ISO STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Those who wish to try a new vai-iety of the Faineuse type will be 

 pleased with the Faineuse Sucie. The fruit is of better quality and 

 lias a hij^her color than the Faineuse but is not quite as large and the 

 keeping qualities are not as good. 



For a very early peach, tlie Mayflower has proven desirable with us. 

 It is a large white clingstone peach of fairly good (piality. The bright 

 red cheek gives the fruit a good appearance. It will probably not be of 

 much value as a commercial variety but should have a place in the 

 home orchard as it ripens about the twentieth of July which is some 

 time before any of the other varieties ripen. 



In our test of nut varieties, we have found several which are worthy 

 of consideration by those interested in nut growing. The Paragon 

 and Comfort Chestnuts have done very well with us. Both varieties 

 liear good crops almost every year. The I'aragon is, by far, the better 

 of the two and should be raised l>y every <ine who wishes to grow some- 

 thing besides the native nut. Althougli the trees are rather small in 

 size, the crop will often average a half a bushel of nuts to the tree. 



A number of Paragon seedlings were set this spring. Chinquapin 

 chestnuts have not given very good results. They liave not produced any 

 fruit and are not very vigorous growers. 



The Kentish Cob and the Cosford Thin Shell filberts have given good 

 results. Both bear quite well and the nuts are fine, large and meaty. 

 The crop averages about a fifth basket of nuts per tree and sometimes 

 a little more. The Kentish Cob is the best variety of the two as the 

 nut is larger^Kind the bush more prolific. 



The English hazelnut bears fair cro])S occasionally but the nut is 

 small and the filbert would be preferred if this type of nut is to be 

 grown. 



Two pecan trees set in 1890 have made enormous growth but did not 

 blossom and set fruit until last year. The season here is not long 

 enough to mature the nut. The trees have been ]ierfectly hardy, being 

 ai)])arentlv uninjured bv the freeze of 1900 and tlie cold winter of 

 1911-12. 



Soil Culture Tests. — In 1907, a comparative test of sod mulch and 

 cultivation was started in blocks of European plums, Japanese plums 

 and api)les. In each case, except the Japanese plums, the blocks con- 

 sist of three rows of tAvelve trees each, each row being set to a different 

 variety. The plots are so arranged that eacli consists of three varieties 

 with six trees of each variety. In the Japanese plum block, there are 

 four rows and an equal number of varieties. The varieties in this block 

 are the Burbank, Abundance. Rntsuma and Bed June. 



The varieties in the apple block are the ^Vagener, Wealthy and Duchess 

 and in the block of European plums, the varieties are the Monarch, 

 Grand Duke and Bradshaw. 



The following figures give the average circumference of the trunks 

 of the trees at a distance of one foot from the ground and also the 

 average length of the growth made by each variety this year (1918) : 



