692 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



THE SEBASTOPOL GRAVENSTEIN APPLE SHOW. 



As chairman of the awarding committee at the Sebastopol Exposition, 

 acting with Messrs. Henry C. Peckham of Watsonville, J. A. Evereth, 

 San Francisco, and George P. Weldon, Chief Deputy State Horti- 

 cultural Commissioner, I am pleased to report a wondrous display of 

 Gravenstein apples. The Alexanders were also very fine. There was 

 a substantial improvement over the exhibit of last year, good and 

 creditable as that was. 



In judging, forty demerits were given for each wormy fruit ; eight 

 for any show of scab, one for absence of stem, and one for any show 

 of dry rot. Other demerits were given for lack of color, inferiority of 

 size, lack of uniformity, etc. Last year the demerits generally reached 

 nine hundred, more or less in a single collection, and nearly always 

 reached to the hundreds. This year two exhibits, both by ladies, 

 received a perfect score. Few had off counts reaching three figures, 

 while most ran less than thirty. In large exhibits, every apple in 

 three boxes, taken at random, were carefully inspected ; in those of less 

 magnitude, two boxes were thus examined, while one box was inspected 

 in each exhibit. The perfection of this fruit was certainly phenom- 

 enal. Mr. Peckham, who has had long experience in growing, exhibit- 

 ing and judging fruit, said he had never seen a finer collection of apples 

 at any exhibition. He doubted if it could ever be surpassed. 



The evident progress in developing excellence of fruit in grading 

 and packing are proof positive that such exhibitions are richly worth 

 all that they cost in time, labor and expense. 



The feature exhibits were also remarkable for the ingenuity dis- 

 played in their conception, and also for their attractiveness. No won- 

 der that the attendance was surprisingly large. "While such fruit shows 

 are commendable for their pleasure giving, they are at the same time 

 very educatory. They will surely lead to a perfect pack, and will aid 

 much to foster standardization. 



In autoing through Sonoma County, we observed everywhere excel- 

 lent cultivation of the orchard. The great reputation that this section 

 iias gained for its superior fruit, is, we believe, to a large extent 

 indebted to these annual apple exhibits. The matter of thinning and 

 spraying must certainly receive close attention, else the fruit exhibited 

 at this apple show would never present such remarkable perfection.— 

 A. J. Cook. 



EFFECTS OF HOT WEATHER ON LEMON TREES SPRAYED 



WITH LIME-SULPHUR. 



An interesting development was noticed in the fact that lemon trees 

 sprayed with both Rex and Ortho lime-sulphur solutions for a period 

 of ten days before the excessive heat, were very seriously burned. 

 Quite a percentage of the fruit on the southwest corner of the trees was 

 completely ruined. I have never seen the effects of spray injury fol- 

 lowed by heat extend back over so long a period. — R. S. Vaile. 



