker who rode on the sprayer tank. Both the third and fourth methods show that without inside spraying, the percentage of disease on the lower inside parts of the tree will be 7 to 14 times greater than with inside spraying and that there is a decided increase in the amount of disease in the top and lower outside parts of the trees. Spraying from the tank places the operator nearer the top of the tree than ground spraying and made a decrease in the amount of disease in the tops of the trees. The results obtained by the growers following the first four methods show that a single nozzle gun is only effective when the operator uses it in such a way as to obtain complete coverage. Inside spraying seemed to be the most important factor in reducing disease in the lower inside parts of the trees and spraying up through the mside was the only method by which disease could be held below five per cent m the tops of the trees. Spraying with One Multiple Gun Three methods of spraying with a multiple gun were employed by growers. — 85 — In the first method the operator went under the trees and sprayed the inside as thoroughly as possible; then came out and sprayed the outside part of the trees. The six growers using this method obtained successful control of disease on the lower outside and inside of the trees, but had eight per cent of disease in the tops of their trees. The average per- centage of disease in this method was 3.7 per cent which indicates that the method even with its tendency toward ineffectiveness in the tops of trees should be considered as successful. In the second spray method with a multiple nozzle gun, the spraying was accomplished by the operator walking around the outside of the trees. The results of the six growers using this method were very similar to those obtained by the growers using a single nozzle gun in the same manner. There was three per cent disease on the lower outside with a five to eight times increase of disease on the inside and 7 to 12 times increase of disease over the lower outside in the top. The multiple nozzle gun, however, seemed to penetrate somewhat better than the single, as its use resulted in a reduction of over 33 per cent of the total disease in the tree over the single nozzle gun. In the third method with a multiple nozzle gun used from the sprayer tank, there was an average of 14.3 total disease with the disease reaching 23 per cent in the top of the tree. The multiple nozzle gun as used from the tank by nine growers was approximately 33 per cent more effective than the single nozzle gun used by seven growers from the tank. Growers spraying with a multiple nozzle gun have not obtained as good disease control as with single nozzle guns when spraying from the ground inside and outside. Growers have obtained better average disease control with multiple than with single guns when spraying only from the outside of the trees. Spraying with Two Guns, Multiple or Single Nozzle, and Various Combinations A number of growers having larger orchards are using two guns per tree to speed up the spraying operation. The control of disease in the different parts of trees using four of these methods are given in Figure 2. In each of these methods, one operator is using a spray gun from the sprayer tank and a second operator is spraying from the ground. In the first combination gun method a multiple nozzle gun was used from the tank and a single nozzle gun was used by an operator on the ground who went inside the tree and sprayed thoroughly. The 11 growers who used this method had an average of 2 per cent diseased apples on the lower outside of the trees and 3 per cent in the lower inside and top. This method like the first with a single nozzle gun gave the nearest approach to the normal distribution of disease in trees. The method gave an average of 2.8 per cent total disease in the entire tree. The second combination method had an operator spraying from the tank with a single nozzle gun and another operator spraying from the ground inside with a single nozzle gun. The nine growers who used this method had the second lowest average disease control (2.3 per cent) for their entire trees. The third and fourth combination methoda had — 86 — one operator spraying from the tank with a multiple gun and a second operator from the ground with a multiple gun. In the third method the operator sprayed inside while in the fourth method the spraying was only from the outside. Where the spraying was from the ground inside and tank outside the average percentage of disease in the trees was 6 per cent, as compared to 11.6 per cent average disease where the ground man stayed outside the trees. The four combination methods show that either a single or multiple gun may be used on the tank without causing an appreciable difference in disease control. Furthermore, that inside spraying with a single nozzle gun is the only method whereby the average total disease is held below five per cent. Chance of Growers to Have Good Control of Disease With Each Method The charts giving the percentage of disease in trees sprayed by various methods fail to show the chance a grower has with each method to get Figure 3 Percentages of Growers Having Good, Fair, and Poor Control of Apple Dis- eases WITH Different Methods of Spraying 1934-1936 C^ '% M xl_ J Percentage of Growers Having Each Degree of Disease Control 1 . — _ Spraying Method Good 5% or less disease Fair 5.1 to 10 per cent disease Poor Over 10.1 per cent disease Single Nozzle Gun Ground — Outside — Inside — Ud Through 98 64 2 0 Ground — Outside — Inside _ 13 Ground— Total — Outside — Inside Ground — Outside 92 19 14 89 6 a 14 11 2 76 Tank 72 Tank and Ground — Inside 0 Multiple Nozzle Gun Ground — Outside — Inside 67 33 11 57 43 17 0 22 14 0 16 Oround — Outside 67 Tank 67 Tank and Ground — Inside 29 Tank and Ground — Outside 57 Multiple Gun on Tank and Single Gun on Ground— Inside 64 18 18 a crop of apples with five per cent or less disease. Smaller and especially open type trees can be more thoroughly sprayed from the outside, also growers vary in their ability to use different types of spray guns. Multi- — 87 — pie nozzle guns have likely been penalized somewhat in this summary due to the growers not using them on adequate equipment. Figure 3 gives the percentage of growers having good, fair, and poor control with each of the different spraying methods. The most signifi- cant fact is the comparison of the per cent of growers having successful control when spraying from inside and outside or only from outside of the trees. Where inside spraying was employed approximately 74 per cent of the growers had good control of disease and only 15 per cent had poor control. In spraying from only outside the trees only 24 per cent of the growers had good control and 67.8 per cent had poor control. Of the outside spraying, that applied from the tank only had the lowest percentage of growers having good control or 12.5 per cent. Outside ground spraying had 26 per cent of orchards with good control, and tank and ground outside spraying had 43 per cent of growers having disease control. SUMMARY OF REMARKS BEFORE PENNSYLVANIA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY CARROLL R. MILLER, Secretary -Manager, Appalachian Apples, Inc. Martinsburg, W. Va. Appalachian Apples began work July 1st, after several months of organizing work, among officials and leading growers of the horticultural societies of the four states of this Apple Belt — Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. It was organized as a result of steady decline in apple consumption by Americans over past fifteen years; plus curtailment of our export markets, resulting in chronic over-supply of existing demands for apples. A. A. is governed by the four state horticultural societies. Each society has three members on the Board of Directors. This places control and management of A. A. squarely in the hands of the growers them- selves. Pennsylvania's directors are: H. M. Weigel, Sheldon W. Funk andH. W. Skinner. The fee basis is one-half cent a bushel on Utility and above apples actually sold the growers from orchards. Growers' statement of the number of bushels sold is the final basis for settlement. This is a ''gentleman's organization." First half payments due November 15th; second half payments before February 15th. A total of 540 growers signed up with A. A. this Spring and Summer. Their early estimates of their crops called for 5,150,000 bushels, Utility or above. This means, including fruit below Utility, that over six million bushels are grown by A. A. members. Total commercial apple production for the four states for this year was twelve million bushels. So A. A. has over 50 percent of the tonnage of the four states back of it ; — not a bad record for the first year, at all. Pennsylvania has 186 members, estimated crop 1,350,000 bushels. Virginia has 237 members, estimated crop 1,800,000 bushels. West Virginia has 68 members, estimated crop 1,507,000 bushels. Maryland has 49 members, estimated crop 506,000 bushels. This 4-state total of 5,150,000 bushels at ]/2 cent per bushel would I yield a maximum of $26,000 Gkoss. The Board of Directors played safe- allowed for chances, crop failures, "ncoUectibles etc^; ar^d set the saie, diiuvvc^ X ' Dptermination was made, and has been Malcolm M. Brown. Pennsylvania paid m *» d^te $4 301 W^^^^^^ $3,201; Maryland $1,261; and West Virgmia $4,648, Allied Industries, $125 a' A needs the balance of the money at once ;-cannot proceed with the Droeram until we have additional funds. We need the full $6,000 moreTo'ca"ry the balance of the year's program, m the minimum. Have all bills paid, including the big bills for th; Printed lithogmphed and die-cut grocery-store display materials: three million A. A. master labels: of which 2% million were used this fall. r;^ouTF=SvrwithL^m^=pp^^^^ backing up the intensive work of organizing the grocers of the city. We have lined up 1,800 grocery ftores in Baltoore to aid in th^s^ %Iy wU carry this complete assistance :-displays, their advertising, ind our display materials.^Iany of the 1200 other stores will also. ! Hre\^TbJdgf t^^ i^^b«avrp^:^^^l^:Su^^^^^^^^^^^ shows; a number of such things had to be foregone, regretfully. DppiMon of Board of Directors was to center our efforts on Grocer Service "because of value of this work and because it can be carried on SM^itedTu-nds. One man - work at tWs in fie da. W,e as he can cover- or five men can work a held tive times as i*^»fe^- , cuvei, ui iiv^r T„„.pv5 A Hices- should have more. Higgb nas ffrocer-service man, James a. nig^a, o"y"»\^ „ ,, , , . ?;orked''LouisWlleKy.;Cincmna^^O^^^^^^^^^ now workmg Pittsburgh, ra. ne win r*^\"'" ^^ Hicrps -ind Secre- 88 — — 89 use these themselves to give us. Newspaper and radio coverage in Philadelphia would cost something over $3,000. Unless payments come in in a hurry, that amount will not be in hand, and we will have to do the best we can without it. The newspaper and radio assistance is very valuable and desirable in this work. But much good can be done without it. By organizing the grocers, we can stir them to put additional effort into selling apples to their customers. The grocer is "key man" in food distribution. He can either increase apple sales by displaying and ''pushing" apples; or he can cut down apple sales by putting them in out-of-the-way places in his store and pushing something else. So he is a valuable man to work with. We furnish the display materials to those grocers asking for it. We supply it in ''store sets"; each set rolled or packed, and including; — 1. "laughing apple" window streamer, lithographed in 4 colors. 2. "laughing apple" window or store interior posters, lithographed. 50. rotogravure folders, containing recipes and- apple information, to be placed on the store counters; customers helping themselves. 2 Price cards, to fit over apple basket or display bin. 2 Grocer newspaperettes "The Appalachian Apple Basket," for store manager and staff. This piece emphasizes two things we hope to get across to the grocer; — the nice profit in handling apples; and the ease with which apple displays can be built, in store win- dows or interiors. These sets cost us about 26 cents each. They are given to grocers without any cost. But only to grocers we are satisfied will make good use of them. The grocers really approve of this line of display materials. They tell us it is "Good Stuff"; attracts customers interest in apples. Grocers are glad in most cases to receive it and in many cases go to some length to stage apple displays to go along while they are using it. We ordered a million of the rotogravure folders; 80,000 of the "laughing apple" streamers; 50,000 recipe books; the supply of which is almost exhausted now and will have to be re-ordered, with improvements. So far, we have placed (or are placing) this display material in 8,760 grocery stores, principally in the cities and adjoining areas of Louisville, Cincinnati, Charleston, W. Va., Baltimore. Within a few days we should have several thousand sets in Pittsburgh stores, as Higgs is working there now among the grocers. We "work" these cities as fast as we can. We expect to work Philadelphia shortly; several smaller Southern cities; and a couple more Northeastern cities, before the apple selling season stops, about April 1st. In these 8,760 grocery stores into which we have reached, we have placed 517,000 pieces of apple advertising material; principally the rotogravure folder, of course, as fifty of these go into each store. We have already used 380,000 of these; will have practically the entire million placed before we finish work this season. Then we have put out 106,000 of these Variety leaflets; for Staymen Yorks, Romes and the different varieties; telling something of the best -^90 — » use of that variety; giving some receipes, etc. They go on top of the basket face; just under the lid; one or two or more to a basket. The growers pay most of the cost of these. We furmsh them at $L50 per thousand leaflets; and they can be printed with your own orchard name at a slight added cost. They are effective-get mto the consumers hands; for we have received many calls for the recipe book mentioned in the leaflet. , , • r t:> We have been very fortunate with our publicity work this far. Four of the biggest dailies of the Central East have given us full pages of apple pictures in their Sunday rotogravure sections ;-the Pittsburgh Press, Baltimore Sun, Washington Star and Washington Post. A number of important magazines have given us full feature articles on apples, with pictures; and we have a whole file of newspaper and magazine articles of smaller size. This is most valuable advertising. Advertising men call it "tradition building.'^ And it is the most effective way to combat the spray residue fear and propaganda. It builds up solid confidence and liking for the Apple Industry. We owe these news- papers and magazines a real debt of gratitude for their fine cooperation '""wrhave been busy also with a lot of lesser things;— National Apple Week, when we had special display windows in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington; with The Apple Fair at Martinsburg; with a Pitts- burgh cooking school; at International Apple Association Convention, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show; with Kiwanis Clubs and other organi- zations: building up a file of apple photographs, and files of health and nutrition work in apples. We have gotten out letters to practically all the better apple buyers and handlers of the United States; and to many in Europe telling about A A As a result, we have our display materia s in England Holland Palestine, in small quantities, of course, as well as in the U. b. And we have attended to the correspondence from our 540 members. If any one thinks keeping up with correspondence from an organization of 540 members is a light job, let them try it once. We have distributed 2W million A. A. Master-labels to our members. This is a brief, sketchy report of our activities the first six months of our I fe. Apple sales promotion is new work. It has to be learned by trial and experience. Other fruits and vegetables have their promotion work; and their methods in part are adaptable to apples; but not as a whole. Apples are a separate product, and must be promoted in their own way. We are learning rapidly. , ^ . , .i • c ^ • ^u„ As to results;-we are not claiming any, definitely, this first six months, for A A. alone. But we do say that, working in conjunction with the four other regional apple advertising organizations;— namely Washing- ton State Apples, Inc"^ and Pacific Northwest FruUs, I nc , e^ch with $150,000 to spend; and with New York-New England Apple InstitutB, the National Apple Institute- And Appalachian AppLEs-that the American public has been reminded of apples many, many more times than ever before; and that apples are moving into consuniption easily and at much higher prices than for several years past;which is the goal of this promotion work. — 91 — 1936 MEMBERS STATE HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION Name Name Address County Abraczinskas, Andrew Catawissa, R. D. 2 Columbia Acme Veneer Package Co. Orchard Park, N. Y. Adam, J. N. West Chester, R. 5 Chester Adams Co. Fruit Pack. & Dist. Co. Biglerville Adams Aiken, J. V. Portersville, R. 4 Butler Allen, S. Guy New Park York Allen, W. F. Co. Salisbury, Md. Allen, Howard G. & Sons New Park York Allison, H. W. Estate Shippensburg Franklin American Cyanamid Co. 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York American Lime & Stone Co. Bellefonte Centre Ammon, John New Wilmington Lawrence Anderson, Ralph W. Fawn Grove York *Ander8on, H. W. Stewartstown York Anderson, H. M. New Park York Anthony, R. D. State College Centre *Anwyli, Harry L. Harrisburg Dauphin Aspers, D. C. Aspers Adams ♦Atkinson, D. W. Wrightstown Bucks Atkinson, R. E. Wright stown Bucks Backus, H. E. North East Erie Bailey, M. V. Pennington, N. J. Bain, J. M. King & Front St., Northumberland Snyder Baldesberger, W. P. Bridgeville, R. D. 2 Allegheny Balmer, Clayton G. Manheim, R. 1 Lancaster Balthaser, G. W. Wernersville Berks ♦Banzhaf, W. H. Muncy Lycoming Chester Barnard, C. P. Kennett Square Baron, W. E. McKean Erie Barr, L C. Greenca«tle, R. 2 Franklin Barton, Edwin W. Shrine Orchard, Finksburg, Md. *Bartram, Frank M. Kennett Square Chester *Bartram, G. Maurice West Chester Chester *Baugher, George L. Aspers Adams ♦Baugher, H. G. Aspers Adams Bean, John Mfg. Co. Lansing, Mich. Bear, John W. York, R. D. 10 York Bear, Paul A. Mount Wolf, R. D. 4 York Bear, Jacob R. York, R. D. 10 York Bear, Arthur York, R. D. 10 York Beaverbrook Farm Bra ndv wine Summit Chester-Delaw Be^iverson, Bertha York, R. 7 York Beck, A. F. Perkasie, R. 1 Bucks Beck, John A. New Columbia, R. 1 Union Beers, T. S. Blairsville, Box 235 Indiana Bell, R. H. Bureau of Plant Industry, Harrisburg Dauphin Bender, L. J. Allentown, R. 4 Lehigh Benn, Robert P. Bangor, R. 5 Northampton Benner, Roy Perkasie Bucks Berlew, Geo. Dallas, R. D. 3 Luzerne Bethany Orphans Home Womelsdorff Berks Bikle, Philip M. Jr. Chambersburg, R. 6 Franklin Bikle, F. C. Fayetteville, R. 1 Franklin Bingham, W. 0. St. Thomas Franklin * Life Members. o Bingham, A. H. Black, H. M. Blaine, George W. ♦Blessing, David H. Blevins, Lee Boak, J. A. & Sons Bohleyer, Weller ♦Boles, McClellan Bolinger, Geo. H. ♦Boltz, Peter R. Borland, J. S. Bountiful Ridge Nurseries Bovard & Baldwin Boyer, W. A. Boyer, Jay Boyer, Ira C. ♦Boyer, John F. Brace, Harold G. Bream, D. M. Co. Bream, John Brehm, G. W. ♦Breidenbaugh, H. L. Bricker, Dr. E. B. Breidenbaugh, Herbert Brindle, Geo. R. Brinton, H. C. Brossman, Morse Brown, Bert C. Brown, H. W. Brown, Robt. M. Brown, M. G. Brown, J. Turner Brown, Norman C. Brown, C. Earl Brown, Sam A. Brubaker, Daniel A. Brubaker, Levi H. Bruner, W. W. Bucher, F. S. Buffalo Valley Fruit Farms Burrill, Arthur W. Carpenter, G. S. L. Central Chemical Co. Chapin, Irvin ♦Chase, Charles T. Chumard, Llewellyn Clark, A. L. Clemson, Leonard G. Christman, William Coffroad, L. C. Conrad, Hamer Coon, Sam Cooper, C. A. ^ ^ . , Cornwall Farms & Orchards Cosklo, Andrew Cowan, W. H. Cox, J. W. Craighead, E. M. Crawford Bros. Creasy, Luther P. ♦ Life Members. Address St. Thomas Idamar, R. D. North East Newville, R. 1 Stewartstown New Castle, R. 4 Troy Hanlin Station New Castle Lebanon Indiana, R. 7 Princess Anne, Md. 655 E. Washington St., New Castle Selinsgrove Mt. Pleasant Mills Middleburg, R. 3 1 D. 3 Box 285 Box 143 Middleburg, R. Dallas, R. D. 3 Chambersburg Orrtanna Fayetteville, R. 1 Boyertown Lititz Martinsburg Chambersburg, R. Hanover Ephrata, R. 4 Marion Center, R. Allentown, Box 576 McDonald Fawn Grove New Park Waynesboro, R. D. Chambersburg Painesville, Ohio, P. O. Ephrata, R. 2 Lancaster, R. 1 Paxtonville Reamstown Mifflinburg Lorane Hancock, Md. Baltimore, Md. Shickshinny, R. 3 Bala Ariel Olvphant, R. D. HaUfax Indiana, R. D. New Holland, R. 2 Indiana Clarks Summit 1000 Highland Ave., Coraopolis Cornwall Carbondale, R. D. Martinsburg, R. D. 2 New Castle, R. D. 5 2742 N. 2n