FIFTY-FIRST ANNUAL REPORT. 151 



HORTICULTTTRAT. SOCIETY AND M. A. C. ADOPT NEW POLICY. 



A now policy originated at the mid-winter meetings of the Michigan 

 HorticuHuial Society when the Society asked its president to name a com- 

 mittor i(>pio.sontiiig the several fruit interests of the State to meet with 

 tho cxpoiimontal workers of the nopartmont of Horticulture of M. A. C. 

 for tlio purpos(> of bring about a closer relationship and understanding 

 l)otwoon the fruit growers and their problems on the one hand and the 

 Dopartmont of Horticulture and its woi'k on tho other. The appoint- 

 ment of this committee was the direct result of a discussion of "Sugges- 

 tions for Experimental Work in Hoi'ticultvu'o from the Viewjioint of the 

 i^ractical Fruit Oiowor" at the nu'd-wintor meetings of the Michigan 

 Horticultural Society hold at M. A. C. during Farmers Week. 



Each mem])or of the committee has been selected as specifically rep- 

 resenting some one or two of the fruit interests of the State and because 

 of his special knowledge and practical experience in producing such 

 fiuit crops. Fuithermore, most members of the committee are extensive 

 growers of practically all kinds of tree and small fruits. The personnel 

 of the committee is as follows. 



G. A. Hawley, Hart, President, ex-ofiicio 



C. E. Buskirk, Paw Paw, Chairman Grapes 



Geo. Friday, Coloma Small fruits 



Robt. Anderson, Covert Peaches and plums 



H. Blakeslee, Crane, Fennville • Apples and pears 



Harry Rackham, Northville Apples 



A. J. Rogers, Beulah Cherries 



The meeting of this committee which was the first of the kind ever 

 held in the State, was called by Professor C. P. Halligan, Head of the 

 Department of Horticulture, February 23rd and 24th at Grand Rapids 

 for the purpose of going over lines of experimental work suggested and 

 outlined by the Experiment Station workers; to receive criticisms and 

 suggestions from the committee regarding the w^ork countemplated and 

 to receive suggestions as to new projects that should be started. 



Plans for grape experiments were presented which are designed to 

 determine the effects of different fertilizers upon the growth, maturity 

 and yield of vines. The experiment is planned to take care of any soil 

 variations that may be encountered. At the suggestion of the com- 

 mittee, it was decided that tests be made to determine the maximum 

 amounts of nitrogen that could be safely and economically applied to 

 vines. 



Outlines for grape pruning experiments planned to determine the 

 number of buds that may best be left on vines of low, medium and high 

 vigor, and to determine which buds, with respect to location, are the 

 most productive and satisfactory buds to leave, were presented. 



It was pointed out that co-operative experiments with grapes had been 

 unsatisfactory in New York and that the grape growers should make 

 some arrangements whereby the Experiment Station could have the full 

 charge of one or more vineyards in the grape sections for a term of years. 



The committee requested the Department to plan fertilization tests 

 with small fruits, such as red and black raspberries, with and without 



