Page 32 



Nails Retard Growth of 

 Cherry Trees 



Editor Better Fruit, Portland, Oregon: 

 I am sending you a photograph of a 

 Lambert cherry tree which has failed 

 to make a satisfactory growth. Out of 

 a planting of one hundred trees sixty or 

 seventy show this same defect in a 

 greater or less degree. The graft was 

 made at the point indicated by the 

 finger. In all the trees which failed to 

 make a satisfactory growth there is a 

 decided contraction in the trunk just 

 above the graft. One tree liad an open 

 "sore" at that point and on investiga- 

 tion I found that the graft had been 



Nine year old cherry tree showing poor growth 



and contracted trunii where graft was fastened 



with brad. 



made secure by an iron band. Appar- 

 ently the brad had been driven into 

 the stock and the scion impaled on the 

 uppe rend. In the tree just mentioned 

 the effect of the rusting brad was to 

 deaden and blacken the heart wood. 



The tree shown in tlie photograph 

 has been planted nine years and a com- 

 parison with the size of the hand shows 

 clearly what a poor growth the tree has 

 made. Every spring the trees would 

 leaf out perfectly and appear all right 

 until the dry weather came on. Then 



BETTER FRUIT 



the leaves ■would dry up, wither, and 

 fall off. The branches made little if 

 any growth and such fruit as did set 

 did not mature properly. Only about 

 three of the one hundred trees set out 

 have died. I am (piite fully convinced 

 that the rusting of the brads, when the 

 stock was small, destroyed the wood to 

 such an extent that the passage of the 

 sap was restricted. 



This conclusion is borne out by an 

 experiment I have made. For the pur- 

 pose of pollinization I grafted onto the 

 branches of quite a number of the trees 

 another variety of cherry. This fact 

 was very evident. On the trees that 

 were growing well the grafts grew well 

 also. On those which were not grow- 

 ing the grafts, though apparently set 

 perfectly, made no growth. Two of the 

 trees which had scarcely made any 

 growth since setting out I cut off below 

 the old graft and made the new graft 

 on the trunk. Both of these made enor- 

 mous growths compared to the others. 

 This last season a great many of the 

 trees had some very fair fruit on them 

 and they stood the dry season better. I 

 rttribute it to the fact that they are 

 getting of such a size that at the point 

 of graft there is sound wood sufTicient 

 to protect the ascending sap from the 

 ctTects of the rusting brads. 



George B. Couper. 



Advises New Methods in Apple 

 Handling 



J. H. Bengal, Wenatchee district man- 

 ager for G. M. H. Wagner & Sons, who 

 recently returned from an extensive 

 tour of the big eastern apple distrib- 

 uting cities, and who also attended the 

 convention of the National Commission 

 Merchants and Vegetable Shippers, in 

 an interesting interview in the Wenat- 

 chee Advance calls attention to some 

 very important phases of the apple in- 

 dustry which developed this year and 

 advises new methods to combat them. 



"The apple growing industry," said 

 Mr. Dengel, "is now passing through 

 one of the most critical periods in its 

 history. The present season has been 

 a disastrous one, not only for the ship- 

 pers at this end, but for receivers at the 

 other. In the first place the eastern 

 distributors paid an abnormally high 

 price for their apples, then the earlier 



March, 1920 



varieties failed to arrive at a seasonable 

 time, and finally so many of them were 

 frozen when they did arrive that the 

 entire deal has been unsatisfactory and 

 improfitable. 



"In order to preserve the box apple 

 industry in the future it is absolutely 

 necessary to secure better transporta- 

 tion, and more adequate warehouse fa- 

 cilities, both here and at eastern distrib- 

 uting points. It is also essential that 

 some method be devised for shipping 

 the various varieties of apples out at 

 the proper season. In other words. 

 Winter Bananas, Jonathans, King Da- 

 vids and Delicious should all be moved 

 out of the district first, followed by 

 other varieties in seasonable rotation. 



"However, there is much consolation 

 to be gained from the fact that the rail- 

 roads, the shipping and the distributing 

 organizations and many other interests 

 are working together for the purpose of 

 solving these problems. In fact every 

 one connected with the fruit industry 

 seem to be interested in saving the situ- 

 ation except the grower. However, 

 there is reason to believe that the grow- 

 ers will also wake up and take a hand 

 in the game before this season is over. 



"A plan is now under way to form a 

 big holding company that will build 

 many thousand refrigerator cars and 

 lease or rent them to the railroads as 

 needed. The railroads are cooperating 

 in every way with this movement. An- 

 other big corporation is preparing to 

 erect a large number of cold storage 

 warehouses at producing points as well 

 as in the distributing markets. Both of 

 these plans have advanced to the stage 

 where they seem to be assured." 



Trimming Berry Bushes 



If you have not done so, cut out all 

 the old canes of raspberries which bore 

 fruit last year and burn theiu so as to 

 destroy any diseases and eggs of 

 immature insects that are on them. The 

 old canes if left, will rob the new 

 shoots of much nourishment. When 

 the new shoots reach a height of three 

 and a half inches pinch out or cut off 

 the growing tip to cause the shoots to 

 branch. Cut out also all of the weak 

 shoots, leaving only the strong ones. 

 Blackberry bushes should be given the 

 same treatment. 



BEFORE using Cement Coated Nails 



Western Cement Coated Nails 

 for Western Growers 



Our Cement Coated Nails are always of 

 uniform length, gauge, head and count. 

 Especially adapted to the manufacture of 

 fruit boxes and crates. In brief, they are 

 the Best on the Market. 



Write for Glowers' testimonials. 



Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. 



DENVER, COLORADO 



Pacific Coast Sales Offices 



Portland, Spokane, San Francisco 



Los Angeles 



AFTT5R u.se of C. F. & I. Co.'s 

 Cement Coated Nails 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



