HORTICULTURE. 741 



plant food. A fertilizer test conducted on one of the sprayed plats resulted In 

 an Improved yield and indicates that vines which have borne h large crop 

 through reduction of fungus diseases are in need of an extra supply of plant 

 food the following year to maintain their vigor. Some evidence was obtained 

 which indicates that the best time for applying fertilizers in order to increase 

 the yield of fruit may be at about the blossoming period. An unexpected result 

 of the spi-aying was the killing of the wood moss on all of the fungus plats. 

 No marked difference in color was observed between the berries from the 

 sprayed plats and their checks. The size of berries of the Howe variety was 

 somewhat reduced on the sprayed plats as compared with berries from the 

 check plats. Data on the keeping of berries from the sprayed plats and their 

 checks indicate in a general way that the sprayed fruit holds up better under 

 storage, although this result is more marked with some varieties than with 

 others. 



Three new fungus plats were started on the station bog in 1913. One of 

 these plats was sprayed with lime-sulphur and the others with Bordeaux early in 

 the season and with neutral copper acetate late in the season. One of the latter 

 plats consisted of one-half of the fertilizer plat, in order to detei-mine the com- 

 bined effect of fertilizer and fungus spraying. As compared with the checks all 

 of the sprayed plats gave a reduced yield of fruit. The fruit sprayed with 

 Bordeaux and neutral copper acetate kept better in storage than the fruit from 

 the check plats; whereas both the yield and keeping quality of fruit from the 

 lime-sulphur plat M^as inferior to the fruit from the check plats. Thus far it 

 appears that lime-sulphur is not a good cranberi-y fungicide and that Bordeaux 

 may have an injurious effect on the setting of fruit if applied during the 

 blooming period. The new disease "blossom end rot" (E. S. R., 30, p. 143) 

 was prevalent in 1913, especially with the Howe variety. 



In June tests were begun looking for the control of fungus diseases by apply- 

 ing copper sulphate in the flowage. As indicated by the yields and keeping 

 quality of the fruit, the copper sulphate treatment was neither beneficial nor 

 injurious. Investigations looking to the development of improved varieties 

 were continued and samples of berries of most of the varieties grown in the 

 Cape Cod region have been collected. 



In the bee pollination experiments the plats from which bees were screened 

 out during the blooming periods of 1911 and 1912 yielded fnjit in 1913 at the 

 same rate as the surrounding bog. A new exclusion plat, approximately 0.5 

 sq. rod in area, was established in 1913, and the yield on this plat was reduced 

 to 2f qt. as compared with about 1 bu. on any equal unscreened adjoining plat. 



On the cranberry fertilizer plats there was a general reduction in yield as 

 compared with the check plats, but the decrease was slight except on the 

 nitrate of soda plats where there was a marked drying up of the blossoms and 

 small berries, which has thus far been unexplained. The fertilizers failed to 

 show any marked effect on the keeping quality of the fruit except on one plat 

 receiving the heaviest application of nitrate of soda. The berries from this plat 

 showed poor k'-eping quality. The season's work with insects is noted on 

 page 752. 



An attempt was made to control the horsetail weed by pouring a solution of 

 copper sulphate in holes in the soil spaced 1 ft. apart each way. One qt. of 

 a solution as strong as 1 lb. to 25 gal. of water was poured in each hole. The 

 solution appeared to cause the horsetail to thrive instead of affecting it in- 

 juriously. Spraying with a 20 per cent iron sulphate solution was fairly effec- 

 tive in killing back the tops of the weeds although there appears to be a possible 

 danger connected with the continued use of this chemical on the same ar^a. 



