25 

 From our observations the following facts may be noted: 



( I ) The injured trees are in the sod mulch vs. clean cultivation ex- 

 perimental block, and in no other part of the orchard was any injury 

 noted. Ordinarily trees in sod show no such injury. 



( 2 ) Nearly all the Fameuse, about two thirds of the Pattern's 

 Greening and about 1-3 of the Mcintosh in the block were injured. Small 

 splits in one Arabka and one Wolf River were also noted. The remaining 

 varieties in the block w^ere apparently uninjured — Alexander, Milwaulkee, 

 Wealthy, La Salle, Duchess and Yellow Transparent. 



( 3 ) The trees in other blocks cultivated! similarly, that is clean 

 cultivation followed by a cover crop, showed no signs of injury. 



(4) The early part of last season was comparatively wet. .^une 

 was comparativelv dry, w^hile the remaining part of the season even till 

 the last of November was wet. This would tend to produce late growth 

 of a tender nature, as exemplified by the late falling of the leaves on 

 the late grow^ing and ripening varieties. 



( 5 ) The injured trees are all on a southern exposure and consequent- 

 ly would be more influenced by the sun's rays than those on the level 

 or a northern exposure. 



(6) The average temperature for January last was 22.15 OF. The 

 average temperature for the last few years was 12.6OF. This year there- 

 fore shoves an increase of 9-550 over the average of a number of years. 



On 4 days the temperature rose above 43OF, the minimum grow^ing 

 temperature, on 14 days the temperature rose above the freezing point, 

 and on 4 days it did not freeze at all. 



February on the contrary shows an average temperature of iciol*' 

 compared to II. 7 on an average for a number of years, a decrease of 1.6 

 degrees. On but one day did the temperature rise above a freeze. Six of 

 the seven days of the second w^eek' in February sho^ved a temperature of 

 from 5 to II below zero. It was just at this time that the trees were 

 first noticed to be splitting badly. 



( 7 ) Southern and western slopes expose trees to the prevailing 

 winds. The south w^inds in particula "V are very desiccating. 



( 8 ) The loosening of the bark from the trees is apparently caused 

 "as much by the swaying of the trunic limbs and branches when the ground 



is frozen as by freezing and tihawingu The situation where most damage 

 occurred is the most exposed in the orchard. 



