338 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



Mr. Shamel has cooperated with growers in the work of keeping individual (roe 

 records, and as a result of the investigations it has been found that 2n per cent of the 

 trees on an average, are inferior and do not produce satisfactory crops. The term 

 drone trees is applied to these and expresses clearly the fact that there are trees 

 that, like the drone bee, are incapable of producing, at least not enough to pay 

 for the work which they entail. A fair and conservative loss due to the presence 

 of the undesirable bud sports in the performance record plots is estimated as $100 

 per acre. 



The California Fruit Growers Exchange has recently, in line with its progressive 

 policy, established a department of bud selection, known as the "Fruit Growers 

 Supply Company." A letter from Mr. Shamel, who is cooperating with the Exchange 

 in this work, contains the following information regarding the special line of work 

 that it is proposed to follow : "The purpose of this work is to furnish reliable buds 

 of the best strains of our commercial citrus varieties, to citrus growers, nurserymen, 

 and others. It is a public service institution. It is a cooperative and organized 

 effort to standardize and improve our citrus production for the benefit of the producer 

 and consumer alike." 



Careful work along the same line as that done with citrus fruits is needed 

 for deciduous fruits, every orchardist who keeps close track of the crops harvested 

 from his individual tiers, realizes that there is a marked variation in their pro- 

 duction; that there are -<»>d and bad trees in his orchard. Certain nurserymen 

 in a small way have at times attempted to propagate their stock from carefully 

 selected buds taken from trees that had produced good crops. This work is com- 

 mendable but has not been carried far enough. There is a lack of carefully attained 

 scientific data which it is hoped will be available in the near future. The forward 

 movement of the California Fruit Growers Exchange will mean much to the citrus 

 industry through the elimination of a large percentage at least of the drone trees 

 that are now planted in every orchard. It is hoped that the movement will be such 

 a success that it may soon be extended to the deciduous fruit industry. G. F. W. 



White Pine Blister Rust Suppression. 



The seriousness of the white pine blister rust disease of five-leafed pines, currants 

 and gooseberries, which made necessary the passage of quarantine order No. 30 of 

 this office, is indicated from the following figures representing the appropriation made 

 by the Federal Government and a number of states, for the purpose of carrying mi 

 a campaign for its suppression : 



Federal Government - $300,000 (1 r""\ 



New Hampshire — 28,000 2 years 



Maine ^.OOO ? ^ 



Khode Island 2.500 1 year 



Pennsylvania 0-000 J year 



Minnesota ^-000 1 year 



Massachusetts 50,000 1 year) 



Vermont 25.000 (2 years) 



Connecticut":::- 20,000 (2 years) 



New York 2...000 (1 year) 



^onsb! :::: ™ i yoi,r ! 



Ontario-- *■ » Clf-r)^ 



