being used. The results of this experiment indicate that bark may well 

 serve as a substitute for manure in mulching roses. It would last longer 

 than many other materials. 



Effect of Bark on Immunity of Apple to Scab 



It had been suggested that apple trees grown all their lives in pure bark 

 might be immune to the fungous disease known as apple scab. To test this 

 hypothesis, ten crocks each of old hardwood bark, old softwood bark and 

 soil control were each planted with five apple seeds. After germination, the 

 seedlings were thinned to two per crock. Five grams of 5-10-10 fertilizer 

 were added to each crock three times during growth. When the plants were 

 about one foot high, they were artifically inoculated with the apple scab 

 organism. Later observations showed severe scab infection on all bark 

 grown plants and to the same extent as the soil controls. It is evident from 

 this that growing apples in bark does not confer immunity to scab. 



A Comparison of Shredded Bark and Sphagnum Peat 

 As a Packing Material for Shipping Live Plants 



The possibility of using waste bark as a material for keeping live plants 

 moist naturally suggests itself. The bark was shredded by a hammer mill 

 at the Brown Company plant in Berlin, New Hampshire. New bark was very 

 stringy in comparison to the old bark. 



A study was made of the comparative moisture holding capacity of 

 shredded bark and peat. Each material was soaked over night in water. 



Table 10. Moisture Retaining Power of Shredded Bark and Peat During Air-Drying 



Successive Weights of Oven Dried (80°C) 

 Shredded Bark 



7-7-52 

 7-8 

 7-10 

 7-14 



Percent water absorbed, 

 dry wt. basis 



174 



122 



45 



34 



11 



