Page 36 



BETTER FRUIT 



February, ig20 



ern Illinois, advantage was taken of the 

 opportunity ofTcrcd at this time to con- 

 duct investigations with the view of de- 

 termining a satisfactory way of hand- 

 ling such trees. Experimental work 

 was confined to the Elberta variety." 



Results of Experiments. 

 In the spring of 1918 three sets of 

 pruning experiments were started on 

 different plots of the injured trees, the 

 pruning being done from March 2(ith to 

 March 28th, when the leaf buds had 

 started. The methods of pruning were 

 as follows: 



Row 1, Pruned moderately; previous year's 

 growth clipped approximately one-half. 



Row 2. Dehorned, the one and two-year-old 

 wood removed. 



Row 3. One-year-old wood removed. 



Row* 4. Check. L^npruned. 



On April 1, Mr. Gunderson notes that 

 one pound of nitrate of soda was ap- 

 plied broadcast to three of the trees in 

 each row for the purpose of studying 



G. L. Davenport 



Grower and 

 Shipper 



MOSIER, OREGON 



MAIN OFFICE 

 147 Front Street, PORTLAND, OREGON 



the effects of fertilizer on the recovery 

 of fruit trees from winter-injury. The 

 trees were examined frequently during 

 the spring and summer and the fact is 

 noted that the foliage of the trees which 

 had received the nitrate of soda was 

 heavier and of a darker green color than 

 that of the untreated trees. "This dif- 

 ference," the writer says, "was much 

 more apparent however in the check 

 and the moderately pruned trees than 

 in those dehorned. This was probably 

 due to the fact that the heavy pruning 

 of peach trees usilally results of itself 

 in the stimulation of heavy wood 

 growth and foliage, especially when 

 the trees are in vigorous condition." 



On October 30, Mr. Gunderson made 

 an examination in regard to these ex- 

 periments which he records as follows: 



"Observations were made October 30 

 on the relative amount of fruit-bud 

 formation on the trees in the different 

 rows. The trees in Row 1, whose one- 

 year-old wood had been clipped, car- 

 ried the largest number of well distrib- 

 uted, vigorous fruit buds and on wood 

 of desirable size. The unpruned trees 

 carried a large number of less plump 

 but well distributed fruit buds on small- 

 sized branches. The trees in Row 3, 

 from which the one-year-old wood had 

 been removed entirely, had a good 

 many poorly distributed fruit buds car- 

 ried on wood that was a little too heavy 

 to be desirable. The tops of the trees 

 in this row were so dense as to require 

 considerable thinning of the branches 

 and consequent removal of many fruit 

 buds. 



"Very few fruit buds were present on 

 the dehorned trees in Rows 2 and 4. 

 This was due to the fact that, as usual 

 on severely pruned trees, long and 

 heavy primary growth of branches de- 

 veloped, on which relatively few fruit 

 buds ever appear. 



"Examination of the internal tissues 

 of the wood of both branches and 

 trunks was made in the experimental 

 orchards during November after the 

 growing season had ended. It was ob- 

 served that a new layer of sapwood 

 had been formed of greater thickness 

 in the trunks of the trees than in the 

 branches. The heartwood and pith had 

 assumed a 'punky' condition, suggest- 

 ing decomposition. Whether such a con- 

 dition will eventually prove detrimental 

 to the productiveness and vigor of the 

 trees remains to be seen." 



Vigilance Necessary. 



In view of the fact that extensive 

 winter injury to fruit trees in the Pa- 

 cific Northwest has heretofore been 

 limited the experiments of the Illinois 

 Experiment Station are both interest- 

 ing and valuable and lead, as Mr. 

 Brown says in summing up his conclu- 

 sions to the belief that the situation is 

 hopeful. 



The proper method for growers in 

 the Northwest who have injured trees 

 is to investigate their orchards carefully 

 from now on, keep in touch with the 

 agricultural experiment stations and 

 adopt those methods which will result 

 in the minimum loss in both fruit and 

 trees. 



15 Acres per Day 



Is the Average for One Man with the 



American Beauty 

 Dust Sprayer 



This Man is dusting 20 Acres 

 per day, on Peaches 



CODLING MOTH 



RED SPIDER 



CURCULIO 



APHIS 



CATERPILLAR 



MILDEW, Etc. 



WRITB TO-DAY 



THE CALIFORNIA SPRAYER CO. 



6001-11 Pasadena Avenue 



Los Angeles 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



