BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 35 X 



FRUIT-DISTRICT INVESTIGATIONS. 



The projects included in the general title of fruit-district investiga- 

 tions have continued in charge of Mr. H. P. Gould, Pomologist, 

 assisted by Mr. W. F. Fletcher, Scientific Assistant. 



Adaptability of fruit varieties to environment. — The study of 

 the adaptability of fruit varieties to different conditions and, con- 

 versely, of the intluence of conditions on the behavior of varieties 

 forms the leading feature of these investigations. Field work in the 

 Ozark Mountain region has been practically completed, and the data 

 obtained in the several seasons during which it has been in i^rogresa 

 are being prepared for publication. Great orchard interests, espe- 

 cially in apples and peaches, have developed in this region, and in 

 some respects the present period may be considered a critical one for 

 these interests. In many places smaller orchards, more intensive 

 methods of culture, improved methods of handling the fruit, and 

 greater diversification in the agricultural interests of the region (in 

 which some form of stock raising, especially dairying, constitutes a 

 prominent part) will be found more profitable than the present system 

 of orchard management. 



Investigations of a similar character were begun in the region of 

 Oklahoma lying between the Ozark formation and the semiarid or 

 Great Plains region. This work was considerably extended last 

 season in Oklahoma, Kansas, and southeastern Nebraska. The pos- 

 sibilities of fruit growing for home use in the central and southern 

 Great Plains regions have also received attention. The conditions 

 there are severe and fruit growing will probably not assume a com- 

 mercial status, except in rare instances, but the importance of the 

 family orchard in home building warrants consideration. During 

 many seasons some fruit may be grown. Cherries and some varieties 

 of the native plums are the most promising fruits, but certain varie- 

 ties of apples are also to be recommended. 



CooPEiL\TrvE and other work on fruit varieties. — The dry-land 

 fruit garden, located at the substation of the Bureau at Akron, Colo., 

 is making good progress and now contains 5 kinds of orchard 

 fruits and 8 or 10 kinds of small fruits representing many different 

 varieties. AA^iile definite conclusions can not be reached regarding 

 the relative adaptability of the varieties under observation until they 

 have been tested for a longer time, there are some rather marked dif- 

 ferences in the growth of the trees and small fruits of different sorts. 



In cooperation with the Forest Service, preliminary work is now in 

 progress with reference to the growing of home fruits by the forest 

 rangers in the national forests. Several thousand apple grafts have 

 been propagated at the Arlington Experimental Farm for planting 

 at ranger stations where they can be grown with a view to obtaining 

 data on the adaptability of fruit varieties to a large region of country 

 where little fruit is now cultivated, and under very diverse conditions. 



Phenological studies of fruit culture have been continued along the 

 same lines as in previous years, with a slight increase in the number 

 of cooperative observers. A large quantity of data has been col- 

 lected, covering a wide range of climatic conditions and forming an 

 important source of reference, the value of which will be very greatly 

 increased when compiled and correlated. 



