-3- 



appeal from the Director's repjrt within ten days in writing tj the Commissioner 

 of Agriculture, vi/huse decisi^-n is final. 



Fortunately, most jf the cases of pest menace un adjoining property may 

 be cleared upj^irect cooperation between the owners concerned. And, of cjurse, 

 nj real fruit gr-vVtor would think of complaining until ha hii/iStilf has d^ne a 

 thorough job of house cleaning at home. The above law was not intundud to apply 

 where noith-r of the parties are making a real effort to grow clean fruit. But 

 if lugal help should be needed to clear up the occasional flagrant raonaco, there 



is, in thto Words of I/x . Rico, "plenty of law to control the situi^tijn." The 

 orch_rdist may write to the Director of tho Division of Plunt Pest Control or to 

 the Commissioner of Agriculture setting forth his complaint, and if investiga- 

 tion sust-ins the c_.mplaint the ovi^ncr of tho raenact; will remedy the situati-^n 

 or huvo it cloanod up ut his own oxponse. 



RoOt Injury and P.ec^very 



Speaking at a recent meeting of fruit growers in Uorceeter, A. J. Heinicke 

 made these statements about the roots of a tree; We know considerably more about 

 the tops of trees than about their roots. If the top is injured or pruned heavily, 

 we get a lot of sucker growth, lil/liat goes on boio.v thd surface of the ground is 

 less well known. Only occasionally do v;a have a chance to learn what the tree is 

 doing below ground. Thtj tree shows a marked aoility to adjust itself to adverse 

 circumstances. Fortunately, it remains more or less passivo to many of the things 

 that we do to it. Sooner or later the true tends to adjust itself and bring about 

 a balance. 



There is a marked interdependence between the root system and the top. 

 The top depends upon the roots for its water and its nutrient elements necessary 

 for proper functioning of the loaves. A tree does not necessarily ttiko up nu- 

 trients in proportion to the water it tak^s up. The amount of v;ater varies 

 largely from day to day, depending upon hov/ much is lost. Just because we have 

 tremendous losses of water one day does not mean the tree is taking in large 

 amounts of nutrient elements at the same time. We have here tv\^o sepr-rate func- 

 tionsj the one of taking up v/uter is largely to replenish that which is lost, 

 as for examplo, by evaporu.tion. The balance between top and root system is 

 neVer a definitely fixed thing. The ratio may fluctuate rather widely. 



The import ;nce of water is quite obvious. Succulent portions of a tree 

 are 60 to 8O/0 water. Wu.ter is particularly important early in the season when 

 there is expansion of these new tissues. Unless we h->ve proper expansion of the 

 cells they simply mature and remain more or less fixed. We need an excess of 

 water during the growing period to expand the tissues and thereby promote shoot 

 and leaf growth. Latter in the season the only portion of the top making any con- 

 siderable growth is the fruit, and that is subjoct to wide variation, depending 

 1-^rgoly upon water pressure or turgidity. It is important th-..t we have large 

 m_sses of roots in contact with moist soil. 



In an uprooted tree wo see mainly the conducting and storage tissues of 

 the root system. The very active portions, the root hairs, are very short lived 

 lasting for only a fev,/ days or weeks .-t a time. They are constantly being re- 

 plenished. The top of ^ tree, if unpruned, tends to prune itself. In much the 

 Same way we may find p-rts of the root system being eliminated naturally. Roots 

 as large as 1 or 2 inches in diameter may sometimes be found dead, and if ^ root 



