14 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



where the temperature is such that the fruit buds mature 

 more fully and are not so liable to be destroyed by extreme 

 cold. The varieties that are popular in the market and that 

 are most profitably and successfully grown are Crawford's 

 Early, Crawford's Late, Old Mixon, Elberta and Crosby. 

 All of these varieties except the Elberta have long been 

 grown in Massachusetts. The latter is an oval peach of 

 large size and of a light-yellow color, with more or less 

 color on the exposed side. It is generally hardy and pro- 

 ductive, but the past season, in a great many sections of 

 this and other States, was so seriously injured by the "leaf 

 curl " as to endanger its vitality. Should it continue to be 

 attacked by this disease, it will not long remain a profitable 

 variety. 



Plums. 

 Many growers of this fruit in the State have become dis- 

 couraged from the lack of profit in the domestic plum, on 

 account of the black knot, plum curculio, leaf blight and 

 brown rot. The results obtained in the station orchards 

 give no reason for such discouragement. Trees of all ages, 

 from thirty years old to those of one or two years' growth, 

 may be found, and almost every variety of any value is rep- 

 resented. Upon these trees will be found hardly a knot to 

 the tree. No leaf blight appeared on the majority of the 

 trees, and many varieties matured their fruit with little 

 or no injury from the brown rot, while a few others were 

 seriously injured. In the average season the use of the Bor- 

 deaux mixture, as recommended in the spraying calendar 

 in Bulletin 52, has been found to prevent even the serious 

 injury of the fruit by the brown rot ; and the past season, 

 had one or two applications of the copper sulphate solution 

 (one-fourth pound to fifty gallons of water) been made the 

 last of July or in early August, this loss might have been 

 greatly reduced. The black knot has almost wholly suc- 

 cumbed to the treatment outlined in the bulletin mentioned, 

 and the most healthy and vigorous foliage is to be found 

 upon all the trees. The varieties that show the greatest 

 tendency to rot are Lombard, Washington, Gueii, Smith's 

 Orleans and Victoria. Those that show the least are Brad- 



