Title: Pennsylvania vegetable growers' news, v. 5
Place of Publication: State College, Pa.
Copyright Date: 1935

Master Negative Storage Number: MNS# PSt SNPaAg058.6

.W» N

* i

PEMSYLVANIit VEGETiUjLZ GR0»vER3' Ni^/S

Vol. 5

1935

UJ

No. 1

Publication of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers* Association

„ Harry G. Brackbill, Malvern ----- - President

f , John M. Willson, Belle Vernon ----- Vice.-President

W. B. Mack, State College ------ - Secretary-Treasurer

wUm

The regular annual business meeting of the Pennsylvania Vegeta-
ble Growers* Association was heia on January 22, 1935, in Room S of
the Pennsylvania Farm- Show Building, Harrisburg, with President
Brackbill as chairman.

•The treasurer reported receipts of $129^72 and expenditures of
|62.56, leaving a balance for the year of $47.16..

The officers nancd c.bove were elected.

Resolutions wore pussod- as follows:

(1) V/hereas, the control of insects cjid discas'-s has bocomo a
most burdonsomo factor in vogc tabic growing and

V/hercos, it is almost impossible for thu grov/or to be ado-
quritoly inforned on the lately i.aproved methods of control,

Thoroforo, be it resolved thct wo petition the Agricultural
Extension Service of the Pennsylvania Stuto College to mc.il
upon request u periodical ond seasonally timuly vegetable insect
and disease control letter. .

• . (2) Whereas , the mariner of placement of fertilizer in relation
to the. seed or plaints has been found to be of utmost importance
in securing the greatest economy and efficiency in the use of
fertilizer, ard

^Thereas, vegetable growers are among the heaviest, users
of fertilizer,

Therefore, be it resolved that we petition the Pennsylvania
Agricultural iSxperiment Station to conduct studies and make
. recommendations concerning fertili?;er placement in vegetable

... grov/ing.. . " '..'/*.

> i i

4.'-^

" . ' • * • ■

(3) V/heruas, enormous' Increases in indtor-ti^ick shipments in
rucent yoars have both demoralized local markets' and at the
sarae time made it possible for the average grower to go longer
distances to market, and

i/hereas, good roads have caused retailers of produce in
the smaller towns and cit ios to go into the larger city maikots
to buy a large part of . the fresh vegetables they soil, and
' V/hereas, the great increase in distribut ion of fresh vege-
tables by the chain stores has corjcent rated buying into markets
not* accessible to the average groover,

"Therefore, bo it resolved that the public agencies be
petitioned to make surveys and tcxke action, in coope ration *ith
groivers, concerning, the est?..blishraent of regional, large-scale
farmer^ wholes .le produce markets.

I

0
! Ul

:.j

1 1

ii

'I

'> .

^'

i I

II '.

I '

H

-2-

The secretary was instructed to
attention of the proper authorities,

instructions.

bring these resolutions to the
and has acted in acoo.rdance with

The following ponmiittees were appointed by the President (first
named is chairman) * •;

Representatives on the Farm Show Committee: vi/'. B. Nissley,
State College; R. R. Brader, Berwick; Harry Siege 1, Birdsboro.

Exhibit Committee: C K. Hallowell, Philadelphia; W. B. Nisdey;
J. M. Huffington, State College*

* • • • f

Legislative Committee: Gilbert S. v/atts, Bellirood; Harry G.
Brackbill, Malvern; H. N. Dudley, Bustleton; A. C. Thompson, Morris- i
ville. '

Program Conmittee: W. B. Mack, State College; J. M'. Huffington,
H* R. Eby, Pittsburgh; C- K*. Hallowell.

The talks ani discussions d\ir ing the meetings were better at-
tended than usual, in spite of tho heavy aiowstorm which occurred
throughout the meetings of the Association, • Brief digests of s ome of
the papers are given herewith. Others vd.ll follow in later issues
of the News.

. • • • ■

Talks before the Annual Meeting, 1935.
COMPARISON OF INSECTICIDES, NSW AND' OLD, FOR CABBAGE INSECT CONTROL

* • • • * '

• •

• Merrill Wood, Sttite College, Pa*

ABSTRACT

A comparative study of 18 dust mixtures toi cabbage worm control
and analyses for lead raid arsenic residues were made in 1934 by the
Zoology- Entomology Department with the cooperation of the Vegetable-
Gardening Division of the Horticulture Dopartraent of the Pennsylv dnia
State College.

i

Ballhl85^cHB8Bgi^lv§i2iX <tiKa^^l^^!SM^&S^«S«t>lga g8%tlmy®tel^
more abundant than the cabbage looker until early in August, when the
later increased three times over the fbrmor. Larvae of both species
were recorded separately for each plant the day before end three days
after each treatment. At harvest the trimmed heads were classified
as to worm injury.

The following table
applications:

Material

shows the cabbage worm control, by four

* Cost of

fo Control % of heads requiring dust per
nf* 1 -rvr.ft no QTctrn trimmin« 100 lbs.

Lead arsenate-limo, 1-3
Calcium ursenate-llme, 1-3
Pyre thruii-t ale , lr2
Pyrethrun-clay, 1-2
Dorris-talo, 1-8
Derris-clay, 1*3
Chock, no treatment

N^ *■

72

93

$ 3.00 :

■44

88

2.50

74

100

12.63

74

100

12.16

100

100

11.47

95

100
60

11.25

• -3-

The comiuerciol products, Derox and Deridust gave gDod results,
Dusts containing fixed nicotine proved inferior • The diluents,
talc, c2£:y and tobacco dust gave no clear evidence of their merits*
Talc and clay cost about the same and produce equally fine dusts.

Tobacco dust is more expensive • .

• • » ■.-■-.• ^ .•

The alialyses fb r residues were veiy variable, as reported also
by previous- workers* However, they make it appear that the use of
arsenicals within one month^of harvest may leave upon trimmed heads,
residues above tolerance* For loose leaves, that are to be sold,
any arsenical dusting after two weeks from date of setting nay be
unsafe. .■»

Derris raixtures, containing one per cent rotenone, the active
ingredient, while costing more then arsenicals, produce better
cabbage worn control, a larger crop of cabbage requiring no extra
tritaming and no risk of violating pure food laws.

INSECTS OF SPECIAL IMPORTANCE DURING 1934
L. E. Dills i State College, Pa.

• • - . * •

Insects which attacK vegetables caused about the usual anount
of deiiage during the past season.' Due to the severe winter of
1933-34 many persons expected thfe.t insect pests would be much less
abundant. It is true that in some communities, especially in the
higher and more northern counties, Mexican bean beetle and corn
earworm were less destructive/ however, it is also true that in
many localities other pests increased in importance so that the
total amount of danage \o Vegetable crops was about normal. Persons
who make a special study of insects predicted fairly accurately the
amount of damage th^t would occur during the past season. Long
severe winters are. usually less injurious td^, insect pests than
sudden and early fall freeies. Unseasonable weather which kills
destructive insects usually results in the det^th of an equal number
of predaceous and parasitic insects which feed on the destructive
forms, so that frequently as many friends as foes are killed.

». *• ' t "• .• •

*" in most parts of the State the Mexican bean beetle continued to
be "the most important pest attacking vegetables. Many places in the
southern and eastern counties the damage from this insect resulted .
in the bean crop being a'total failure. During the latter pai't of
the summer a trip made through a heavy infested region in the
southwestern. part of the State showed that a considerable number of
growers are obtaining satisfactory results at low cost, rflfhen
properly used either magnesium or c*Bl6ium arsenate are effective in
preventing injury from the bean beetle. In the northern and western
counties due to its low cost calcium arsen.Cite is preferred by mo6t
■growers. In the southeastern part of the State when the temperature
and humidity are high this material has sonetines injured the foliage
and for this reason many growers in that pert of ttia State prefer to
use mtignesium arsentite. . .'A..>.

If a dust is desired us© one pound of oalciura arsenate with
seven pounds of hydruted lime or one pound of nagnesiun arsenate
with five pounds of hydrated line. These natericla nust bo thoroughly
aixed and truck gardeners will find it .more satisfactory to us« a

L),

^ •!

t '

i !

n,

n

I

:l i

•:

■',\'

!l

-4-

specially oade dust mixor- For spraying use three-fourth of a pound
of calciun arsenate, one and one-half pounds of hydrated lim6» to each
fifty gallons of water, or one pound of magnesiuii arsenate to each
fifty gallons of v/ater.

Since th& bean beetle feeds entirely underneath the leaves
satisfactory results can be expected only with a duster or sprayer
which applies the jaaterial to the lower side of the leaf ^ The .
treatiaent should start as soon as the overwintering adults appear
and be continued at regular intervals, of on© week or ten days*
During rainy weather it may be necessary to apply the poison more
frequently. Plants should be sprayed or dusted only when the leaves
are dry*

After the pods form and later in the season if further treat-
ment is necessary some people prefer to use. rotenone or pyrethrum in
order to avoid objectionable residues*

• ■ • •

For several years the t'arnistied plant bug has caused severe
injury on celeiy in Lancaster and Tioga Counties and other truck
growing areas. The feeding and ogg laying -punctures of these
insects cause a break down and decay of the celery hearts. The first
indication that tc^rnlshed plant bugs are attacking celery is a dark-
ening of the area around the joints i This is known as ♦•black joint^*
among growers and is caused by the insects puncturing the tender
stalks with their sharp beaks. In the fall of 1933 a grower in
Lctncaster County had eight acres of plants which were made unmarket-
able by this insect. During the past summer another grower harvested
11,000 plants of v;hich only 300 were salable*

The tarnished plant bug is a small brownish Insect, mottled with
various shades of reddish and yellowish -brown* It has a wide variety
'of food plants and usually migrates to, celery fields from waste land,
weedy fields and other places where they can breed in abundance*

During the past season a demonstration v/as started and different
plots were treated Alth sulphur dust, sulphur spray, rotenone dust
and tobacco stems i The demonstration was started on late celery
after our attention was called to the condition of the early crop*
Definite results wene not obtained on account .of less noticeable
injury from the plant bugs on the late crop*

Experiments iii Nev/ York State Indicate that the most practical
method of combatting this insect is by spraying, or dusting with super-
fine sulphur and h:J'drated lime* If a dust is desired use twenty-
five parts of sulphur (300 mesh) and seventyrfive parts of hydrated
liios. Wide culture will require about seventy- five pounds of the
prepared dust to the acre while dose culture will require 150 pounds.
•Dusting for this insect is usually cheaper than spraying and
eijually effective*

* . ■ • ■

If a spray is preferred use twenty- five pounds of sulphur t.nd
sixty to seventy-five pounds of hydrated lime and water enough to
make 100 gallons of the mixture. About 100 gallons of spray is
needed for an acre where wide culture is used and about 200 gallons
for close • Treatment should start as soon as the insects migrate
into the field and repeated at weekly intervals*

-5-

Several sections of the State have reported injury from the
celery looper. The yoixng or larva of this insect is palB yellowish-
green in color and is- not easily confused with other celery pests
because in the immature stages this insect is a true looper or
'^measuring worm." After reashing maturity it changes into a hand-
some brown moth*

' * . * * ,

Since celeiy should not be sprayed- with the arsenates late in
the season hand picking end d^isting or spraying with pyrethrum or
some other similar organic insecticide is usually the best methoi of
preventing irijuiy.

In this state the moat important insect attacking cucunbors
and melons is* the striped beetle. Usually the overwintering adults
congregate on the young plants about the time they are breaking
through the ground. The beetles eat holes in leaves and feed on
the stems near the surface of the ground. The most serious damage
usually occurs when the plants are young and frequently many plants
are killed while others are so badly injured ;that they never make
a vigorous growth. Eggs are .deposited in crevices of the soil near
the plants and the larvae feed on the roots. Many growers have

• found that a simple iastho4 of protecting young cucumbers and melons
in gardens and other small plan-tings is by means of cores made of _
wire fly-screen. It is frequently necessary to use a spray or dust
after "ttie plants are too large for the cones.

Probably the best method of combatting this insect is by^
liberal applications of a dust composed of one pound of lead or
calcium araonate and twenty pounds of gypsum. If.gypsxim can not be
obtained finely ground limestone may be substituted as; the carrier
for the poison. Hydrated lime used as a carrier frequently causes
stunting of the plants. If a spray is preferred use two pounds of
lead or calcium arsenate to fifty gallons of Bordeaux mixture.

During the past two seasons afimy plantings of cantaloupes ha^«,
been completely ruined by melon aphids. Usually they appear first
on only a few plants end proapt treatment will usually avoid much
trouble later. For most truck growers it "is less expensive and more
practical to us e a two or three per cent nicotine-llme-dust. The
application should be made on a hot quiet day, and a special effort
should be made to envelop the plant with a cloud .of dust,, especially
near the ground. Thorough spraying with nicotine sulphate, one
pint in 100 gallons of water with five pounds of soap added wlll^
also, give good results. Angle nozzles should be used so as to hit
the Insects which feed mostly underneath the, leaves. Strong pressure
and t»n abundance of material are necessary for satisfactory results.

The squash bug is an Important pest of squash and jumpkin.

• Sometimes the insects kill the plants outri^t but usually the
growth of the plant is only stunted and the vine is unable to mature
a satisfactory crop. Fortunately,' commercial plantings are saldom
seriously injured by these insects but in the past two years I have
seen the vines in many gardens and other small plots conq?letely .
rUihed .

Since the winter is passed in the adult stage under rubbishy
and in protected places the spring Infestation can be greatly reduced
by a thorough cleanup of the old vines, adjoining fence rows and

I

i

Ml

\ :.

ftl

^e

-6-

: i

1 >

.1.
If

:(

■ 1

U

I

H'

Idi'

. '

other places where the tags can hibernate. 1 find that many people
are using pieces of board or shingles underneath vftiich tre adults are

trepped soon after they emerge froiu hibernation. This is usually quite
satisfactoiy. The eggs of any that escape the cleanup and trapping
under boards can usually be easily crushed before they, hatch.

Immature forms of the squash bug may be killed by spraying or
dusting. A dust made from one pound of nicotine sulphate and fifteen
pounds of gypsum has given good results. If a spray is preferred and .
one- fourth pound of nicotine sulphate and one pound 6f soap to fifteen
gallons of water. Most of the young are found underneath the leaves
and fbr that reason a special effort should be made ta see that the

undersides of the leaves exre well covered.

■■,.•-
.. • ■. • • •

In Franklin County and in several other communities in the
southern part of the state damage was caused during the past season
by the melon and pickle worms* These are southern ^pests whose
activity so far has been confined to only a few CGmmunities, The
larvae of both species feed in all parts of the plant but are moit
destructive vdien they feed on the fruit. Since the pickle worm
enters as soon as it hatches poisons help but little in reducing
danage. The melon worm does suae surface feeding and so the applica-
tion of poisons assist in its control'.*

■ " -* ' .

Destroying the infested plants after harvest, deep plowing and
the rotation of crops are usually the most satisfactory methods of
combatting these i>ests. ' .. . •

'••.■• "•'..'■■■'•■.•.

Excluding potatoes, sweet corn is the mbst valuable vegetable
crop grown in Pennsylvania. One of. the greatest hinde ranees it.o
producing an attractive and marjcetable product in 6weet qor^ produc-'
tion is the corn earworm. In 1933 counts madd' in" several so uthvvestern
counties showed that from five to. fifty per cent of the s^eet com
ears in these counties were infested with this pest. There has
been a gradual inoreaae in the importance of this insect up to 1933.-
This past season, in most communities and especially in the higher^
and more nortjiescn counties, i,t has b pen some #iat less abundant. This^'
is probably due to a freezing of -ttie J>upae during the severe winter
of 1933-34.' If this winter pro vesj to be mild or . normal those., of you-
who may live in communities (iti&v.e c mn earworm was. less abundance
during the past. year need not congratulate yourselves because this •
reduction -in numbers will probably, not continue. Without a .doubV
corn earworms are' one of the most important vegetable insect, problems
in Pennsylvania. ■ Investigations i^^e disclosed Ho simple o&sy me thod
of preventing damage. Several years ago a series of demonstrations
was conducted using different materials and several. types. of dusters.
Of the materials tried bfest results- were obtained with a mixture of
lead arsenate and dusting sulphur used in equal .amounts. Hand dusters
were found to be ouch more efficient than power duqters.. In these ^
tests three applications were'iiaade, the first being applied wh.en the
earliest ear in the patch started toi silkj thp .second applioattcn •
was given a few days later when tv-entyfive- per cent of the e^Ts were
showing silk ani' the last appTication was- made at the "tiios the ears
were in full silk'and before ten per cent of the silks had turned
brown. For these trials from twelve to fifteen pounds of dust wore
used per acre for each application. Growers expecting to dust fbr
corn earworn should remember that it is important, to have the silk
and oars well protected with poisun at the tima^ the. eggs are hatching.

-7-

In several communities iaffeoted by the drouth of the past season
cabbage aphids caused severe damage. Apparently many infestations
started from infested plants shipped fron the southern states* It
was of interest to me to learn that most of growers irtio dipjed all
purchased plants in a soap and nicotine mix tare had much less diffi-
culty later in the season. This insect passes the winter in the egg
stage *on old cabbage stalks and for that reason they should be
plowed Tinder or destroyed during the winter. After an infestation
is started the most satisfactory treatment is usually the destruction
of all heavily infested plants and a thorough application of a
nicotine dust.

During the past few years cabbage and redishes have been severely
injured by the root maggot. For this reason aainy growers are treating
regularly for the control of this pest. When properly and timely
made this treatment gives excellent results. Persons who have diffi-
culty growing radishes or cabbage because of root maggots and who are
not using corrosive sublimate should give this material a trial,

• • •

In practically every case that hafe been colled to my attention
where these treatments have not given satisfactory results the
applications were improperly timed, in most instances the treatments
were started too late. In a recent series of tests wton the first
treatment was given not more than a week after the first elfgs ware
found, almost perfect results were obtained. When the first treatment
was made two of three weeks after the first eggs were found there
was little or no reduction in the number of larvae. It is usually
advisable to give two or three treatments at weekly intervals. The
number of applications will depend upon the number of eggs and the
time they are deposited. Screening the seed bed to prevent the flies
from laying eggs is a practice i4iioh is quite popular in some com-
mercial cabbage growing areas in other states, and it deserves ad re
popularity in truck growing regions in this state.

Onion thrips are small yellowish or browiish insects only about
one- twenty-fifth of an inch in length which rasp the leaves and suck
out the juices.' When abundant the leaves turn i4iite and the plants
wilt; Usually these insects do not kill the plant outright, but
cause a stunting which greatly reduces the yield. Since the plants
are seldom killed but usually only injured many growers fail to
appreciate the extent of the loss*

These tiny insects secrete themselves in the leaf sheaths and
are extremely difficult to reach with a spray. AJjaost any contact
insecticide is effective if it wets the insect. Most growers that
spray for this insect prefer nicotine sulphate and soap;. Best re-
sults are obtained when this is applied with considerable Pressure
so thaf some of the spray will be forced down between the J^aves where
the insects are hiding. Recent experiments indicate that naphthalene
dust can be successfully used in the control of this pest.

Each year many persons report injury from cutworms. These are
the young or larval stage of several different kinds or .species of
moths. The eggs are deposited in grasslands and sod ^roots are the
normal food for the young. When the sod fields a:re plowed the

%^

i

•i''

;.

V"'

I 'I -I

If

n

ill

(

¥ \

!

I!l

Hi
f

il

r!
I

I

by heavy paper
ground and ex-

•8-

young being deprived of their nonaal food congregate on the culti-
vated plants. It is then that noticeable damage ocairs.

Injury -can best be prevented by using a poison bran mash. An
easily prepared bait is made by mixing five pounds of bran with one-
fourth pound of Paris green. To this mixture add one^pibnt of molasses
diluted with a small amount of water. Enough water, should be added
to make a stiff but not sloppy mash. About dusk scatter the bait on
the ground near the plants/where damage is occurring. Long-stemmed
plants may be protected from most spe.oies of cutworms
collars set at least an inch below the surface of the
tending one or two inches above the surface.

In practically all parts of the state the overwintering brood of
the small black flea beetle appeared in large numbers on tomatoes,
eggpl&nt and other garden vegetables and in many instances caused
severe dan&ge. Sweet corn was also seve.rely injured by flea beetles.
Most of this injury was caused by the pale striped flea beetle a
close relative of the small black beetle which caused so mioh damage
to other crops. There are several different flea beetles of impor-
tance in the state and each year one or more of tnem cause severe
damage to vegetables* •• .'•.

Usually ducting- or spraying with a poison is the most practical .
method of redacitig injury. If dusting is Preferred us e^ a heavy appli-
cation Of a well mixed dust composed of one pound of calcium ^rsenate.
and seven pounds of hydra ted lime. A satisfactory spray, can b^jade
by adding one and one-half ••pounds of calcium .arsenate. and one aid,
one-half-pounds of hydrated lime to fifty gallons of water.

On DOtatoe's and several vegetable crops millLpedes, have caused ..
considerable damage during the past year. These pests, ar^known^ to ■
many growers as "thousand le gged^ worn s;" They, rese.rable^wire^rms,
but are not an insect and can be readily distinguished from these •
since a wireworm has only three pairs of legs wl^ilfpach apparent
bodv segment of amilliped has two pair.of legs. ..Millipea^ ^re -^
uSny^?e abundant in damp soils... %en disturbed ^^^ey frequently
coll their bodies and remain rigid, for several jninutes. Under prac-
tic-al conditions the poison bait which has begn recommended for
cutworms is usually the b 6s t method of, reduping. Injury.,

,• ". * • • 'i ' \ •

, • • • ' .» . • • •• . •

Now InsectioJ-des

Pyrethruia is not a new insecticide, but the re have been so many
changus and improvemsnts in its uses- during the past fo,w years that
\x d frequently classed as om of the ^ewer^materials used in insect
control. No do uW many of .you years ago used it ^^^er^the name oi
"Persian Insect Powder" or "Buhach". 4t thtt time it consisted of
, the powdered Hewers of several species of Asiatic Chrysanthemms^
' In recent years chemists have been, able to extract the ^°J^° ?t^^^l^ ■
from the flowers. This has rbsulted in more efficient ^^^t)®tter
preparations. In sons sections of the country considerable use is
SadI of the pyrethrum preparations where a non-ppisonoua. insectioide

is desired. Although quite effective ^^.?2 PJ^g^liyil^f ^i^i^g
should remember that, at present,., for large °°^®^°^:t, 5"^~;„i;T.v,ns
this iriaterial is rather expensive and that undqr certain conditions .
the toxic properties deteriorate quite rapidly.

.-9-

•NTfitives in the Far JSast for centuries have bruised the roots of
certaiS t?l|ic2i p!a£fJ Sd plaSed tiiem in streams above rudely con-,
structed dams. The extract from the roots stupefied the fish in tne
stream, and they would rise to the top where they could be easily
collected and used for food. Apparently no bad effects resulted
from the use of fish poisoned by this method. The most common plant e
used in this way are known as Derris and extracts from the roots
have been used far a number of years in combatting injurious insects.

* *

Several years ago the toxic properties of Derris was isolated
and it was found that the most toxic ingredient is a complex ohoaical
compound lAiich has been called rotenone .• This discovery led to an,
intensive search for this valuable material in other plants. Cube )
a native plant of South America, was also found to be high in
rotenone content and at the present time is one of the important
commercial sources of this material.- Recent tests indicate tnat
Devil* s shoe string, a North ioaerican weed, has commercial possi-
bilities. Tests conducted with rotenone show that the fresh material
is very poisonous to insects, and whai properly applied gives good
results.

Under some conditions rotenone dett;riorates quite rapidly add
it is said that wfaon exposed to direct sunlight its toxicity to
insects is lost in about seven days. Unfortunately at present prices
rotenone dusts and sprays in oon?>arlson to the arsenates are rather
exnensive. Rotenone deterioratea In on. alkaline solution «^d i^
shSuld not be used with lime or Bordeaux mixture or IJ^-J^J-P^^J^. ^
At the present time the preparation of insecticides containing tnis
material has hot been oon5)letely standardized by ^e n»^nufacturer6.,
and in order to use as effective a product as posdble it is suggested
that the growers who expect to use rotenone preparations during ^tne
coming-year obtain fresh materials tightly packed in light-proof
containers.

^TOMaTO CERTIFICATION IN PENNSY"LV.^NIA

K. W. Lauer
Bureau of Plant Industry, Harrisburg,

Pa.

The purpose back of the tomato soed certification work is to
mako available to the tomato grower a source of seed comparatively
free from disease, of good germination and ^hich when grown under
reasonably favorable conditions will give a satisfactory crop of
fruit v^ich is uniform, characteristic as to variety and true to
name. Certification should not. be considered as a "curs-all" or as
a guarantee against crop failure due to negligence on^the part of
thigrower. We moke no claim that Pennsylvania certified seed rtL 11
outyiold all other seed or that it will produce a ^od crop under
adverse growing conditions, but we have learned during past years
?hir?Syfrs wa£t good seed and that thoy are willing to Pjy J^jeason-
able price for such seed if it carries the pioteotion certification
affords, ^rtiile there lauy be other seed that will give just as sat-
isfactory results as certified seed, unless a grower has absolute
knowledge of conditions under which such seed was produced and oared
for, it is hazardous to plant such stock. The protection certifi-
cation affords is good insurance against such seedborn diseases as

f'A

;i-i

iK

'"\

\

i\

I

n

!!i

J ^

.tUi

-SI-

;

■

\

1

wilt, bacterial canket and against varietal mixture and general laok
of uniformity of fiuit produced.

We started tomato seed certification Tuork in Pennsylvania in
1930 and after five years experience, we feel that we have oontnbuted
a great deal to ths infprovement of at least several varieties. This
improvement was accomplished through the elimination of diseased stocks
end of strains which lacked toifoim varietal characteristics. Any
imBrovement attaiiBd must necessarily come through selection, breed-
ing ani care of the seed stock. This selection and breeding work,
of course, rests with the seed grower and the progress made will
naturally depend on the ability of the seed grower to • develop stocks
that will retain these unifom, varietal characteristics over a period
of soveral years. Stocks iNh ic h ' do 'not retain ahd show these prominent
individual characteristics aaso®iated : with a perticular variety ere
not certified. Our contribution to the improvement wo ik. and to,
progress in general, is through the elimina-tion of inferior stocks

and strains. ' >

During thu spring of 1934 we changed the requireiaents in regard
10 varieties acceptubl*. for certification. It is more or less commonly
thouftht that some of the varieties now available to the seed trade are
renamed varieties or varieties which have nothing to recommend them
ever other existing varieties even though they may show some slight
differences.' Put of the scores of commercial tomato varie ties now
available to tHe seed trade.- tht, United States I^^P^^f f . ^f/f^i"
ciiltitre in a recent publication oonsyrvatively -estimated^ that eighty
•five to ninety per cent of all tomatoes grown in the Unitad States
•could be placed in a group of nine varieties. While^the. standards
e^tablish^ed by tbe Pennsylvania D^partnierit^ of^Agricullnre , are not all
inclusive, they include a sufficient number of varie ties to^ cover
those that are of most cdmrb'rcial importance in Pennsylvania. .

The following varieties and their recognized strains or selections
may be cer?if?S under our present regulations provided they confom
with the generally accepted type for the variety:

• • £arliana-(Burbank, Canadian, Penn State iriarliana)
Break O'Day (Grothen Red Globe)
Prltchard (Scarlet Topper) • „^ , , . _ ,..

• • Bonny Best (Landreth, John Baer*: Chalk's Jewell]

Mar glob 6 ' .

'Globe (Walter Richards' , Gulf State Market) ■ ' . ,
• Greater Baltimore (Indiana Baltimore) or Stone (Red

• Rook,- Norton, Wilt Resistant Stone)

. . Ponderosa' . .

• -Naiies of strains and selections given above l^^J^^^l^^^^^^^^H
not. be certified as such but as varieties unae.r which, they mavapgar
■ as a group. For instance: . Burbank, .Canadian and Pa nn State ^arl^na
will be clitifiod as Earliam. Likewise, lanireth. John Baer, Chalks
•Jewell will be certified as... Bonny Best, etc. ...

Varieties certifi ed imist show characteristics vtoich are distinc-
tive',, unlfrom ahd sufficiently well fixed to J^^^ify. pertification^
Nevrand previously uncortifi ed varie ti^ s may be, accepted for certi

-11-

ficatioh after having been tested in trial plots and having proven
their commercial value.

It is felt that these standards will tend to gradually eliminate
varietal duplications and establish certain other varieties as stan-
dard. AS will be noted, the list grouped above will cut the number of
varieties from twenty-three to niee.

All tomato fields entered for certification are inspected once
during the growing season. Most of the fields, liowever, are given two
inspections and some of than are gone over three times. The first in-
spection is made at or about the time of tlrie first picking and before
any loguing is done. The plants at this time are undisturbed and show
their natural growth tendencies better than later in the season after
they have been picked over several times and have been pulled down by
heavy fruit production. Type of fruit is also more characteristic at
this time than later in the season.

While no systematic inspection is mad© of the seed extracting
"machinery, such ©quipmsnt is checked to see that all possibilities of
mixture or contamination are eliminated. As soon as the seed has been
extracted it i^ properly labeled, fermented, washed and dried. To
show you that our growers have taken every precaution to avoid mix-
tures, it will be interesting to note that- one of our seed growers^
has installed a separate line of seed-extracting machineiy for each
variety of seed grown. No two ' varieties are grovm, washed, dried or
stored on the saiae farm. After the seed ha6 been dried, it Is tested
for geimihation by the Department of Agriculture and then stored either
in bulk or bags until it is shipped to the buyer. Most of the seed Is
packed in half pound and pound lots' although it may be bought in
packet sizes. When it is packed in the larger containers it is put up
in such manner that the seal or packet must.be broken to open tne
container. This ife done in order to avoid tampering and assures the
ultimate buyer of genuine certified stock even^ though the seed^might
pass through sevetal hands before it reaches *?^ 6^°^^?^ ' ^f ^i^f S?J.
sized containers all bear' the certification sticker of the Departnent

of Agriculture.

Tomato stocks now being certified have all been given three years
or more of selection work. No stocks will be J°°;P*®^ J°^ °^f J^J^*"
tion unless they have had at least two years of hill-selection work
prior to entry for certification. '*•";" ,. .•

Summary of Tomato Seed Certification in Pennsylvania

1936-1934-

Acres entered
Acres rejected
Acres certified

1930

211.0

155 . 5

55.5

1951

138.0

36.5

101.5

1932

• . ' ■

lo'e^o

7.5
100.5

1933

291.5

41.75
249.75

1934

292.5

96,0

196.5

ifl

■W'hl

*'- !''■

1

'4

H'

i

I

^

-12-

Pounda of Seed Certified

1930

1931

1932

1933

1 •

1934
56

, ,

13

108

650

• • ■ »

K

1,058

725

, 200

244

.

205

2,000

3»495

. 6,110

8,646

1Q810

«

800

225

212

300

195

1,172

860
10,697

•

279

2,500

3,934

8,095

1^,535

.

• .- • f.

*

•

Varieties

Earl i ana
Break 0*Day ^
Pritchard
Bonny Best
Marglobe
Globe (Pink)
Greater Baltimore
Stone

Total

MODERN METHODS OF L^IPROVING VEGETABLE CROP^ TO IvlBET

CERTIFICATION REQPIRSviElTOS.
Hal. Mills - D^ Landreth Seed Co., Bristol, Pa.

The certification requirements are so stringent in Pennsylvania,
that an exttj^nsive breeding and selection program is necessary. In
order to have a successful progroa, the seedsman mus,t first obtain .
the services of someone qualified to do .this work.

Moiy farmers h^^ve asked wh<-'.t tho pei;sQnal qualifications are for
the plant ttreoder who can carry out a successful program of vegetable
crop improvement. . We thought it might be interesting to describe
these qualifications* .

The first .requironent is a supply of good cdrnmon sense. This
is so essential for all successful work that it needs no elaboration
here. «.> v. • : . -

, . •• •.. • . • • • ; '

ft

. : •• . , . • . . .- • ,

The second requirement is a love' of work. The sue cessfXil' plant
breeder cannot have a lazy streak i , Long hours of patient, tedious
work are required. . Twelve or more hours a day, seven days a week'

are the rule rather than the .exception. .:

♦ • . • . ..... • . •. •

The third requirement is an interest in plant lifei This is
essential in order to be able to understand what you are working
toward, the goal in your program*

The fourth requlr orient is in ability to observe dlfforences In
plants. This Inoludos all parts of the plLnt such as foliage and
fruit, as well as yioldlng ability, freedoifi from disease, adapta-
bility to oliinate und soil, etc.

t

The fifth and last requirement for the successful plant breeder
is a knowledge of the fundamentals of botany and plant breeding.
Add to thbse five requiraaents of common sense, love of work, and
interest in plants, ability to observe differences, and a knowledge
of fundamontfel botany arid plant breeding, add to these requirements
a fair education and about 20:yoars of experience* with vegutables,
and you have' the makings of a plant breeder who may be able to get
somewhere in a program for the improvement of ve@i)table crops to
meet the certification requirements in Pennsylvania,

-13-

There are three main classes of vegetable plants, ^irst, those
that are practically always self-pollinated, such as beans, peas,
and tomatoes. Second, those that are generally self-pollinated, but
cross-pollination may take place, such as peppers. Third, those
plants that are generally cross-pollinated such as sweet corn. Of
course, it is necessary to treat each class of vegetable differently.

First, those vegetables which are practically always self-
pollinated, for example, the toniato. Mr. Lauer has told you something
of the requirements for certification of tiis vegetable* We began our
present program of tomato improvement in 1929, the year that I was
employed by The D. Landreth Seed Co#

■' ' » • .

The work started by obtaining s^ed of the varieties wantad from

the best sources available. Plants from these various lots were then
grown in isolated fields, and carefully studied throu^out the season.
At the time of the first picking, every plant in those fields was
examined. Lath stakes were placed at each, plant that had the char-
acters of vine end fruit which were required. These staked plants
were examined from time to time as the season progressed, and all were
discarded which did not continue to hold up to the- high standards es-
tablished. Seed from each staked plant v/as saved separately.

The following year, a planting of seed was made from each of the
plants staked the previous year. The marketable fruits from each lot
were counted and weired, and examined for external and internal color
and structure. The poorer lots were all discarded.

This program of trial and elimination of the poorer lots has been
going on since 1930. We now have some very promising pure lines, and
are readj to go on with the maintenance of those pure lines in their
pure state. I think. that Mr. Lauer has seen the improvement of our
varieties in the six years wo. have worked together* There are some
new Landreth catalogs and tomato booklets hero on the desk which de-
scribe some of the work we are doing#

1 am sorry to say .that the improvement work with other crops is
not as simple as vdth tomatoes. For the second group of vegetables,
those that are gQnb rally self-pollinated, but cross-pollination may
take place, one may start with staked plants as wo did \with peppers
a few years ago. , . ;. . ^

We have been testing out these staked plants for two years now,
and I wish this group of growers could have seen our tests in 1934.
We are working with three varieties, Ruby King, v/orld Beater, and
California Wonder. Each of these varieties contained mixtures which
we did not know were present in the previous years. We are going to
isolate some of the best of th^se plants this year. We may have to
cage some of them. We are working tov/ard certification of poppers,
please note that I said working toward certification, for we are not
roady to meet the strict requirements as yet. And in passing, I might
say that there is no seedsman ready for pepper certification, because'
we have tested seed from many sources, and found them all alike. I
think that Dr. Mack will vouch for this.

fi

i

.'111

U

hi

t .

Itt^l

A

'! I

t

m

fM

-14-

as sweet
prevent

This work with sweet com was started, in 1925 on The Long Island
Vegetable Research Farm, a branch' of Cornell University where I v/as
a member of the staff. In 1989, by special permission, I moved some
of the stocks with me when I was employed by Land re th. We have con-
tinued with this breeding of sweet com, usixig the three main va-
rieties, Golden Bantam, Stowells Evergreen, and Country Gentlemen.
We have been sel'f -pollinating some of these lots for 10 years, and
now have some very uniform inbreds. Fpr the last three years, we
have been crossing some of the inbreds and* testing the hybrid com-
binations* It looks now as if -ve had found a few good ones, for
example, our Golden Hybrid F, an 8-rowed golden typo, producing
2 to 5 times as many very uniform ears as the average open-pollinated
strain. Ten years of hard work td produce this J But that is what
the plant breeder is working for, the satisfaction of producing
something superior. He must get hi|5 satisfaction froirisuch production
fpr his pay is genert^lly not of 6^' satisfactory figure.,

' . . In conclusion then, for. a successful program of breeding and
selection to meet Pennsylvania., cert fflciEitlon requirements the
following Is necasse^ry;^ ' • \ •

First -f someone v/l^o is qualified by experience,
— ability end t^ due at ion to carry out . this
• '• :program. ...."' • - ^ '-

- i' ^ ■'..•■. • • ■

Second. - the necessary equipment •, help ^ land and.

time to do this work; . , ; ^

Such a program costs money* The grower then who purchases this
improved seed, must be ready and ?/illing to pay more for such seed
since It costs considerably more to produce it«

• * *

SWEET CORN DISCUSSED
R. S. Kirby, State College, Pa.

I. The Sweet Corn Wilt Situation

; ■

The severe outbreak of sweet corn vd It- during 1932 and 1933 left
many growers wondering as to the outcome of their- future crops.

■ ' ■ "• . ^ . ■ -! ■'■'■• ■ : • •

It has been found that sweet .com planted just before a rain has
usually had a higher percentage of wilt infection than sweet corn
pla'nted at a time, v/hon *it. was able to sprout in .moderately dry soil.
But in general, it has been found that there is no definite relation
between the amount of v;i It and the total rainfall during any season
or any relation between the severity of wilt .and the temperature
during the spring, summer'or fall. There is, however, an apparent
relation between the winter temperature and the occurrence of sw-^et
corn ^fi^ilt. Vifhere t^nd when the sum of the mean temperatures for

^ -15-

December, January and February are above 100 the disease is usually
present in destructive amounts and is absent where the sum of the
.r^Lean temperatures aire below 90. Further, that inteiraediate conditionr
usually occur if*ien the mean temperatures are between 90 and 100.
nvy^^et corn wilt has for years been an important disease from viash-
ington, Li C* south viiere the mean normal temperatures for December,
January and February are above 100 •

In Pennsylvania the normal mean tanperature for the three winter
months is between 90 and 94 for tl^e central and southern part of th9
State and between 81 and 89 at hi^er elevations and in the northern
part of the state. From the winter of 1929-1930 to the winter of
1932-1933, the sum of the mean temperatures in Pennsylvania was about
10 to 20 degrees higher than normal. The highest sum of mean winter
temperatures occurred during the winter 1932-1933 when they were over
100 i.n all parts of the state. During the 'winter of 1933-1934 the
sum of .the meeri temperatures were between 90 and 94 in the southern
part of the state and , below 90 in the northern part of the state.

The sum bf the winter mean temperatures at different times and
places in Pennsylvania is almost an exact history of sweet corn wilt
in this state. The wilt disease like other ' dis eases, v;hen conditions
are suddenly favorable, did not become severe until after the third
warm winter since wilt req^uires time to bo introduced into new aeo- •
•t tons on seed and build up a supply of wilt producing b6;ctaria to
live over the winter on com debris and start infection the next
spring*

In the -gufflmer- of 1934, -there was only scattered infections of
sweet born wilt in the ' northern part'of Pennsylvania and mdderateiy
severe* infections in those parts of. the state where the winter had
been the mildest end the sum of the ihean temperatures was between
90 and^94.

^

A' check on the saine nine varieties of sweet com pliant ed in all
sectiofas of Pennsylvania in 1933 and 'again in 1934 shows that the
average infection dropped from 36 per cent in 1933 to 19 per cent in
1934 or that in 1934, 'there was o^ly* 52.7 per cent of the wilt that
we had in 1933t

' t

In view of the seemingly close Relationship between the sum of
the mean temperatures of December, January and . February and the amount
of wilt occurring the following sumper, it may help to watch these
winter" temperatures ancl to be more careful to plant resistant varie-
ties, wilt free seed, and to destroy' all corn rubbish v;hen the mean
temperature totals are' above 90 or 100. Growers must remember that
for the present, they have an abundance of wilt bacteria which will
again'cause severe loss if the winter temperature is not sufficiently
low to kill them.

During the summer of 1934, over'40 variety tests were planted :
in all sections of Pennsylvania to determine which Tfarietles of sweet
corn are the most resistant to wilt. Due to the fact that in many
sections wilt v/as not severe enough to cause 20 per cent infection on
the most susceptible varieties, all varieties in these tests have
been classified under moderate infection and these figures may be used

k\

f;

> Mi

t'l

r

1.

^li

1 !t

( I ■ • •

I )

• i

n

I

V \

^

i

ii

S

u

-16-

«

for the selection of yaxie ties when indications are that wilt will
not be severe. In tests where the susceptible 'varie ties had over 20
per cent infection, all varieties were classified under severe in-
fection and will serve as what may be expected when the disease is
severe.

Golden Cross Bantam or Golden Cross as it is now known by the
seedsmen, was in 1934 as in 1933, the most resistant of any early •
and medium late variety. True strains of Golden Cross may be ex-
pected to resist attacks of wilt even under the most severe cases.
Late varieties like Country Gentlemen and Stowell's Evergreen are
usually Quite resistant. For those grovrera. who wish to raise Whip-
pies, the Top Cross, and Whipple Cross have been found to suffer
nine and one-half and live and four-fifths, times less lo^ respec-
tively than Whipples. For the grower who. desires to grow an early
maturing variBty of sweet corn, the Spanish Gold Top Cross strains,
and especially those in which Purdue Bantam 39 is used has been
found to suffer about one- half the loss of Spanish Gold.

Susceptibilily of Sweet Corn Varieties to Bacterial .Wilt

1934

■«*■

Percentage Infection

In areas i4ie re
wilt was moder-
ately severe

Percentage Loss

id
eon*

"TTT"

.5
1*0
1.3

• 9
2*0

5 4?.

515

2i9

9iB

8.0

6.0

14.3

10.5

19.9

17.3

e.8

46.0
31.1
47 .9

46.0
64.0

Variety

Golden Cxoss Bantam
Country Gentlemen*
Evergreen Hybrid*
Whipple Top Cross
Bantam Evergreen Hybr
Narrow Grained Evurgr
'v^ipple Cross •
Golden Sunrise
Stowell's Evergreen*
Spanish Gold Top Cros

Red Green Hybrid
Golden Cross Sunshine

Top Cross Sunshine

Howling Mob*

Spanish Gold

Whipples Yellow

Golden Sunshine*

Extra Early Bantam

Yellow Sensation

Golden Early Market

Burpee

Kingscrost Bantam*

« • ■

♦variety was in less them five (5) tests.

In arecs where
there was only
a sinall amount
of wilt

lAverage
both sections)

.1

.0

.5.

.4

.5

.0

.8

.5.

6*0

.8

2.6

3.0

1.1

.0

2.1

3.2

.0

8.8

3.3

4.1

.s

.2

.7

.6

.8

1.0

1.2

«

. 1.6.

*

2.3

2.6

3.1

3.7

• *•

3.9

•

4.1

4.9

5.8

5.8

7.1

•

11.0

• •

14.6

19.2

32.0 _

-17-

H GOLDEN CROSS HYBRID SVvfiET CORN IN YORK COUNTY

G. G. Weber, York, Pa.

Prior to 1932 approximately 98 per cent of all sweet corn pro-
duced in York county, by both market gardeners and by those growing
corn for our bommercial canneries, was made up of vdiite varieties.
In 1932 the first variety demonstrations of yellow sweet corn were
grown here. Stewart's disease was unusually severe and most of the
varieties included in the demonstrations were badly damaged. Golden
Cross Hybrid was not included in the d quo nst rat ions in 1932. In
1933 two additional variety demonstrations of yellow sweet corn were
planted in which Golden Cross Hybrid was included. The results this
year wore very outstanding in favor of Golden Cross Hybrid. It
showed absolutely no wilt and gave the highest yield of any of the
eight varieties included in these demonstrations.

In 1934 in order to get Golden Cross Hybrid introduced among
some of our market gardenefsi oi^ders for seed were assembled and 65
pounds purchased for 17 growers from the Funk Seed Company of
Bloomington, Illinois. Seven of these growe;rs, kgpt- r^q-OT'S^pn, plots
of 4 rows each 100 feet long to deteriiine the dpproxlfna'te yieild per
acre. The average yield urtiich those grovers obtained was 756 dozens
per acre, the highest report being 1,373 dozens. In two cases ccm-
parisons of yields was made with other varieties. One grower re-
ported an increase of 56 dozens over that obtained from Whipple's
Yellovj. Another grower obtained 76 dozens more per acre of Golden
Cross Hybrid than from Evergreen.

In every case the grower was well satisfied with the results of
this new variety. They found a ready market from consumers, many
of whom asked for more of it after the supply v.-as exhausted. Sev-
eral growers reported also that they .vere able to get a premium of
from 5(^ to lO^f per dozen for this variety than for white corn which
they were offering. The remarkable unilbrmity and good size of ears,
togetter with the high yielding ability, has made a very favorable
impression anong our growers. The exceptional quality finds ready
favor with the coieumer. .

There are, however, several objections, from the growers stand-
point, although they e^ro comptratively unimporteint. The uniformity
of riponing requires practically complete harvesting of a p'.rticuiar
area within a period of from 3 to 7 days. The market gardener,
ttorefore, must mtke frequent plantings of quantities sufficient to
take care of his market requirements at intervas of about one week.
The suckering habit of the variety is objectionable to those who
insist on removing them. We are, however, recoranending that the
variety be planted sufficiently thin to allow all suckers to grow
without too much interference. The increased yields obtai^K*ble
through the removal of suckers, according to Experiment S.tation
records, have been scarcely sufficient to cover the cost of the
labor required in removing these suckers.

The cost of seed will always be high on acco-unt of the uethod
which iuust be followed in producing it. When the snail size of
kernels is considered and thin planting practiced, the cost of seed

r-

i

.•{.11

I

1^

» 1. '

-18-

fe.

il-

I !

Jiety

a niimber of other growers will try it ibr the first time, particu-
larly Market gardeners. At least one commercial oanner will grow
a limited amount of Golden Cross Hybrid for the first time in 1935.

srilET CORN DEivDNSTRATION TEST IN DELAWARE CO., Pa.
" • T. B. Palmer, Concordville, Pa.

■ ♦•• "^ f'-'i

Equal areas of 13 varieties of sweet cona v/e re planted this
summer on the farm of J. F. Styer, at Concordville, Pa., to compare
their rolati^vu eusceptibilif.y to sweet corn wilt, or Stewart's
disease. The planting was made in rectangular plots, a total of
about 100 plants of each variety. Of the 13 varieties planted, all
but 4 v?ore of hybrid origin. The planting v/as dono on May 24th and
tho dOiionstrrition £.nd check-up of wilt wcsheld on August 14th, at
a timu when nearly all kinds were mt\ire» .:.

Wilt infection in hybrid varieties varied from 0 to 10%, and in
the other vuriuti^s from 20 to 80?^. Of 'the non-hybrids, J-Vhipplcs'
Yollow wus the loust infected, showing 20%* Early Yellow Sensation
hud 40%, Spanish Gold 60%, arid Kihgscros.t bantam 80%. Golden Cross
Banta-i had no wilt. info(Jtion at. all^ Golden Sunrise and Bantam . .•
Evorgroon Hybrid had just 1%» and the "tipple Crosses 2 .and 3 /o. ,
None of the hybrids had much, wilt of a severe nature. lS<3e Table li]

Yields of tho nbn-hy ('rids were from 38 to 73 s'^.lable pars per .
plot, v*hile the hybrids yielded from 99 to 163 ears. VVhipplo Cross,
Golden Sunrise, r^d Top Cross Spanish Gold did not yield nearly so
well us the other hybrids. (See Tably 'I)

•

Counts were Lade on suutted .ears. The si.iaior,_ earlier kinds
suffered by far the worst, there being. 64 infected ears, on Spanish .
Gold, 42 on Early Yellow Sensation, and 33 on Kingscrost Banta..i.
In contrast,. Top Cross Whipple had only two smutted oars, Bantcu-i
Evergreen. Hybrid three, arii Whipple Cross and Golden Cross Bantam
four e;:.ch« • •• . ■ ■ :■■':.'■-'

Table I. Sweet Corn Variety Demonstration

Delaware County
T. B. Palmer;, , J., F. Styer Farm,^ ; .
■ . Concordville, P;

Plu-nted Muy 24, 1934. .

Harvests (E^rs-100

Variety ' • 7/28 8/l-lC 10-21

1934

u*

ft.) TotJ.l
Good Suut;

% wilt (8/14/34)
Sl't, Mod ,Sov, Total

Spanish Gold 23 '24

Early Yellow Sensation 72 5

Top Cross Spanish Gold • -96. 22

Spanish Gold X, 1339 -.,103, -45

Top Cross Sunshine-, ■.■.133 • 12,

Kingscrost Bantam . 38

Vftiipple's Yellow 47 .26

Top Cross Whipple 63 96

Whipple Gross 7 92

Golden Cross Hybrid 24 . 133

Golden Sunrise ' 24 . . 75

Bantj-Xi Evergreen Hybrid 3 160

Kingscrost JDr.ntam doraaged to
daitgod cars v/ere not CLunted.

. 47 64

77 42

• • • *

112 8

148 S2

151 . 12

i38 33

.: 73 . 7-

159 2

99 .4

157 4

. 99 7.

163 3

s or.B e xt ent

20
10
6
6
6
28
4
1
2

20
10

4

2.
12
10

1

20
20
2
0
0
40
6

1 .

1
by skunks, but

60
40

8
10

8
80

20,
2
3
0

■1
1

-19-

Table 11. Sweet Corn Wilt Demonstration

Delaware County
'J. J. Styer & Son, Concordville, Pa*

Variety

Source of Seed

Percentage of Wilt
Sl't. Mod. Sev. Total

ff

Sp::.nish Gold (D170,l) Assoc. Seed Growers

Kingscrost Bantaa ' Northrup King

Early Yellow Sensation Woodruff

Golden Cross Bant sail (UlSS.l) Assoc> Seed Growers

Top Cross Spanish Gold(U170il) »* ^ "

Spanish Gold Cross (U170. 1x1359) " '*

Top Cross v/hipple (U180.5) Coiastock Ferre

V/hipple^s Yellow

Whipple's Cross .

Top Cross Sunshine (U168t6l

Goldon Sunrise

Bantom Evergreen Hybrid (U24. 1339)Assoc. S.G.

Y/hipple Cross Constock Ferre Co.

Wettersfield> Conn.

■~— ^"^ ' ' '

Harris

Comstock Ferre
Assoc, Seed Growers
Landreth

20

28

10

0

«

6
6

1
4
2

6

1
1
3

20

12

10

0

0

4

1

10

0

2

0

0

0

20
40
20
0
2
0
0
6
1
0
0
0
0

60

80

40

0

8

10

8

20

3

8

1

1

2

IV.

SV/EET CORN VARIETIES FOR. ALLEGHENY COUNTY
Henry Rf Eby, Pit tsburgh,. Pa. "

■ In order to- discover the relative importance of the different .
varieties of sweet corn gromi in Allegheny County, a survey was made
of certain- seedsmen, whose records showed the amounts of seed of the
varieties sold to gr.,/v/ers in this region. From these records, it
was found that Golden or Bantam Evergreen was the leading vairety
representing 17 per corit of the seed sold; Golden Bantam was second,
with 13 per cent,- and Whipple's Early Yellow was third with 11 per
cent. The percentages of all the varle ties reported, es being sold
to Allegheny County sweet corn grov/ers is shown in the table below.
(Table I) •. " ',■ '

'.;

.i

I »\'

IL i)

^.'

tU

/

■ill

^(■1

li

1, )

!4'

Ilif

flj

Table I.

-20-

Varieties of Sweet Corn Grovm in Allegheny County in 1934.
Percentage of Total Crop Represented by J^ach Variety

Variety

Golden or Bantam Evergreen
Golden BantaQ
Whipple's iiarly Yellow
Delue's -Golden Giant
Stovvell's. Evergreen ,
Late Mammoth
Howling Mob,,
Burbank's Bantam'-
Golden Sunshine
Golden jiarly Market • „
Country Gentlemen
Barden's Wonder Bantam
"ffhite Evergreen
Golden Cross tiantam
Kendel's Early Giant^^'
Early Mayflower
Early Mammoth
Scott's Early Perfection
Early Evergreen
Whipple's Early iffhite
Biack Mexican

Approximate Percentage

17
13

11

10
9
7
7
5
3
3
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1

HI uni H<1i««««* <»•« '

.»•• — >n«t — !■«■>• •• *'t0m»*mr*

1/2

1/2
1/2

1/2
1/2

t*»«^^.i .*.^

Variety demonstrations in Allegheny County included 18 va-
rieties and strains, which were studied with respect to marlines?
and resistance to wilt arrl smut. The table below shows the results
of the studies on these subjects (Table II)

Table II. Swoet Corn Variety Demonstrations in Alle^eny County,

1934

VARIivTY

Approximate

days to Percentage

maturity Smut Sl't.

of Wilt
Mod, Sev.

Total

Golden Early Market

Spanish Gold

Extra Etirly Bant an

Golden Early Market Top Cross

Spanish Gold Top Cross X 7

Spanish Gold Top Cross X 39

Butter Cup

Whipple's Cross (2 X 12) X 39

Whipple's Top Cross X 39

Wliipple's Yellow

Whipple's Cross Hybrid

Whipple's Top Cross

Golden Cross Bantenx

Golden Orange

Bantam Evergreen Hybrid

Evergreen Hybrid

Red Green Hybrid

Late Mammoth

X 7

65
70

73
73
73
77
79
79
79
80
64
85
85
85
90
90
90

10

4
5

e

1

17

1

4

0
0
4
2
0
0
0
0
0

z

1

0
0

1

0
0
0

12
4
8
£
0
0
4
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
1
0

1

0

18
4
2
6
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
0
0

1

0
0

1

0

34
8
4

12
2
0

10
0
0
0
5
1
0

1

2
0
2
0

-21-

,.V. Early Sweet Corn in Erie County

J. R. Ziesenheim, North Girard, Pa.

I hesitate to appear as an expert sweet corn grower, because
sweet corn on our farm is not a leading crop. Ours is a general
farm, on which sweet corn is considered as one more cash crop in
addition to grapes, wheat, and potatoes, or possibly in place of
potatoes. A shortage of seven to ten inches in rainfall may mean
everything with potatoes, but would not be so ruinous with sweet
corn. Because rainfall is uncertain in our vicinity, sweet corn
appeals to us as a more certain crop*

Another advantage of sweet corn is the small cost of growing,
which according to our records amounts to $27.35 to harvest. This
is not much more than that of oats, and less than half of the cost
of growing potatoes. If we lose a planting of corn we haven* t lost
so much*

As to markets, Pittsburgh is the only available market which
wai handle a large quantity. Cleveland has a surplus of the home-
grown product. In Pittsburg, we must compete v.-ith southern Ohio,
and succeffs depends upon reaching the market early.

We have always used Gill Early Maiket as a white variety and
Gill Golden Early Market as a yellow variety, but those have become
undopendable because of root rot and wilt. Our yields with these
varieties were as folio v^s: 1929 , - 600 dozen per acre; 1930, -573
dozen; 1931, - 442 dozen; 1932, -160 dozen; 1933, - 400 dozen. In
1934, with new varieties, we averaged 540 dozen per acre. ^ The va-
rieties grown vfere Gill Early Market, Robson Extra iiarly Bantam,
Top Orosrsunshine (Golden Sunshine X Indiana 39), and Golden Cross
Bantpm. . ' .

■ All stands .7ero poor in 1934 because of the drouth. Gill Early

Market, picked on July 11, 13. and 16, yi^l^^-^ ff/^^£a^^'^,!;°^^'
Robson Extra Early, picked July 20 to Aug. 3, yielded 569 dozen.
Top Cross Sunshine, picked July 26 to August 8, 600 dozen; Golden
Cross Bantam, August 3 to August 12, 704 dozen per acre.^ ^.e last
variety hnd 12 to 14-row, beautiful ears, but sold mostly for five
cents a dozen because, the ma Ike ts were flooded by the time it was
harvested. Thei first \^ite corn brought 28 cents a dozen, and tte
last yellow, five cents. / '

Gill, Golden Early Market on a nei^bor's farm matured on
July 16.

Each field was picked three times, and the total yield was
37,000 dozen. Five crews of men handled the crop in 16 days' picking
The cost of harvesting :and bagging averaged li cents per dozen. Each
man .hcrVested and loaded 200 dozen per day on the average for the
sebrson.*

, T '<

i:r i

ft

!''i

'f ! '

r
'I

: I i

'A

!!

r

I

Pt

-22-

The average net receipts per dozen ears fbr the past four
seasons were as fellows: 1931, - 19^ cents; 1932, - 14 cents; 1933,
- 13i cents"; 1934, - 8^ cents. The gross Income per acre in 1934 v/as
$45.90 per acre, and the cost of growing and harvesting, |36.35 per
acre, leaving a net income of $9.55 per acre.

*

Costs per acre were as fbllows: plowing, $2.00; preparing land
for planting, $2.00; seed and planting, $2.10; fertiliser, $3.25;
cultivation, $3.00; rent and tax, $15.00; harvesting, $9.00.

VI. Vegetable Variety Demonstration in Cambria County

Presented by: H. C. McV/illiams, County Agricultural Agent

Vegetable growing for Cambria County farmers is of considerable
importance. Good local markets have been available and the farm
owners have taken advantage of this to add to their incon^ through
growing some vegetables Ibr maikot*

■ , - ■. ' . . - .

We depend on our State Agricultural College to act as the main

source of information on the value of the* better sources of ^•Vege-
table Varieties^* and •♦Strains. »* After the Horticultural Department
of the State College has satisfied itself concerning the merit of
any variety or strain of vegetable, the information has passed on
to the counties for the information of the vegetable growers.

Since there are so many soil and climatic dii'ferences in
Pennsylvania', it is necessary to conducit demonstrations to have
something definite to shpvr the vegetable growers of any particu-
lar County and Locality. The vegetable' demonstrations which have
been of most importance in Cambria County were with tomatoes,
early and late cabbage, cucumbers, and sweot corn. New varieties
and strains of vegetables appear from yt^ar to year, and ,' in order
that vegetable growers inay keep in touch with those newer strains
and varieties, wo try to have those vegetable demonstration plots
located throughout the County in such a way that they are access-
able to any vegetable graver who is interested in this work.

In 193S out Cambria County Tomato variety demonstration in-
cluded the following varieties: Marglobe, Chalks* Jev^el, Pritchard,
Walter Richard, Delev/are Beauty, and Bonny Best. Compt rative
v;eights were kept on five successive plants in each row. The
yields from five successive plants of each variety were: Chalks*
Jewel, 58 pounds; Bo];iny Best, 57; Marglobe, 49; Deleware Beauty,
47; Walter Richards, 41; Pritcherd, 33.

The 1934 plot included the following varieties; Bonny Best,
Greater b^ltimore, Pritchard, and Marglobe. This plot was cared
for unusually well and hich yields resulted. The yields from- the
five plants in each row of the 1934 plot were: Bonny Best, 86
pounds; Greater Baltimore, 77^; Pritchard, 62; Marglobe, 62.

-23-

The consumers of tomatoes in Cambria County have a liking
for, a pink tomato, but in our demonstration test we have never
found the pink tomato would yield with tte better red variety and
we have found the pink tomato more or less subject to Blosson-end
Rot. Our greenhouse men and vegetable plant growers report the
backyard gardener makes heavy purchases of pink tomatoes, such as
Ponderosa and Oxheart types, but market gardeners have, never found
these profitable commercially.

In^ our lato cabbage plots we
a rather limited number of Danish
Hill Danish, Reed Brothers, /and Pe
mo re. sources;,. Danish Seed from the
Gill Brothers of Oregon, and D. M.
tive yields on the Strayer farm in
basis and were as follows: Quaker
Penn State Beillh<$ ad, 16.62; Harris
Ferry* s Hollander, 10.15. .

have confined our plantings to
strains. We have used the Qjaaker
nn State Ballhead, from one or
Harris Seed Company, elso f rom •
Ferry's Hollander, the compara-
1933 were calculated on an acre
Hill, 18 tons; Reed Brothers, 17;
13.12; Gill Brothers, 12.42;

In 1934 on the Nedimyer faim we cut 25 successive plants and
the yield in pounds was. Certified Seed of Penn Stete Ballhead, 111-i-
pounds; Penn State Ballhead (Stoices), 97-i-; Quaker Hill, 96i-; Penn
State Ballhead (C. E. Myers), 9li; Reed Brothers, 79^. We felt in •
this particular plot that, the coii5)c.rison was not exactly what it
should have been because of certain soil conditions w/hich had some
influence on the development of thu. crop.

There were some interesting results on the early cabbage plot
at the Sutton farm. I'our strains of Golden Acre and with those
Golden Acre strains, we included one row of plants commonly known as
Frost Proof, which we bought for Golden :^cre from a Southern Plant
grower. The early cabbage plot was set May 3rd. The first cutting
was made' July 12th and the final cutting from the four- strains was
made August 1. > •

The total yield ffom the
cut, 78 pounds;. Reed Brother,
25 plants, 42 pounds; Stokes,

early plot was: Harris, 25 plants
25 plc^nts cut , 74 pounds; Forbes,
(Viking), 25 plants cut, 40 pounds;
Frost Proof, 0. We always contend and still' believe early cabbage
plants grown locally from seed of a recognized hdgh yielding strain
are more satisfactory than the shipped plants about which little

or nothing is. known. • •

. • '..•.■ • •

Since you have heard reports on sweet corn varieties from
other sections of Pennsylvania v/e will say little about that for
Cambria County except that on account of our high altitude, we
are interested in early maturing varieties. We have not escaped
loss from Stewarts disease but our losses are probable less than
some of the earlier sections of Penngylven-ia . We. included- in our
sweet corn plot this year, Golden Early Market; Harris Extra Early
Banteuu, Top Cross Spanish Gold, Whipple^s Yellow, Top Cros s 'Whipple,
Golden Cposs Bantam, and Mills Golden Sunrise. In only one plot
of our five did we find any loss from Stewarts disease in 1934.

'I,

n

ii

'0

':

I

t t

If

:' r

il

i. ■

■r

^

rJ

-24-

Our growers do want an early variety and many are planting Golden
Early Market and Harris Extra Early Bantam. Of the newer varieties,
that is the Hybrids and the Top Crosses, while the Golden Cross
Bantam is a late variety* it is so uniform and of such a good
quality that it will be used quite extensively and Top Cross
Spanish Gold looks liioB a worth while variety.

Our cucumber demonstrations have- been more difficult to handle
on account' of insects and diseases which frequently upset our best
laid. plans. The mai'ket prefers certain types of slicing cucumbers
and also of the pickling 'varie ty. In our 1934 plots we used Harris
Perfection, Greenbao, laprovod Long Greon, Clarks ♦ Special, 3-png-.
fellow, Harris Double Yield, Chicago Pickling, and Jersey. Pickling.
Of the slicing varieties, HHrris -Perfection and Clarks' Special
vsrox© the most popular with growers. The Davis Perfect is very
populfc^r' with Cambria County growers end is very similar to Harris
Perfection and Clarks' Specie?^.- Harris Double Yield and Chicago
Pickling were outstc..ndi i« as far as the true, pickling types were
conoerhed. ;.. . •

We feel justified in taking time to conduct t..ose variety and
strain demonstrations because growers have en opportunity to observe
under actuaO. field conditions and under Ihelr ow^ soil end climatic
conditions Ihe way in which ths several strains and varieties
perform.

PRIZE- WINNING'. VEGETABLES
John Andrews, School of Horticulture., -Amblet , P

Practically all the vegetables produced It the . School of Horti-
culture are grown by girls viiose ages range from sevehteen to _
twenty-five years. As men y of these girls will get positions on
estates in private gardens, or do consultant gardening work, it is
essential that they know how to grow all kinds of prize-winning
vegetables on a smell plot of IvJid; to have ttiem mature at a
definite date, and to exhibit "tti em to the best advantage.

By arowing only a few vegetables and paying particular atten-
tion to them, I sincerely believe that one has just as much^a chunoe
of taking first prize with them as one who can select them from an
aero or rnoro. In other v/ords, what you grow., grow it well. Some
people can grow acres .-f vegetables with the saoe skill that other s
would not be successful with In the back-yard garden. In growing
vegetables ftr exhibition purposes, one is confronted with a gooa
mcjiy problems. Some of which are as follows:.

!• Proper prc^paratibn of thesoil.
a. Proper fertilize^ticn. ' •

3.. Selection of varieties. , - * ..,

4. Having the vegetables in prirae condition on a
cert^xin date. . ,

For orops such as celery, leek and onions, we dig trenches r^

^ ^ -25-

For crops such as celery, leek and onions, we dig trenches a
foot and one-half deep, and one foot and one-half wide, discard the
subsoil, and replace it ,with good top-soil, well incorporated with
manure. On top of thi^ , niore top-soil is placed to which has been
added a little manure and' a complete fertilizer. By this method,
Golden Plume celery, set 12 inches apart in the row has been grown
which weighed frcm two to three and one -half pounds per stalk when
trimmed. Onions, Prizeta^cer or the Ailsa Craig, weigh from three-
fourths to one and one-half pounds. . Leek^ American Flag, is ap-
proximately two incheiS: in .diameter, and when properly bleached, the
white stem is from 12 to 14 .inches long. Leek is. bleached by tying
a paper collar around each plant when about five inches high. This
encourages the leek to grow upwdird^ and as the leek grows the collar
should be moved upward. Every time th^ collar is moved up, soil
should be pulled tovmrd the plant.

For root crops, such. as. parsnips, salsify, and long-rooted
varieties of carrots, punch holes with a crovii -bar about 18 inches
deep and six inches apart in the row. Mix l tablespoonful of
commercial fertilizer with a handful of good top-soil p^d place it
at the bottom of the hole. Fill to within four inches 'of the top
with soil to which has been added a small amount of ..ell-rotted
manure. This soil should be slightly sandy. Fill in .thv^ rest of
the hole with any good garden soil. Long, s^traight,. smooth root
crops are obti^ined in this »vay.

For vine crops, such as cucumbers, melons, and squashes, hills
seem to give the best results. These hills are prepared by re-
moving one or two shovelfuls of s oil, placing, a good shovelful of
vvell-rotted manure in the bottom, and replacing the top-soil.. Only
two plants are allowed to grow in each hill, and only allow three
or fbur fruits to ma tur.e ^. at once on each vine.. Malformed fruits
are picked off as soon "as noticed. .

* • • • k

For other crops, ordinary soil preparation is sufficient, '
provided other details, including fertilization, insect and
disease control, are properly attended to. . .

• • • * ■

Our general purpose, ..fertilizer which w^^ mix consists of th'^
following mi^^terials:

133 pounds of nitrate of soda
150 pounds of .emmonlum sulphate
250 pounds of tankage or driod blood .
1000 pounds of: superphosphuto
167 pounds of sulphate or muriate of potash

We use other formulas ace or dir^ to the needs of the crop and
the result desired. -For many crops, more th&n one application of
fertilizer is necessary for best results. Fertilizer is applied
to most crops before, or shortly aft ef, they are set out, and
again just before th>jy aru passing out of the vegetative stage
and into the fruiting stage. It is necessary to m&ko exceptions
many times to' get the best results. All ;fertilizers applit^d to
root crops are applied when the soil is bein^ proptred.

!
4

ti

H

t

i«

1 1 I

f

I

'I

• J

ft

-26-

Many varieties may be grown and shown to a much better advan-
tage than others. For exhibition purposes, we have been success-
ful with the following varieties vAiere a selection must be maae:

Celery - Golden Plume

Ohions - Prizetaker and Ailsa Craig

Leek - American Flag

Eggplant' - Black Beauty

Tomato - Stokes Master Marglobe

Peppers - California^ Wonder

Carrots - Redcorod. Chantenay and Hutchinson

Last year w© grew 53 kinds of ,ve^ tables and a total of 156
varieties.

When selecting vegetables for e^diibition, we consider the
following points:

1. Type - 2, condition - 3, uniformity - 4, freedom from
blemishes - 5. Size.

Type - each vegotablc conforms to a recognized standard
which includes shape.. ,

Condition - should not be over-grown to the extent of sacri-
ficing quality for size. ,

Uniformity - when uniform, more at tractive in appearance and
quality and condition are more apt to be quite similar.

Freedom from blemishes - such as damage caused by insects,
diseases, and other growing conditions materially affect the
appearance of the vegetables and also decrease their value.

Size - should neither be under-grown or over-grown. Size
should be closely related with quality. All vegetables require
a definite time for maturity and at the same time be of good size
and quality. Therefore, size is very important when growing vege-
tables for exhibition to be considered.

In staging ediibits, several methods may be considered.
First, the exhibit may be arranged for attractiveness and appear-
ance, or second, as individuals, i/4iich though in a collection,
do not have any artistic arrangeuien t. In collective exhibits of
both kinds, select only the best vegetables. It is much better
to have a few well-grown vegetables in a collective cadiibit than
to have a great many which are not outstt^nding, but which simply
take up space and count as one more. Select the vegetables as
far in advance as possible, for by doing this you can make better
selections than by waiting until the day before.

In displaying the vegetables in a collective exhibit where
.rtistic arrongeraent is also to be considered, the general

f.

n arti
rules which v;6 observe are t.s follows:

-27-

1. The exhibit should be well-balanced. The line running
through the center of the exhibit from top to bottom m^iy be con-
sidered an axis. On each side of this line, the exhibit must be
properly balanced in color and in size, according to the eye.
For example, if a pumpkin is put in one corner of the exhibit, a
squash of approximately the same size and color, though not ac-
tually the same, in the other comer will balance. Many exhibits
are made so that each vegetable will be in the same corresponding
position on either side of the axis.

2. Arrangement - Large vegetables, such as squash, swiss chard,
celery, rhubarb, cabbage, and leek should form the background and

the sides for the smaller vegetables. They should not extend to

within one or two fev3t of the bottom of the exhibit, where the

front imd the unbounded portion of the sides should be filled in

with the more attractive vegetables of the smaller types such as,

lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, etc. Vegetables

should be so arranged, that none of them will be over-shadowed.

3. Immediat
cult to explain,
deciding ones#
exhibit should b
possible . Some
toes , peppers, b
Such vegetables
confined to the
the rest of the

e effect - The language of the eye is very diffi-

for the opinions on first sight are often .the
To get this immediate effect, the center of the
e arranged in contrasting colors and as formal as
of the best vegetables to use are carrots, toma-
mssels sprouts, parsley, onions, radishes, etc.
as salsify, potatoes, parsnips, etc., should be
sides of the exhibit , so as not to detract from
exhibit with their unfavorable color. .

4. Uniformity - After the vegetables have been properly ar-
ranged to make, the exhibit uniform end well-balanced, parsley
should be placed between the finer vegetables and kale between
the coarser ones to f HI in all the gaps and to tie the whole
exhibit together.

. . ...

*In arranging other exhibits in which artistic arrangement is
not. to. be considered,: and which is to consist of ten or more vege
tables, selection of the vegetables and the containers should be
considered. The exhibit should be well-balanced, the vegetables
being placed in about the sarre positions as in a collective ex-
hibit, but with more space between them.

< ■ ■

In conclusion, the growing of vegetables mainly for exhibi-
tion purposes is quite an expense. However, good vegetables may
be grovm which make creditable exhibits by anyone who has the
aspiration, inspiration, and who is willing to spare a .little
perspiration, and i«4io does not depend on luck, but bull-dog grit.

'4 I
V.

I:

^'i

V\

^

\ t

ii'i

il

-S8-

TOMATO VABIETIiiS FOR MAJIKET
Harry W. Slegel, Birdsboro, R.D.2, Pa.

During the season of 1934, I kept records on the production
of 15 varieties of tomatoes. The seed of most of the varieties
were planted on March 5 and the seedlings transplanted to 3-inoh
plant bands on April 7. One June 1, the plants were placed m tbe
field and the first tomatoes were picked July 7. The soil was a
clay loam classed in Pennsylvania as Penn loam. ^I^^ri^S, J^® P^®"
vious fall and winter cow manure had been applied to fall^plowed
ground and disced in in th6 spring. Due to a condition of the
soil it was necessary to make adjustments in the yield in order
to secure a fairer con^iarisoh. Therefore I have li sted in the
accompanying chart which is self-explonatory, the actual tons per
acre tnd the adjusted tons per acre* The latter figures were se-
cured by using five sets of John Baer tomatoes as check plots.

Considering the varieties separately, I fdund that Beefsteak,
while above the average weight «.nd low m the percentage of culls
'is not even in size and hc.s poor shape*

Bonny Best is a midseason varle,ty which has fair size, good
tonnage cjid in my opinion is , the best flavored variety of t.ll.

Break O'Day, producing one -fourth of its crop in July while
prices are good airl being above the average size very solid and
smooth and low in culls, is probably the best early variety.

mile Canadian is also early it is not as good a producer
and stays 'green around the stem and cracks' bad.

■ •

Chalk* Early Jewel has been only another tomato in that it
had & high perct;ntt.ge of culls, low tonnage and was below the
average si ze* '

I do not recommend the pl-oiting of any dwarf Varieties on a
large scale although I consider Dwarf Stone an excellent tome. to.

Greater Baltimore i6 another variety 'that I would not recom-
mend. It is altogether too late a tomato and makes too much
plant growth.

Italian Red Pear Would not sell in most markets and 'need not
be considered further. . .

John Baer ranks second with me for market vftiere it is not
necessary to pack too deep as those on the bottom of ^ fi;^«-
.Ifehth bLket, when fully ripe, tend to split during the haul
to market.

lor a late variety, Marglobe has been best being very solid,
good size and excellent fltvor.

Although Oxhoart seems to be wanted by t^^me gardeners be-
cruse of its size and extreme solidity, m^.y oftn findings -re th-t
it rots before it is fully ripe giving too high a percentage of
culls .

CD

crq
(0

--3

^t

\J\

vO

a-
o

5^ £^ ^

p p p5

h '-i ^i

r^ HK H>

c^ \^ rr
o 2 E

H'
O
J3

^:'<
O

a-

o

tH r.

LO Vo f.)

• 9

H '>J> c^

oJ VJ1 VI

-M •>a C'

^- Aj N^
lO H O^

fO H h^

O Cj

X '-J
iJ' (D

I

(D

»-♦

<»•

♦»'

I-
J—*

o

c

c

a
I

CD
O

rr

o

hJ 4>- O;

^ K» v^

^

iO VA nJO
• • •

If ^

o ro^

M O

?0 '.o

• *

[<2 Mvn

N> vrt O

^1

9:

ix

.CD
CO

o

r-»« rA Hrf

t-' 0) n

M l::^'

p I'j

o

CD

o

!-1

p

•i

'<

o o

PC c-

^, '-, -•

(D r-»
O ^l

^ .' '

~ ct>

v.?

Ci

r^

I— ♦

V-.'

rs o

CO

rt

^x1

• • •

vO 4>- viT vO

^.-}

9

Va5
^1

• « t

M H M

M H M M • M
M C^ O ^ CO. h-

c; ca ♦o^ 00 -^ c .

- 7 ^.) u\ ON ^.'- ^

I-

H O

O <^

■v3 H VJ^

k/< ^J

^

KJVoJ

I

caVjj

K

1^ H H
Cu -J Vx> H

O ^

L>J

VJ1 O

O <!

• • ■

c^

^ ^

i
'J

O

P

Si3

CD

0

CD

^-

jCi

f

CT^

\^'S

<: ca

CO H U

•

H
C»

O O

O ^

I .

^ O 0^>0 to TO

^

M vO

O

I

O
M

P
CO

<:

O

St

^1

h* "^ >

b ^ <i

^

^*

^4- rrt

o

^ 5u g

5 to 03

o

o

^

o o Q

CD : CO

O CO ci

C- O p

CO

Q CD

to <D

<

q d-

r j CD

P

CD 0

t^ pi.

^ CD

::. fa

CD O

• Hi

o

CD
CO

H
vO

c:>

(D

M

P

C5

(D

P*

M»

US

O

i

V:

O

p

O

(D
W

CD

■ ii

bM

^'i^

i5

.

!3

« i

•

|#-^'

ll

•»1

J '-

fi

1

-30-

Penn State Earliana would be my second choice for an early
market tomato because of its production when the price of the
home grown crop is still relatively high and after the glut ar-
rives practically all the crop has been taken off.

Regarding ^ritchard my oWn results do not warrant considering
it of any exceptional value under my conditions.

Summa ry

Of these varieties several are worth special mention. Penn
State iiarliana gave the largest early yield but it had a ten-
dency to crack end was rather low in quality. Break O'Day was
nearly as early. There was no cracking whatever and it was larger,
the July pickings especially so, although there was a lack of a
deep red color.

Bonny Best, Chalks Early Jev/el #3 and John Baer,
related varieties gave excellent results. John Baer,

will split easily when packed too deep. \

all closely

however ,

Ma^rglobe while slightly later than the Bonny ^est group was
a better -shi-ppeT having a mare solid interior. It also had less
blossom end rot* ^ ' j .

The late and dwarf varieties have their uses in the home
and farm gardens but should not be considered, for shipping to a
retail market in large lots as thoy ripen after there are plenty
of other home grown tomatoes on the market.

Greater Baltimore has merit as a canning tomato.

•

In conclusion, I WDUld like to make. several suggestions .
First, before deciding on planting any large nuniber of tomatoes,
secure the recommendations of your County Agricultural Extension
Association for varieties best suited to your locality. Second,
inquire at your probable market v4iat type of tomatoes are pre-
ferred and finally after deciding on vtidt you will plant run a
variety test of your own for future reference to see which ones
do best under your soil conditions. One thing more. Do not use
too many plants of a variety in the test at any one location as it
takes time to keep accurate and complete records. . :Any other kind

are of little value. \ '

; -o.-o-o-o- . I •

This issue does not contain all of the t&lks which were pre-
sented at the annual meeting in Harrisburg, because some of the
speaicbrs have buen slow in sending their manuscripts to the
Secretary. As a result, reports dealing with the seme general
topics have been held back, and all will be included in the next
number of the News. ' ■ ,' ..

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET PAID YOUR 1935 DUES, THIS IS A REMINDEB
TO DO SO. ;V j ' i

P3SNNSYLVi!NIA VEGETABLE GROVilERS' N3SWS

Vol. 5

June, 1935

No. 2

i^wn«i

Publication of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers* Association

Harry G. Brackbill, Malveri} President

John M. Willson, Belle Vernon Vice-President

Warren B. Mack, State College Secretary-Treasurer

Power Equipment for Vegetable Production

A. C. Thompson
King Farms, Morrisville

I, Introduction

At any season of the year a number of vegetable growers will be
considering the purchase of new operating equipment and no doubt many
are somewhat puzzled as to what to buy. While it would not be prac-
tical on small farms to duplicate many of the special machines which
we operate, still some knowledge of the machinery and methods we use
may be helpful to the individual, at least in making comparison.

Five years ago wl^n wQ.Jstarted we decided^ were going to
operate without horses. At that time many people said it was Im-
possible to get along on a vegetable farm without Horses. Good growers
claimed tractors ffould not take the place of horses for delicate jobs
of seeding or close row cultivation. They also said that tractor
wheels would pack the ground and nothing, would.grow. Manufacturers
did not then have as large a soiection of equipment as now, so we had
to have a number of miachines made up-, special.

• 4 •

II. Development of tractor power on Farms.

The develoment and use of power equipment in vegetable produc-
tion has not been so rapid or extensive as in other lines of farming.
This is largely because it is more difficult to displace hand laDor,
machine methods for vegetable production are harder to apply, and the
smaller acreages involved often do not v.-arrant the investment in
machinery. , .

1. Reduction in Farm Labor. . ^ «^ „„**. ^^
, There has been a great reduction in labor required. per unit of

„ crop production. In 1830 by hand methods it took 57 hours of man
ty labor to produce an acre of wheat, or 20 bus. In 1930 through the use
of machinery and of the harvester combine the man labor per acre was
reduced to 3.3 hours. With the sickle and flail 47 man hours were re-
quired to cut, bind, shock, and thresh and clean one a°r®^of,j;^®J*-
By the use of machinery this has been reduced to^two man hours per
acre. The enormous savings in production cost of wheat and other
grains cannot, however, be expected in vegetabl^growing.

2, Agricult\xral Ages. ^
Previous to 1850 we had the human po\-er age, when 835^ of the

working population was engaged in agriculture. In the Period from
1350 to 1910 we had the animal povjor age. In 1910 the mechanical
Vo^^HjT age began and in 1930 only Zlfo of all workers in the United
Stated were engaged in Agriculture,

^

^1

il,i

■Vi

TIGHT BINDING

/

.!2

f

> I

If

\ ,

i 1

-2-

. ^^ « • • . -

• • .... . ■ . •

•3» Increased acreage per farm worker.

Previous to the Givll War the average farm worker cared for '
a'bout 15 acres, this has been iixcr.eased to 36 acres in 1930 for the
tJnlt'ed States. The greatest increase in acreage par farai worker has
occurred in the grain producing states*

4. Increased value of machinery*

Tlriere was an increase in the value of farm power and machinery
per agricultural worker .from $144 in. 1870 to |444 in 1930>

5. Comparison of Tractor and Horse Power.

Of the total of nearly 17 billion horsepower hours developed
annually in farms in the U.S. in i930 horses and mules supplied about
505b, tr^^ctors 24^, trucks 10^ and electric motors 5%.

6. Displacement of Horses, • ^
As shown by government figures, gasoline tractors resulted in the

displacement of 198,644^igrses on farms in Pennsylvania during the
period 1920-30. Foi^trfF^.'S. there vvere 21,500,000 work animals on^
■farms in 1918, and eeccMr^ng to a recent report there are only
11,000,000 now; The first tractors were used mainly for plowing,
later groimd fitting^ then seeding, harvesting, and cultivating.
Previous to the Wqpi^ War, tractors were practically non-existent on
vegetable fanns.

7. Newer developmefnts.

The development of the power take-off has greatly increased the
capacity of the tractors for work, enabling them to operate machinery
which is pulled over the ground. The development of the power lift
for raising and lowering cultivating and planting tools at the ends of
fields also resulted in a great saving of time and effort.

III. Equipment used for Vegetable Growing.

«

Perhaps the most logical way to discuss farm power equipment Is
to consider it according to its use or purpose, such as; ground pre-
paration, fertilizing and liming, seeding and planting, cultivating
and side-dressihfe, spraying and dusting, harvesting, and preparation

for market.

, • • •

Soil I^ep&ratlon

We all know that thorough soil preparation is essential to pro-
ducing satisfactory vegg-teble crops, •'''quipinent needed vatles with
the type of soil, wetness' of the soil, and the topography,

1. Plows, ^ ^

Generally spealdi»i^|^arger plow units are more economical thai,
smcillor onos. A 15/50 ifcrftc tor pulling 3-14*' plows is capable of
plowing 10 acres per day, and a 10/20 tractor with 2-14" plows can *
turn over 6 acres per day. We like a furrow type of plow which turns
the soil over and burys trash better than disc plows or the type of
equipment wfliich pulverizes the soil to the full plow depth. In the
letter case, if it is followed by a dry spell the soil is apt to dry
out deeper and the capillarity is apt to be destroyed to a greater
depth and seeds may have trouble germinating.

-3-

I

2. Plow Packer.

The plov/ packer is a useful tool which is fastened to the plow
and rolls down the freshly plov/ed furrows pulverizing the clodi$ ani
packing the soil, thereby savings moisture. Also^ it eliminates a
ground fitting operation which would ordinarily precede the sowing
of lime or fertilizer. . ' " ' ' ■• ' • *.

3/ Soil Fitting.-

Various tools are used forfitting the ground in different sec-
tions and on different soils, but for our type of soil wq use a •
double cut disc harrow and roller combination folldwiiig plov/ing. *"A
general purpose tractor pulling a 6 ft', disc and' meek(^r harrow can
fit 20 acres of ground per day.. In buying disc harrows i-t is well to
get them having discs of large diameter since they cut deeper an^i
last longer. The spike tooth and 'spring-tooth harrows are helpful
on heavier types of soil. The meeker harrow is very useful -for the.
final fitting in preparation of the seed bed for the sowing of finer '
seeds. Several types of rollers and cultlpatjkers are used in various,
sections and on different soil types. • ■" ' * •

Fertilizing^ Liming and Mainurinf^ ' •-

••;••.*■■ • . t ' , .

For liming, and fertilizing' we have* been able to cover 50 acres
in a ten hour, day using thi'ee tractors ahd three 8 ft. liiae spreaders
applying one ton par acre. In: brder;to increase the capacity of the
spreaders we added a one foot board to the height of the hopper in-
creasing its capacity to. 1^200 lbs. • In* manure spreading the power
take-off r.uns the spreader a*nd the tractor handles a spreader having
150 bushels capacity with less effort than 3 horses handle a 75 bus.
capacity spreader. Here is Ayhfere- the' truck enters In and carts •
fertilizer, 'lime, and manure* 'dire ct'ly f-fom the'-ca^ to the' spreader
in the field. .. . . • /, . ::. :•■, .^ ^-f ! " ' * '■ '• '.-.:: . • -» . ••

Planting; -•• i i • • i ^ : \ '. • o . v./. ^ • • . - • i - .■ ••

1.. Planting and band f^rtillzingi Tractor power' has permitted the" '
development, of multiple .row planting, and- cultivating'. The fertilizer
attachment run by the powdr take^^off has enabled the economical use
of fertilizer by distributing it in* biands along-iside the rows at
planting time. Seed drills may b 6 pulled in gang units behind the
tractor or built right on .it and- fastened to the cultivator frame. "
On larger farms vAigto there are ^ fluriiber of tractors being used it
iJiay be practical to build and'attach. special equipment on certain
of the tractors to, do special operations. On smaller farms, however,
y*iere there are only one or two tractbrs in use any special equipment
built to go on them should be constructed in such a way that it can
be removed as quickly as possible in order not to destroy the general
purpose value of the tractor.''.an multiple row seeding with a tractor
wo have found that it is easily ptossible- to plant 20 acres in a ten
nour day with a' 12 row drill, while a 9-row drill^ will plant 15 acres.
Our special bean planter which' f'ert ill zes and plants 4 rows at a time
seeds 15 acres in ton hours. - This- is a machine which we developed
01* assembled ourselves. Power is taken from the rear drive v/heel
and transferred through a countershaft to the seed boxes and fertl- •
iizer hoppers by means of chains and sprockets. Fertilizer is ap-
plied in bands on each side of the row by means of discs and spouts
taken from a grain drill.

H'

( .'I

!,^

i'

•;i

IRREGULAR PAGINATION

4^

i-

m

Five vears ago we were sovdng fertilizer broadcast for our bean
croT) and applyinrabout 1,500 lbs. per acre. We thought this a waste
of fe?tililer and so we took four spouts or hoes from an old. grain
drill the bean planter' being a 4-row machine , the spo^^^s were set
to apply fertiliser about 2i" directly below the. seed. The hoes were
equipped with wooden break pins. In order to avoid the danger of
delayed and reduced germination if fertilizer came too olosely into. .
contact with the seed, we set each spout about 2" to,; one side of
Se row in which the seed was dropped. In this way we were applying
about 550 lbs. of fertilizer per acr? in a single t>and on one side of
the row and the planter was used in this way for sometime. In order
to increase the application per acre we brought a spout down on each
side of the row so as to put tho fertilizer on in two ^ands. we cut
the feed down slightly so as to apply it at the rate of about 850 lbs.
per acre. In usiSg the planter in this way we experienced some
difficulty with the spouts or hoes clogging up with trash, especially
when planting on ground v^ere a heavy green cover crop or manure was
plowed Lder! In order to overc one this difficulty we used two disc
from a grain drill, one a right and the other a left hand one, re-
versing them and tilrning them in to form a slight ridg© ahead of the
planter shoe. The discs cut through oi? rolled over the trash and
eliminated the clogging. The two bands of fertilizer are placed
about 24" from the row. This planter has worked very well and we
foel that it has saved us many dollars In fertilizer costs*

' For planting small garden seeds. such as, spinach, oar rots, and
beets we have several other gang seeders. , We have a nine and twelve
row gang seeder which are separate units coupled to the drav^ar and_^
pullld behind the tractor, ^hese are Used mostly for planting 12- and
14-' row 01 ops. They are constructed in such a way that some of the
Individual drill units maybe removed in order to ^^ry the row widths
for planting different crops. Last year we built a six row unit
and fastened it directly to a tractor. It is set to Pl ant row 20 ...
apart and is used mostly for planting late oarrots and beets. In
regard to row widths, they are regulated tQ ,suit the wheer tread of-
the tractors and trucks used in producing and harvesting the^crop.
These wide seeders, eat up the ground when pulled ^^hlnd^a tractor .
and we ere able to take advantage of faVdre^ble weather conditions
S getting the crops started. We alV know that there are. times
iSef the Iround is just right and' works so much better than at other •
tljnes. The 12 row drill Is capable of planting 25 acres in a ten
hour day and the nine row drill can plai;it 20 acres. By having _

several erills if means that we can plant spinach, carrots, beets,
end. beans, for .instance , on the same day if we care to.

2. iransplanting: The invention of the plant 'setter or transplanter
has enaLJed growers to set out plants such as tomatoes and cabbage ■
when c^ur reach the proper size regardless of weather conditions.
Besidoj t^ing more economical and less laborious than hand se,tting
method:;. On the, average , there is less resetting of Pjfnts necessary
^ri f ioxds 3et out with transplanters than there is in fields set oui.
bv hana, providing the plants are watered and set in tight, a wo
/ov/ plpnt jetter which we fastened on a tractor will set and water
five a<".ros of plants in 10 hours. ' '

:/

^^ •^ ^^ • . •

*.■*■'% • *

Cultlvatln'g and Side-dressing

»••.■, . • . . .

lit: Our 4-row bean cultivators using the power lift can do a
thorough job of cultivating 20» acres of beans in 10 hours,

2. A two-row tractor cultivator pan cultivate eight acres of / •
cabbage in 10 hours:.

3. A special gang cultivator ,which we built to cultivate six

20*' rows of carrots or beets can cultivate 20 - 30 acres in a ten-hour
day, depending upon the size of the 'plants.

4. Garden tractors of the smairer" type have* proved 'successful,
especletlly in small .size ma^rket ga^irdens where they are .used to .,do
all the operations = of -ground preparation, planting, and' cultivating,
hovye^vetP,; qn our farm v^iere- we, have larger tractors to prepare the .
ground ond do seeding we use them only for cultivation of closely
planted row crops, ^or this purpose they have proven satisfactory
and^^they are capable of cultivating from 3 to 5 acres per day, three
rows at a time*-

.^S. Practically all of our crops are fertilized at the time of
planting,; .but in order to stimulate grov;th end^ keep the crops coming
^1<>9B y^B often use fertilizer as a .top or side-dressing. For side-
dressing wide row crops it is acQurate and more economical to apply
it with a. machine, than by hand.. The best time to apply this is at
the time of cultivation -v*i en It can be readily worked into the soil
alongside the row where it will do. the crop the most good. Because
our fieldsvwore quite long it was necesgary for us to use large
hoppers in order to hold enough fertiliser to make ,a round in the
field. To got the necessary capacity to hold a bag or more of ferti-
lizer v;e used two fertilizer hoppers from a potato planter. These
were run by chains from a counter-shaft set crosswise" and fastened
to the frame of the tractor, the ooun tee r- shaft In turn being run by
a chain and sprocket connected with .the rear whe.el, , Thi-s : side -dresser
will apply fertilizer at the rate of 1,000: lbs. per acre in fields
, 1,000 ft. or- more in length. * . • .

. i . • . . . ■

Spraying and Dusting - '.'..' . •• '

1-. Here the power take-off; proves useful in- driving the spray
pujrp or blower for the duster.. - ^.ot..h .of these jobs are disagreeable
uo norses. .- . .,• , • ■. < • '. . • • •..

2. We have two sprayers arid two duste-rs. , One sprayer is a
suparate unit drawn by a tractpr- and we usually /use this to take care
of wide ravs such as cucumbers-or cabbage. - The., truck sprayer we have
pet up for beans and wo coyor Qight rows at a time with it. The
tractor drawn sprayer Is not. so convenieQt as tfee truck sprayer inas-
.much as the wrter must be haul-ed to it, while th^ truck sprayer comes
afte^ .-Its ovm water and there.-are very few times when it cannot go
thrC^r^,L th^ fields because of rain. Usually' if. the fields ere wet
enc;^n to 76 1 stuck in we should stay' out of them anyhow; however,
occasloraJ.ly there may be a hollow which holds .water and it may be '
r.eojso-.ry ir pass through. ; Under good conditions the truck sprayer- •
v/.iil ^r\^v .'^0 - 40 acres pen-day. The- dusters are. of two general
■^3P^'3, those which are pulled behind the tractor and these that are
fcrtjncd directly to it. Perhaps the separate unit pulled behind the
tie.ctor is more convenient since a duster fastened to the tractor
is apt to interfere with using it for other purposes and may take
considerable time to remove t

5;i?

^1

n

fi

hi

f,"'

i:

I

15.

fi!

Ill

'\

i ' I I

i

ii

II m\

t ' !

-6-

Harvesting ^ ^^ particular crops v.6 grow we have not yet

.een 'ailf tfulf t^^tor s -ry e«ec tlvely l^^dlsplaclng ha^^^^^
About the greatest use we put them to is plowing ou^ rouu xj^j

dl««e?s The gISeral purpose tractor digger not only «if= t*/""'

fS: rhLVna??!^ lhr;?fra^^^L-?^^°5s^M?^h^s^ractor

standing still in case of clogging.

Hauling; Vegetables from the Fields

i^ kL

Trucks are used to haul the vegetables in JJo^„*^^„^iJ}J^{,efSe
is imporfa^t'to get the ^.^setables i^to t^e packhouse ^u^^^^

drying out with sun ?^^,Y^J^;,,^°"^|^*;e3- usf of t^cks with low gear
croTDs we use large single tires. By tiB use oi ^i;" t^ „^ *-nfa ^e

?a?ios Ind the ule of tire chains we h|^^^^^!^^^^^|i^^eif a^ ^o^
fields a:t most any time .of the year. ,^o^® ^^'^'Souse and t^ much
miles or more distant fr°\*5%J^*!:Sj,P^°f ^ beJ^i^en this distance
valuable time, would be wasted if horses had to J® ^^* !.*'". l;„^„a f^^ ^
lo ana: from the fields, ^-pur miles means less Jhan^lO "^^f tL^^^'hls
t?uck but it means about an^hourfpr^a team of horses has

not only proven practical for hauling fertilizer ^^ J ^a-

fields, vegetables from them, arid shifting labor gang^rom one v^
tioh to another, but also much more economical ^hanjvould ever oe
Possible with horses. The truck. and tractor because of their speed
Ind efficiency have greatly increased the size of far,m that it is
practical to operate as a unit. _ . .

' ' . • • •

Preparation for Market

on our farm electric motors^ are used to run srading. sorting,

-?& h^u^rfr^a^gTtrr^^re^e'PIPg s^c^^^^^^^

ready for market. The use of machinery i?„*^. g^°^J^„tlor market-
Greater labor saver in preparing and packing the y®S®t^°|®^^^°* ,„r^
S?e it if Soslible to fdopt some of the equipment used in canning
houIes'aM Tl^o'to davelo/special machinery and equi^^t f or d^ing

certain jobs in. order to improve the <l^alijy ^^^^^PP^J^f^^er whSh
package.: For, instance, our beans ^^JJ^ *^°^f^ ?arrief o?er a belt
tekes out the dirt end an-^ll beans, then J^^^/^f .^?J!i:®ry,° rest,
^ere imperfect and off -grade ^?^s ^^f P^°J^f^°f i^ield in bishel
Our carrots and beets are usually brought i?„^J^^*5® ^i^tJeis and
baskets. lu the. packing ^ouse^ther are taken from the ^^|^« *^^"^^^er .
placed 4n a. four foot wire mesh belt and run ^5^?;^fJ_\^f ^J^^ed
kter posslng through the ^°s^«^ J^^^^JfJ^ef ^^ough ??iS^^chine8
from the bolt by the tyers who put the munches trirougnT-yiug
fjid toss them on a table where thoy are bundled up into dozens ana
stacked onlio 4» x 6» platform trucks. These 5?^^,^^°^^^^^^^^ ?hen
aozen. While on the trucks th^ are given a ^J^^J. f^^^i^f/JJucks.
?°ey are pushed over to tl» pits and loaded onto the market trucks.

,1 "'''" -trf*

Another piece of equipment in our packing house is a spinach ^-
dipping machine in which the bushels of spinach are submerged for
about 20 seconds under water to rinse and freshen the spinach. As the
bushels come out the end of the machine they slide down a poller
conveyor and while passing along it the lids are r«moved ice placed
?n the bushel end the lids replaced, then as they reach the ends of
the conveyor they are placed on the market trucks. The ice placed
in the Uishels is ground up by an ice crusher.

Still another useful machine is our root washer, which is a
slatted cylinder about eight feet long mounted on an incline, x^e
carrots or turnips pass through a spray of water which loosens and
carries away the dirt. This machine when in operation can be fed at
one end and the roots removed at the other continuously. This is a
/^reat labor saver. All of the machines in our packing house are
operated with electric motors and it takes about 32 h.p. to run the
machines and pump water. A plentiful supply of clean fresh water is
necessary in preparing vegetables for market.

We sometimes put through our packing house over 20 large truck
loads, or over 100 tons, of vegetables in a single day.

Tractors

1 Trees : Crawler types of tractors have proven effective for heavy
I^ggSg where the going is tough, especially in low wet areas and
saSdy Sr hilly areas. In 1930 there were a ^oi^i°^„J28, 265 tractors
sold in the U.S. of which 16,105 were track ^f.^^^ and 113.160 were
wheel type. For vegetable production on level Jand with our type of
soil we prefer the wheel type tractor because of the S^jJ^^^^f^.J''
handling, especiaUy et the ends of rows and because of the limited
space there is for wheels to pass between the rows.

2. Lug equipment: I^e lug equipment used on *J^°J°^,^^«.^^%^!:P|2j|ral
mainly on the type of soil and the levelness of the land. For generax
ule wJ prefer the spade lug, it furnishes the greatest traction and
has a self-cleaning effect as the lugs come out of the soil.

3. Wheels: Skeleton wheels and open vdieels have been developed to
get av/ay from the ground packing effect of a solid steel rim and
have proven very satisfactory.

ii\

i

♦

a

4. Rubber Tires: Rubber tires are
tractors, and while not adapted to
use of chains and weights, still t
under dry conditions* By changing
en a general purpose tractor to a
performed £09& more work on 20% les
showed about 259& more power, espec

among the newer developments on
slippery conditions without the
hey have proven a real economy

over from 40*' dia. steel wheels
52** dia* rubber tire the tractor
s gasoline and at the same time
ially under sandy conditions.

5. Fuels: Gasoline represents about one-third of ^he operating cost
v^en used to run q tractor. Farmers of New Jersey have a real ad-
vantage over Pennsylvania farmers in that they are exempt from the
State gas tax of 3^ per gallon. Exemption ^^^"^ this tax would have
saved us $1,300 on the gasoline we used for production o^ the farm
last year! The manufacturers have started to come out with tractors

» •

r.. .

:. ;

!;l

M

(

!.'

'1 1- '^

-8-

which operate successfully on fuel oil at about half the cost of
gasoline. The Diesel engine, minus spark plugs, magneto, and •
carburetor, which operates very economically on low coart fuel is
probable not far from the point where it will displace gasoline
engines in trucks and tractors,

* ; . • '

6. Cost of Operation: During the year 1934 our average number of
hours of OT:)eration per tractor was 1,200 houi^s. This is about three
times the use of tractors on the average faria. This results in an
increased cost of maintenance and repairs, but cuts down the per hour
cost of overhead, such as interest and depreciation^ Our average
cost of operating a general purpose tractor is as follows.:

• • •

Average cost of operating Genefal
purpose Tractor (2-14" plow bottom
size) 1,200 operating hoiirs per year.

-9-

•J

Interest (6^ on.^ of $1,000)
Depreciation (Est. 8yr.)
^asoline (18 gal. )
Cyl. Oil \z qts. daiiv)
Repairs ($72 per year) ' •
Trans. Oil & Grease
Servicing Labor

Misc. Cost. (Hauling, Storage, etc
. Total operating bost per hour-

Cost

I

.)

ler hour
.025
.104
.216
. 025. ..
.060
.010
.100
.040

' • • • . .. _ .

7. Night Operation: In regard to equipping ti^actors with lights
and working at eights with them, we hav-e found it ent.irjely practical
for a number of jobs and it is a v-ery good way of getting increased
returns from tho same ajnount of investment. Tractors do not make
any money for their owners when they are standing idle , even though
they do not requir^e feeding as does the horse. Plowing, ground
fitting, lime and fertilizer sov/ing, and even planting can be done
satisfactoi^ily at night. We set plants with a tractor at night .
last year arid, they lived much better than plants set in the day time.
Nights are usually ideal for applying poison dust to crops to control
insects. ' There is usu^^lly very little wind at night while on the
other baud there is usually considerable wind during the day, result-
ing in a large waste of material v*iich never reaches the crop. Also,
the dew present on the leaves 'ehr'blos the dust to stick better. By
using relief drivers it is practical to operate tractors continu-
ously 24 hours per day during rush periods, and thereby take advantage
of favorable weather conditions- for planting, etci ." >• .

8. Maintenance and Repairs:' In order to get the most out of
mechanical equijJment it requires regular servicing, adjustment, and
repairs in order to avoid unnecessary delays when it is in operation.
Wo maintain a Well equipped shop where our trucks, tractors, and
farm equipment is given a thorough inspection and necessary overhaul
in the winter. time. A blacksmith forge, acetylene welding outfit,
drill press, electric drills, and a battery charger are some of the .
things we consider necessary to keep' tho machinery operating effec-
tively, take care .of breakage, and make up new attachments to save
labor. ' ' ;,

'j

f-

Our. tractors v\^en busy in the field are taken care of by a
service truck which carries, fuel, water, oil, grease, and spare parts.

The type of soil we have is very abrasive on plow shares, cul-
tivator shovels, and seed spouts, and require continual sharpening
and renewing in order to do good work, we have experimented some in
the u^e of Stellite and other hard materials to make the wearing
surfaces last longer and have had some good results.

9. Advantages: The main advantages of tractors are economy, timeli-
ness, and increasing the efficiency of man power. Tractors increase
production of individual farms by multiplying efficiency of man
power and by releasing land used for production of horse feed for..
the growing of vegetable crops. T^jjieliness of planting is very
important in vegetable growing. Tractor power enables us to take
advantage of favorable ground conditions. • .

' ' • **■

10. Size of ^arms: The use of tractors and special machinery on very
small farms may hot be justified because the cost per acre is too
great. Many f ai:ms are unprofitable because they are too small to
justify equipping with labor saving machinery. If one tries to
operate them without proper equipment, it' is at a sacrifice of
efficiency. The recent development of smaller types of tractors
have tended to help the farmer with a small acreage. Tractors and
machinery cjre more efficient On/larger fanas because they can be
used more effectively. Usually small farms are under equipped, but
at double the cost per acre oil larger farms. Larger farms can be
divided into larger fields than smaller ones. Tractors operate more
efficiently in large fields sifice the proportion of lost time in
turning at the ends is much' less ^ 'The development of tractors,
trucks, and machinery since the World War 'has increased the unit
size of form that w??.s formerly considered practical to operate.

%

^i'l

B>;

'I,

■\\

%

11. Improvement in Efficiency: In the last ten years manufacturers
have greatly Improved tractors and reduced the tractor weight, per
drawbar horsepowier developed. Itoprovement,s in material used and
construction have out down on the frictional loss of power delivered
to the drawbar. Felt and leather seals for bearings have been
improved to keep the oil in and it ho dirt out to give longer life.
In additioh, better air-cleaners and oil filters ore helping to give
longer life to engines. The Nebraska tests in 1920 showed weight
per maximam h.p. developed was 346 lbs.' In 1930 weight per maximum
h.p, developed was 228 lbs. During the same period the average t^.p.
hours per gallon of fuel consumed increased f ron 7i^ to 9.,. I believe
believe that the next few years will bring about much greater do- •
volopirient of power machinery for vegetable production, resulting
in increased profits to the users, ' .. •

II

t 4

r/. Conclusion ' ' • ' '. . . .

Tho manufacturers are now pushing, ths development and sale of
the general purpose end sioall garden typea of tractorw. This size
of tractor is the one that appeals most to the average vegetable
grower and fits in very well on most farms. By the use of suitable
attachments it can be made to do practically all the jobs of plowing,

n

1

m

'(,

I '

I

-10-

soil preparation, fertilizing, cultivating, etc., and displace a
large amount of horse and hand lahor. The adaptability and versa-
tility and capacity of work of tractors is greater than that of horses.
Their increased poTwer has permitted tl^e building of multiple row
machines to plant and cultivate more at a time with less man power.

The mechanization of farms is not practical in all sections.
There are factors such as size of farm, amount of level land, the

system of farmiiig., cost of hand labor, etC'.^^J°^ ®^*®^ .J?' , 5^^^.
development of t«e power take-off, power lift, tractor pulley, drive
wheel take-off , etc., has permitted the combining of operations so as
to perform two or more jobs at a time. This has made it possible to
operate multiple row seeders, dusters, cultivators, manure spreaders.

Power equipment. for vegetable production is economical and
practical •foflai'ge level fields. A6 it is; perfected it will displace
more and more hand labor, farms will be "operated in larger units and
a smaller percentage of the population will be required to supply _-^
the rest with food. New outlfets in industry for agricultural products
will help to keep the people employed, who are displaced l?y. decreased
need of mail power for production.

' ■ • Sweet Cori;i' Varieties for the Retail Trade

David B. Rapp
," 'R, D. 3, Easton.,, Pa.' . * '

The topic of this report •'Sw^et Com Varieties ^of *^®^^f,^^H i/
Trade",* was deiaonsttiated last' summer with the cooperation of Mr. »r.M.
Huffington and County "Agent Mj.. B. L. Cpleman,.

We have a' retail route' of about 120 customers whom we visit^
three times a week in a district of , about two square miles. We have
also worked up a trade of people who driVe out to our gardens, to
get the corn freshly picked. I have noticed that most of these
people come Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning vAiich goe s to prove
that vdiat they really want is quality. I ^^.^1^0*^0®? "^^^^J^^l^^^J-i^y
comes first in the sale of sweet corn. Very few.people ever ^mention
the size of the ear, especially, the people who" drive out to tne
gardens for their com.. The size of the ear is more important than
quality when seUihg in town, 'because th^ pfeople there do not f^ny . .
realize the diff-erence in flavor between corn one or two hours from ,
time of picking until it reaches the mouth, and that has been plcke a,,,
ten or iwelve hoXirs and allowed to draw some heat piled in a trucK.

♦ i . ■« • ■ •

' ■ The plot consisted of thirteen varieties ef yellow corn. I
have noticed that the public is swinging toward the yellow varieties
the last three or four years. These varieties differed in time oi
maturity from 68 to 89 days. They consisted of five open pollinatea
strains of com and eight cross-bred or hybrid strains. ^™e plot
was planted on the ninth of May, which is a little late for the firsx
planting in our neighborhood. I made the first planting of my own
en the 24th of April.

If -11-

We will take the varieties in order of planting and gp over
them glvlag maturity dates, nvimber of ears at each picking, and final
returns; also wilt and smut percentages taken by men from the college.

{»

Sweet Corn Variety Demonstration - 1934

. ' . Northampton County
David B. Rapp, Easton, R. D.

Planted May 9, 1934

Days, to
Maturity

Variety

Bpanisn-

Gold 70

Golden Early

Market 68

Early Yellow

Sensation 71

Top Cross

Spanish Gold 74

Spanish Gold

X1539 77

Top Cross

Sunshine 77

\Vhipple ♦ s

Yellow 81

V/hipple's

Cross (C.F. ) 83

Top Cross

WhiT)ple(M 180.5) 83

Top Cross

Whipple (OF) 83

Average
Golden Cross
Hytrid 85

Golden

Sunshine 88

Ban tan. Fvorgreen
Hybri'l 89

Harvests (Ear s-48 hills) :
7A0-20 20>31 91-10 10-20gotal

Returns

30
42
12

"4 j»?

Ol'j''^

60

28

7g

120

135

135

90

48

36

42
39

:

It*

5
'69

• * *

72

89
80

140

47

75

•'"»

42
48

90

70

84

120

135

135

95

117

l6'8

131
119

140

39

123

|1.95
1.56
1.80
2.28
2,45
2.55
1.58

1.93

a . 89

*2.04
1.96

2.25

1.43

1.87

Av.
per
Doz

26(!(
27^
26{^
23^
22^
21^
20<^
20?^

19tf

19k

19^^
19gf
18^

Smut

38

20

22

15

11

8

17

8

3

4

7

2
3

Wilt

1
3
7
1.

6

8

1
1

• r

Pecent Reports on Non-Poisonous Insecticides

DerrlG Dusts and Oil-Lead Arsenate Sioray for Squash Vine Borer
(j^bstvact from an article by Robert C. Burdette, in the Journal
of Economic iiintomology, February, ,1935) . -

Experiments were conducted in New Jersey during 1934, using three
•^ust end one spray combination as follows: Jl.) Ground derr is root and
talc mixture, containing l^J rotenone: (2) a commercial derris dust
containing 20 parts of d,erris root {5^ rotenone), 25 parts sulfur,
ani 55 parts ground clay;- (5) a comtaercial pypethrum extract, carrier
and ground derris root combination; (4) Orthal-K medium 1% and 3 lb.

) I I

w

! *

'm

-;2-

lead arsenate to 100 gallons of water. Three applications were made
of each, the first on July 10, when the first eggs were foiind on the
squash plants, which were then about 4 inches high, and the second,
and third on July 18 and July 27, respectively. Dusts were applied '
with a hand'puff duster, and the spray with a hand sprayer, and the
materials were applied to the stem and hasal parts of the plants
only. The amount of dust for the three applications varied from 55
to 65 lb. per acre, or an average of about 20 lb. per acre for each
application. The derris-talc dui^t (No., 1) gave best control of the
borers, the number of vines without borers being increased by 83.5
per cent over the untrated plots; the derr is- sulfur- clay mixture was
second in borer contr^, and was first in yield of squashes, increas-
ing the yield by 74.5^ oV.er the untreated checks. The Orthol-K oil.
and lead arsenate: increased the number of uninfested vines 51.7^ over
the untreated plots, and increased yields by 29.5%. The cost of the
derris dust varied from |2.00 to $3.50vper application, per acre, the
later applications requiring more dust ^lian-. the earlier because the
vinos were larger*.

Non-Arsenical Insecticides for the Control of Cabbage Worms*
(Abstracted from an article by deorge M. iist and Leonard -' '■
Sweetman, in Jo\i,rnal of Economic Entomology, April, 1935).

In experiments in Colorado in 1934, derris dusts and cube dusts/
containing .5 (i of one) per cent of rbtenone, pyrethrum dusts con*
taining .18 per cent of .pyrethrihs, Paris green dust containing 12$ .
per cent Paris green, and a series of derris dusts containing from
.1 to .6 per cent of rotenone were compared. • In all cases, the
carrier or diluent for the dust mixtures was diatomaceous earth, an
inert material. Pyrethrum and cube dusts were compared in. the morning
and evening. The amounts of dust' per application were a little less
than 10 pounds per acre; dusts were applied with a Root hand duster,
and no atteilipt was made to cover any part of the cabbage plants
except the heads, although the rest of the plant was usually fairly
well covered also.. Records of the percentage of cabbage worms killed
were made three days after application. . .

. . '■ • »

The percentage of insects killed by! the different treatments
varied from time to t-ime , as might be expected; the percentage of
kill was usually between about 60 and 85 per cent. There were no
significant differences in -effectiveness.among the different dusts
compared, or between morning and .evening applications.

-\-

Some Sources of Derris, Cube, ai>d Rotenone Dusts and Extracts,
Pyrethrum, and of Talc and Clay for Carriers.

Derris, Inc., 79 Wall St., New York City
(Derris and Cube root and dust mixtures) •

McCormick and Co., Inc., Baltimore^ Maryland
(3/49& Rotenone dust, Pyrethrum powder and extracts)

-13-

Frost Insecticide Co., Arlington, Mass.
(Derris-pyrethrum dust)

Rotenone Products ^0. ^J^-ast OjJ^f » ^^^^^ )
(Rotecide dust and extract, from derris.;

Bowker Chemical Co., 419 fourth Ave. . New York City
(Derox (derris) dust)

1£!fa!L; tTJ'llk^r. l?o^ 'iZ root)

McLaughlin-Gormley-King Co., Minneapolis. Minn.
(Pyrithrum extracts - "Evergreen")

W. H. Loomis Talc Corporation, Gouverneur. N. Y,

(Talc)

Hammill-Gillespie, Inc.. EE5 Broadway. New York City.
("Treni" inert dust carrier)

^(fnerfri^y -'"X-K"lve?izad Georgia Clay)

(Thl. IS not a =-f/l:,iif 4n*Ty-tS?™ fuffs"

and seedsmen are supplying derris ana py

and sprays.)

In fie
ments of sp
oxide incre
and the red
hov/ever, wa
40 per cent
and peas on

Id tests of red copper oxide and zinc oxide treat-
inach eM peas at State Collego in ivoo, ^^^

ased the stand of spinach f-f,\^ l^^J, of peas,

copper oxide, by 400 PJ^^^J' J^j. oxide, and
reduced 10 per cent by red copp^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ 3

l^riri'anf cou^'tf of plant^ were made on May 7.

s

I

m

J

w

It w

I !

>

« •

!!i iiB!

I t

I I

n

■) M'il

I :*

ii ...

f

:i

PENNSYLVANIA VEGETABLE QROWRS* NEWS

Vol.. 5 '•

"C ' ' *t

August, 1935

No. 3

Publloatton of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers* Association
Harry G. Brackbill, Malvern - ------.-• president

John M. Will son, Belle Vernon ----- Vice-President

Warren B* Mack, State College - - - Secretary-Treasurer

•»i

.J". .11.

Vegetable Gar denlng and Plant Breeding field Day

Thursday^ September 5

All members of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers • Association
and any others Interested In vegetal?le growing or vegetable Improve*
ment are Invited to visit the Pennsylvania State College on Thursday,
September 5, when the experiments of the Divisions of Vegetable
Gardening and of j?lant Breeding will be open for Inspection by
the public. While visitors are welcome to inspect the plots at
any time, special efforts will be made on this occasion to enable
visitors to see all of the work in progress, and to provide guides
who will explain the projects and point out the outstanding varieties,
methods, or cultural treatments* jtoong the experiments which should
be in good condition for observation on the occasion of the Field
Day, if weather is not top unfavorable In the meantime, are the
following: _ _

f "t

'.^ rf •.v.■*t^^

Tomato Inheritance and Breeding Experiments, ,
Tomato Variety and Strain Trials, including nearly 80 lots.
Sweet Com Variety and Strain Trials, including about 125
lots, among which are open-pbllinated, top-cross, and
hybrid strains of white and yellow, early and late . ^
varieties. _

Sweet Com Breeding Experiments.

Fertilizer Trials with Oabbage^, Tomatoes, Potatoes,
Sweet Corn, Asparagus, and Root Crops, incluilng
comparisons of different plant food elements, different
plant food carriers, different .analyses and formulae
f for mlied fertilizers, and difrerent methods of appli-
cation, as well as manures and cover crops^
Breeding Experiments with Pepners and Rhubarb.
Variety and Strain Trials of Beans, *^oot Crops, Cabbage,
Peppers, Squashes, Pumpkins, and Other Vegetables, including
more than 250 lots of different strains, varieties, and kinds.
Greenhouse Totaato Nutrition Experiment s#

I

in-

state College , which is now accessible from any direction
over first-rclass hi^iways, can bo reached in less than five hours*
i^iving from s^nywhere in the State, without exceeding spped limits
.^xc3llent picnic grounds may be found on or near the campus).
%enl a pleasant and profitable day or two in visiting your State
'^oJiogo and Experiment Station^

K" '**''' '■■'■'

I

1

^HV' 1

1

r 1

i

1

i

* 1

"

'p

> '

*> i

1

!

V ;

m

-2-

• > •

- * Bulletin S13. vegetable Variety an4 Strain Trials 1W3-19|*
contains desorlptiona and |O^Jnhe1ouI|rU^ra during IMS
and Strains or ^®8®^^°ixf <«I^Tv -renuestinff a copy from the
and 1934. It may toe 0^*1^^??^^^ ^??^^f Jofm! State College. Pa..
Agricultural Experiment Station Mailing Koom, ox.au ^ ,

or from the Secretary of your Association.

v>.petable Gr»n^«* Association of America Annual......

wQLvention .. . Ijt.

•*•« » I

The annual convention. Of tha^V^get^^^^^^ t?r^mhe?s.

of America, of which a ;^g^^°^.?!Sf ^g^^AuSSv W to 22. Mr.'
vdll he beld in Hartford,> Connecticut, fr^ oSfmemhers, is listed
A. C. Thompson, of Horrisvllle, P»* » °°® ?;.°^^pSwr BoAipment for
ts a speaker on the opening day. f ^^^S^-JjIi^^U^alk Sefore the
VeKetahle Production, is the same as p^J^t i "+ -.i^ter Our
Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers* Association 168t winter. Our
association is honored hy this reoognitiwi.

A very varied program includes 53 tallcs or discussions of

and entertainment features. . , ,

A call has been sent fof grower ^^l^ate? ?f o^,f38^^|SeiSai
to meet with other delegates from the N^theastern JJ^J^| ^^^^

evening, August 20, to of aider *^^ J??"^*^?'^ pl^ sSlltr to that
Vegetable Growers' Organization, Po^slbiy on a pxun s
of the Northeastern Poultry ProducersV council.

If any members of our organization expect to ^^J®^* JJJjei
conventio^Ld the special Tuesday evening^meetin^^^ ifl?e?n' Pa. ,

communicate with Mr. Harry <^- ®J^J^^ ^JJ (elites Sho* are aotuil
in order that he may ol^oose off icial delegates wno

producers from those who will attend.

Pennsylvania «6etaWe growera «111 b. wgcome at the^^ ^^
Hartford conventio», and will find it proriiiaoxo « y

attend.

*> ''«

, Plan' to attend the VegataMe Oardenlng and Plant Breeding .^
Field Dr.y. at Stato CoUege, Pa., on September 5.

^»

■ -4

f

PSNITSYLVANIA VEGETABLE GI10V?ERS* NS^VS

Vol. V.

'No, 4

Publication of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers' Association

Harry G. Brackbill, Malvern — - - - — - President
John M. Willson, Belle Vernon - - - - Vice-President...
Warren B. Mack, State College - - Secretary-Treasurer

•^"^

The annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers*
Association will be held in connection vdth the Pennsylvania Farm
Show on Tuesday and Wednesday, January 21 and 22. The program
committee has been on the job, and discussions of a varied, timely
list of subjects will be led by numerous able speakers from Ohio,
Maryland, and Pennsylvania. As far as possible, successful growers
have been invited for discussions of practical topics, and experi-
ment station and extension specialists for recent information on
teohnioal subjects. The following program represents a balanced
mixture of the two kinds of subject matter, which should be
valuable for every grower in the state.

Program

■ r

Tuesday, January 21

A. M.

9:30
9:40

P. M,

10:00
10:20 •

10; 30
11:15

»

1:30

»

2:00

2:45

President Kerry G. Brackbill,- Malvern, Chairman

Remarks by the President ' . ^ .^^^

Nineteen years' experimental results with different
analyses, formulas", and methods of application of
fertilizers on truck crops.

W. B. ilackj State College, Pa.'

Fertilizer placement studies in 1935.

W. B. Nissley, State College, Pa.

Building up soil fertility for vegetable crops.

Arthur V/iggins, Hillside Home,

Clark's S.umitiit, Pa.
How can I make money in the vegetable business

H. D* Brown, Professor of Vegetable

Gardening, Ohio State University
Growers^ discussion* of soil building methods. •

A. C. Thompson, Chairman of discussions.

Annual Business Session, presided over by Harry G.

Brackbill ;

Some "Droblems in the conduct of roadside markets.

S* H. DeVault, Professor of

Agricultural Economics, University

of Maryland.
A progress report on regional market surveys in

Pennsylvania.

— -F. P. Llninger, Department of

Agricultural Economics, State College.

n

i

t H

f

',»«

IRREGULAR PAGINATION

^ V

. r r

I

'

f;

i. !

n

3:15

4:00

-2-

What can the vegetable growers expect from coop-?'
erative efforts?

H. D, Brown, Ohio State University.

Grower s* discussion of marketing problems.

,»■*»•' #^

We dne s day . Januar y 2 2

A. M.

P. M.

9:30

9:45

10:05
10:15
10:25
10:45
10:55

11:15

11:25
11:40

1:30

2:00

2:45
3:30

Vice-President John M. Willson, Belle Vernon,
ohaitmah of discii'ssions/ " — *..---^-^^.

Oiading Pennsylv^ta vegetables for cannery and

market. ;*/•.,' ' ' •

:. 1>. Mt James, Pennsylvania Bureau of

Markets.
Practices followed in producing ten tons of tomatoes
to the acre, - . • ' ^

]' . J. M. Huffington, State College, Pa.

Tomato varieties tested in 1935

Charles L. Meyer, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Growing tomatoes for market

.---Harry V/. Hopkins, Clark's Summit
Celery varieties for the Philadelphia market

---C. K. Hallowell, Philadelphia, Pa.

Peas for market' '

---Adam Veith, Falls . ^. , . ...... i

Sweet corn varieties and the improvement of sweet
corn seed. ,

---H. S* Mills, Bristol.
Sweet corn and muskmelons for market

HileyBros., North Girard, and

Thomas Rain, Fairview
Breeding head lettuce for Pennsylvania

- — M. T* Lewis, State College, Pa.
Vegetable varieties, for Pennsylvania

Discussion by growers.

Gilbert S. Watts, Bell wood, Chairman of discussions.
Further results of comparisons of heating: methods
for plant growing structures

G. J. Stout, State College, Pa.

Vegetable disease, control methods recommended for
1936 . Illustrated .

R. S. Kirby, atata College, Pa.^ •

Vegetable insect control methods recommended for
1936. ---J. 0. Pepper:, State College, Pa.
Growers^ discussion of disease and insect: problems.

Vegetable. Variety Trials in 1935

Vegetable variety and strain trials at State College In 1935
included 854 different samples of 26 kinds of vegetables, which were
Inspected by several hundred growers during the course of the season.
In addition to the trials on the Experiment Station farms, twenty-
four varieties of peas, among which were included most of the

If -3-

recently- develoTDed wilt-resistant strains of leading canning and mar-
ket vaa?i©t4es, were grown on the farms of N. C. Miller at New Oxford
and the Banov-or Canning Company at Hanover, on soil on which pea wilt
was repoi»ted in 1934, to ascertain their productiveness in the poss-
ible presence of the wilt fungus; and S35 samples of cabbag6, carrot,
cauliflower, celery, cucumber, rauskmelon, squash, .s\immer pumpkin,
broccoli, and Brussels spuouts were duplicated in trials conducted
by John A. Andrew, Jr., of tho School of Horticulture at Ambler, Pa.

Space does not permit even a general summary of the results here.
Observations on several of the more promising strains and varieties
recently introduced may be interesting, however, and are therefore
reported in a preliminary way.

Sweet Corn

The top crosses of the earliest market strains gave an excellent
account of themselves in 1935. Those with C-2 and C-6 (Connecticut
inbred stock No. 2 and No. 6, respectively) as pollen P^i^^f \^f« ^^
earlier than those with P-39 (Purdue inbred stock No. 1339), and were
fully as large-eared and as good in quality. Spancross C-2 and C-6,
or Top-Cross Spanish Gold X2 and X6, were different names applied to
top crosses of Spanish Gold as the ear parent -at h ^-2 and C-6, re
spoctively, as the pollen parents; Marcross C2, etc. , were similar
t?p-crosses with Golden Early Market as the ear parent. Of the two
ear pprents, the advantage was with Golden Early Market in 1935
trials, because of greater size and productiveness, and because of
its slightly earlier maturity. The largest-eared top °f°f^^i^^J^« "
first early group was Sencross 39, or top-cross Early Yellow Sensa-
tion; this wfs about four or five 'days later then the others named
above, but was very vigorou-s, uniform, and productive.

Canada Gold was a promising first early open-pollinated variety.
It matured at the same time as the earliest top-crosses.

A number of hybrid 8-row or true Golden Bantam varieties were
included in 1935 trials. Some were first early and J^J^J^^^^^^J*^.^
at about the same time as the well known open-pollinated Golden Bantam
All were at least as fine in quality as the old Golden Bantam. Noth-
ing coSJd be determined concerning their wilt-resistance, however,
because only a trace of wilt appeared in any varieties.

Asgrow Golden Colonel, a golden Country Gentlemen, gave an
excellent account of itself. . . .

; 1

Peas

\\

The new Morse Market. Uhe President, Duplex, ^f^^* stride, leer,
Gilbo and Wyoming Wonder appeared to good advantage. These might be
groupcd^o p??vid! a succession of large-poddsd, sweet, green peas to

follow the ^axton Progress, Hundredfold, ^^^^^^f /j;°^P-i,^^°J^than
k-P+ oryA ThP Pre «?i dent were very similar ana about a week later xnan

were verv similcr to each other though Duplex was a little eariiei
tlm Ih7othS t^) and wore about five days later than Morse'Market;

u >

0

I

t

A

IRREGULAR PAGINATION

ii:^^

-4-

•j*.

z*^

i.'i

Giant Stride, leer, Gilbo, Wyoming Wonder, and Midseason Giant were
similar to each other, and constituted the latest of the dwarf typeg^
Vines of the last group were very vigorous and productive;- "and pod*
were largest of any varieties in the trials. The peas, however, were
about the same in size as those in the Dwarf Alderman group.

Dwarf Telephone or Daisy and Pacific Market, which were similar,,
were not successful either in ld34 or 1935 trials, because of injury
to pods from warm weather.

No wilt appeared in trials at Hanover and New Oxford, and for
►this reason no information was obtained regarding the relative pro-
ductivenoss of susceptible and resistant strains in the presence, of
the wilt fungus. The resistcnt strains were typical of their re-
spective varieties in other respects.

Cabbage

Marion Market continued to show excellent possibilities as a
midseason variety which is resi stent to cabbage 3^ellov/s.

Strain differences were apparent among Golden Acre samples from
different seedsmen* The differences were mainly in type of plant,
and were of little significance as far as earliness, uniformity, and
olidity of, head were concerned.

9

s

Ye Hows- resistant strains of Hollander or Danish Ballhead were
coarser and less uniform then the regular strains of this variety;
their only advantage is their yellows-resistance.

Beans

Top Notch Golden Wax, a 1935 introduction, was very productive,

end the pods were brighter yellow and about an inch longer than those

of Improved Golden Wax, which the variety resembled in respects other
then those mentioned. Pods were flat.

Tomatoes

The outstanding introductions were Scarlet Dawn and the Rutgers,
the fomer a valuable addition to the list of market varieties ma-
turing at about the seme time as Bonny Best and the latter a very
productive market and canning tomato maturing a little later than
Marglobe. Hopkins Special Bonny Best was a very vigorous strain oi
tlis variety, and Brown Special was an unusually vigorous canning
variety with fruits resembling Stone.

Penn State, a self -pruning variety of interest to early market
growers, was a distinct improvement as compared v/ith Earlicna, one
of the parents in the cross from which Penn State was produced.

Peppers

Wal thorn Beauty was no earlier and no more productive thon Cali-
fornia Wonder, and fruits were shorter in proportion to their ^Anatn.

-5-

The latter variety appeared to better advantage than any other
thick- fie shed, smooth, sweet pepper.

Beets and Carrots

Wyman Crosby was a very uniform, well colored, top- shaped,
^mall bunching beet, without the conspicuous concentric zones oi
Ught end da?k color #iich often characterize Crosby strains. Tops.
Jo^ever, were not very vigorous, /sgrow Wonder on the of «J ^and
had very desirable tops for bunching purposes, but many of the beets
had noticeable lighter and darker zones of interior color.

Perfected Detroit was medium sized, uniform, very well colored,
and desirable either for canning, topping, or ounching.

Perfection, Imperator. New Market, Morse Punching, and Red
Intermediate were desirable strains of the long, fiJS^Jiy J?P^^i^g»
i«rk orange bunching varieties which are now rapidly becoming popu-
llf. ^'l^ell'varietief are not so smooth as the Chant e nay and Red
cored Chantenay strains when grovm in heavy ^oil, but in lighter,
deep soils are very smooth and regular, and tops are sufficiently
vigorous for bimching conveniently.

Other Vef!;etables

Glowing Ball radish, an All- American ^^1^°^^°?^^^.^^^^' ^Jeh
™^-nA rttrpctive color than the commonly grom Scarlet Globe, wnicn
ft ?esemSSd In ot^er respects. It was very ;;^if°^ ^^^^Jl,?^ ^f
shape. Model White Box was an early, globe-shaped, white radish oi

excellent quality.

Improved Pekin. Narrow Head, or Chihili Chinese °^^^^6^„;^J^^i3
the most unifomly solid-heading of all varieties of this vegetable
which were observed,

Vikina spinach was longstanding, and was intermediate in
charalier?ft!?s between Blofmsdale and King f^^f^^-f '..f ^^f^
:-i?lf tSL°?ioo^mtdSe\^°I^ wirn^eaVl^ a^s^oSg-^^^^nling as King
of Denmark^

flesh and thus «'as higher In quality than the latter,.

More detailed reports of the variety ;gi«i|^«ll,i,f ^^rU^alns
lh?o^u^oS%^hnSe="rufhrSsrsferatr Annual Meetlns hy

gro)^•e^s who tested them during the past season.

T^nn't miss these discussions!

f

s''.

I.

i I

. .•

< : I

f

n

t

^