New Yobk Ageicultubal Expebiment Station. Iti. 



During seven years when frosts did little or no harm, cold, wet 

 weather played almost as disastrous a part and reduced the crops 

 to unprofitable proportions ; while in five of the years of frost the 

 damage was increased bv the effects of cold storms. These storm 

 years, like the frost years, came in cycles. A first short period 

 of three years, beginning in 1881, was marked by storms, as was 

 a longer period of seven years beginning in 1888. During the 

 first period, wind strong enough to harm the blossoms, even with- 

 out the accompanying rain, was a feature of each season, as was 

 also the case in 1905; while in another year, without injurious 

 rain storms, the wind alone did considerable harm to blossoms. 



Sunshine at blooming time, with warm, dry weather, marked 

 five years, only, of the twenty-five ; and in each of these years the 

 crops were excellent. In three of them the records were broken 

 for one or another of the fruits and enormous yields were secured 

 from practically all fruits. 



From these facts, and more detailed data given in the original 

 bulletin, Ave must conclude that rain and the cold and wind that 

 usually accompany it in mid-May cause the loss of more fruit than 

 any other agency. Killing frosts take second place as destructive 

 forces, though the sudden, plainly evident harm they do attracts 

 more attention and causes more complaint than the slowly develop- 

 ing, more concealed damage from a long, cold storm without 

 freezing temperature. 



Frosts usually blacken and destroy immediately the reproduc- 

 tive organs of the flowers, giving very plain evidence of harm; 

 but such evidence is often given undue weight, so that the injury 

 from light frosts is frequently overestimated. 



Cold storms, or even very cool days without frost, at blooming 

 time lessen or destroy the crop in several ways. The rains wash 

 off the tiny grains of pollen from the delicate anthers of the 

 flowers and thus prevent their journey on the body of some insect, 

 so that they fail to perform their fertilizing office. Even if a 

 pollen grain chance to reach the pistil it may fail to adhere and 

 grow since the rain also washes off and dilutes the adhesive, stimu- 

 lating secretion upon the stigmas. Provided neither of these 

 causes prevents the journey and proper placing of the pollen, the 

 cold of such storms often so lessens the vitality of the grains that 

 they germinate very slowly or not at all. 



The cold and the rain also check the activities of bees aud 

 other insects, and as these are the effective carriers of pollen 



