Strny Thoughts 



G-rc'ing npples pre smnller in the evening than in the morn- 

 ing of the spme day, spy Washington Stfte College horticulturists. 

 Careful measurements sho'"' that rpples grc'lng in a district rhere 

 the air Is very dry nay shrink slightly during late afternoon pnd 

 evening due to the rfyid evaporation of ^ater from the leflvos. This 

 process slo^^'s dc.Ti during the night and the fruit agrin regains its 

 former size. This alternation of rilting rnd expanding tends to 

 prevent the fpple from reaching its maximum size. 



An annup.l application of pbout k inches of mulch vill keep 

 do^ni '-^eeds, conserve moisture, and serve ps a substitute for cultl- 

 vption, according to R. J. Barnett of the Kansas Agr. Exp. Sta. 

 As our experience vlth the system broadens, mulching orchards vlth 

 crop residues, such as vhCcat strav, gives a. better account of Itself 

 PS a system of orchard soil management. 



On a Loess soil in eastern Nebraska, roots of a '^-yr-old 

 Delicious apple tree '"ere found to have a lateral spread of more 

 than 10 feet in either direction from the trunk, and a depth of 

 more than 1^ feet. 



During the 12 years from 1922 to 1933 f'-PPle gro^'^ers in the 

 central Irrigated region of Washington received an average of ^1.05 

 per box for all varieties, grades and sizes. Extra Fancy apples 

 brought h'^ cents per box more than C G-rade and 29 cents more than 

 Fancy. 



Germany produced 605,000 tons of calcium cyanajnid during 

 1935. This figure tops a progressive increase since 1931 '"hen the 

 production amounted to 292,000 tons. 



The practice of "disbudding" as an aid in the development of 

 a good frame'vork In an apnle tree, is not vle^^ed ■'"ith as much favor 

 by Pennsylvania authorities as formerly. R. H. Sudds of Pennsyl- 

 vania State College says, "Dlsbu'^ding, or the selection of v'ell- 

 locpted apple buds to form some of the desired scaffold branches, 

 removing all others, does not produce as good trees as desired '-'ith 

 several of our standard varieties, particularly those rrhlch tend to 

 make narro'.'' crotches." 



A nri" use is found for the moon in making illustrations such 

 as these; The amount of ne^'sprint paper used annually in the U. S. 

 '"ould make a sheet of paper h^O feet >"ide reaching from the earth 

 to the moon, rhlle the lumber used annually in the U. S. vould build 

 a boardralk of similar length, ^0 feet ^"ide and one inch thick. 

 And that reminds us of the many fruit trees reaching tovard the 

 moon because of cro^''dlng neighbors. If all of the excess trees in 

 our orchards ^"ere placed end to end, perhaps they'd reach about as 

 far. 



The favorite hosts of the tent caterpillar are the black 

 cherry, fire cherry and choke cherry. Next to these the apple is 

 preferred. This common roadside pest of Nei-' England is discussed 

 in very readable language by A. I. Bourne and F, R. Sha^-' In Ext. 

 Leaflet No. I67, The Eastern Tent Caterpillar, This publication 

 has just recently come off the press. 



Grading of oranges by use of the X-Ray seems to be the next 

 step for citrus packers. By means of a recently Invented machine 



