-5- 



dependent upon maturity and sugar content of the fruit, plus light. That is, 

 unless there is a vigorous leaf growth and unless the foliage is manufacturi? • 

 sufficient sugar to supply each individual fruit on the tree, poor color will 

 result no matter hov/ good the light. It is for this reason that an overloaded 

 tree often produces un^er-colored fruit. It is also the reason why a light crop 

 of fruit is ofton-' 'l;ir;hly colored. As one of New York's best fruit growers re- 

 cently stated, 'The trees that produce the best colored fruit are the ones that 

 arc in good vigorous conditioni'" 



Each year more fruit and truck farmers in the humid eastern states are 

 supplementing rainfall v/ith irrigation, according to F.E.Staobnor, Bureau En- 

 gineer in charge of irrigation research in the eastern states « "Supplemental 

 irrigation," ho says, "is good insurance for fruit and truck crops." Five humid 

 states, typicr.l of those in v;hich farmers arc finding irrig^.tion a help when rain"* 

 fall . is insufficient 5 and the number of acres irrigated in each, according to 

 a 1936 report of the An. Soc. of Agr'l. Engineers, arc Ohio, 10,100, lUchigan, 

 7,600, New Jersey, 6,000, Virginia, 3,600, and Itiryland 1,150. If we could be 

 certain of- getting at least 4 inches of rainfall per month, with not to cxccod 

 two v;ecks bctwoon the replenishing rains, there would be little nood for any 

 thought of irrigation in Lfcssachusctts, oven on the lighter soils. A combination, 

 hov/ever, of poor distribution of rainfall and poorer retention in some of our 

 soils, should stimulate serious thought on the matter of irrigation insurance. 

 Water is a limiting factor in our average orchard at leabt one yo?.r in throe. 



An insect somewhat resembling the Buffalo Tree Hopper, but bearing a 

 rhinocorous-liko prong on its head, was recently sent to the State College for 

 identification. With the aid of A. I. Bourne, the "critter" was found to possess 

 the formidable name Glossonotus crataogi. It has boon reported as being seen on 

 havv'thorno, quince, crabapplo, pecjr, and the cultivated rose. The quince may be 

 its favorite host plant since one authority says this species of tree hopper ^s 

 fairly common in the Northeast wherever quinces are grovm. 



The "thin wood" method of pruning apple trees was discussed by Prof. V. R. 

 Gardner of L'lichigan at one of the Farm and Home liVeek meetings in Amherst. Brief- 

 ly stated, branches whose 4-yr.-old wood is not more than 3/8 of an inch in di- 

 ameter are inclined to bear small, poorly colored fruit, and should be removed. 

 This means pruning out moro of the shaded, drooping branches, and fcv/cr in the 

 top of the tree. The theory underlying this method is sound. The Liichigan folks 

 have labelled a kind of grovrth which many growers have observed for years. Prun- 

 ing out this kind of v/ood is nothing now. The question which wo must decide is 

 how much v/ood of a mere vigorous nature, if any, can v/e profitably remove. 



The summer mooting of the M.F.G.A. at the orchard of George Drow in West- 

 fcrd on August 11 v/ill bring together fruit growers from throughout eastern 

 Massachusetts. Visitors will see a good orchard and a go^d storage, to say 

 nothing of listening to a good program. 



There has been more evidence of tree climbing in Ifeissachusotts apple or- 

 chards this summer than for rc.nj sumnors past. The reason? To check on the kind 

 of spray coverage in the top, and to observe the extent t- which scab spots have 

 boon burned out. Gymnastics of this kind arc very luuch worth while when they 

 reveal how poorly the top of the average tree is being covered, in tine to modify 

 the spraying technique. 



