-7- 



vvhor^iCiS ut -100 -'F. thd resistance is raised to 100 lbs. The c^nclusicn 

 is drawn th..t >_t O'^F. frauzing is n^t Complete. L. Southwick. 



Po&t M-SS fur tho Newly S^t Tr-jes 



At the Geneva Experiment Stati^^n, the value of granulated peat 

 m^ss inc.^rpwra.ted with the suil in the tree hole has been domL^nstrated, 

 esi. tiCially during wet years. In dry years, the beneficial effects were 

 much less pr-.nounced. L. S^uthwick. 



Siave tue Hurricane Trees 



H. A. Reliins, ji^tension Fruit Specialist in Gunnecticut, points 

 uut six needs ^f the hurricane damaged tree as follows i {!) Guy v»ires 

 should be kept tight to prevent trees fr^m swaying. (2) Prune medcr<_tfaly 

 because the leaf surface is needed. (3) Fertilize iavder-.tely in spring and 

 within the reach ef injured rjots. (4) Spr-^y with mild sulfurs to avoid 

 burning of foliage. (5) Mulch trees to preserve moisture and Vi^ater them 

 during a drjught. (6) Thin fruit heavily tu reduce the dem-nd for food supply. 



Grading Versus Degrading 



W. Jfi. Piper givcs us this enlightening observation from the Bostjn 

 Market. "It's nothing nev/ for peddlers and others to mix sorae Fancy apples 

 with soT;,e ordinary ones 'to sweeten ther,: up.' But the extremes to which 

 this is carried sometimes give you a jolt. 'That fellov/ puts up a nice apple,' 

 remarked a buyer the ether morning, 'a slick Fancy pack and a good B grade.' 

 'Which dj you take?' v/e asked. 'Oh, me,' he replied, 'I buy .,bout half and 

 half Fancys and B grades and then I mix 'em myself.' N-w this is njt offered 

 as an argument against grading. Certainly the bulk of this particular line 

 of fruit sells well because it is graded. But just as it takes all kinds 

 ^f people to make a w^-rld, so it takes all kinds of buyers to make a market. 

 In this p...rticular case it certainly is a pity th^^t the work of grading this 

 nice mark of apples has to be undone at the other end of the line by this 

 mixing or degrading of the fruit." 



T he Test Tube and Soil Fertility 



Tne merits of soil testing have been debated for m^re than a cen- 

 tury. In 1813, Sir Humphrey D-.vy wr.te in his "elelemnts of agricultural 

 Chemistry" as follows* "If tne land be unproductive and a system of amelio- 

 rating it is to be attempted, the sure Uiothod of ^bto.ining tne object is by 

 doteriuining the ct.use of its sterility, wiiicn must necessarily depend upon 

 some defect in the Constitution of the Soil, v/hicli Uc.y be easily discovered 

 by cneniical analysis." Fifty tv;^ ye..rs later, Dr. August Voelckor said, "There 

 was c time when I thought, v;itji n„ny ^ther young chemists, thr.t s^il analy- 

 ses Would do everything for the farmer. Throe or four years of further ex- 

 perience and hard study rather inclined me to side with those men v/ho con- 

 sider th^.t they are of no practical utility wiiatever. And noW after 18 years 

 of c-ntinued occupation Vifith chemico-agricultural ];ursuits, and I trust 

 with more matured judgment, I have c-r.-e to the Conclusion that there is hardly 

 any subject so full of practical interest to the farmer as that of the chem- 

 istry ^f soils. The longer and more minutely Soil investigations -.re curried 

 on by competent m.en, the greater, I am convinced vd.ll be their practical util- 

 ity." Then in the first quarter of the 20th century there developed a mania 



