Soil Organi c Mstttor Important. Soil organic mi-tter or soil humus is the most 

 importuit storehouse of pl-nt nutritsnts in nature, according to A. 'kV. Blair and 

 S. A- Wak^man, as reported in New Jersey Bulletin 653 "Soil Org-Jiic Matter and 

 the Living Plant." Humus invests the soil with u number of important physical 

 and chemical properties which make the soil a favorable medium for plant growth. 

 Humus decomposes gradually in the soil, giving off a slow stream of carbon 

 dioxido, ammonia and available phosphorus. Humus also supplies the growing 

 plants with a. great variety of elements essential for plant growth. Humus also 

 prevents the rapid impoverishment of the soil and combats deterioration by wind 

 and water orosion. 



New Publicat ion o n Dwarf Fruits . U.S.D.A. Leaflet ^178, "Dwarf Fruits" by 

 H. p. Gould discusses the following subjects. What are Dwarf Fruits? The Place 

 of Dwarf Fruits in American Pomology, Planting and Care of Dwarf Fruit Trees, 

 Planting Distances and Depth of Planting, Pruning and Training, Cultural Prcctices, 

 Varieties, Age of Bearing, and Yield of Dwarf Apple Trees. 



Dutton He:.ds R egional Market . Chester F. Dutton has been appointed manager of 

 the Boston Regional Produce Market at West Cambridge by the directors following 

 the resignation of Manager Arthur Magurn. Mr. Dutton has managed thu auction at 

 the Market for a number of years. Preparations t^re being made for a big season. 



Starting the New O rchard . Helpful suggestions concerning the young orchard are 

 contained in,'* r=)cently revised jixtension Leaflet No. 182, "iiistablishing Apple 

 Orchards," written by J. K. Shaw. Following are the items discussed. Orchard 

 Sites, Choice of Trees, Planting Plans and Distances, Varieties, Pollination, 

 Should Fillers Be Planted? Setting the Trees, and Cure of the Trees. A copy 

 may be obtained from your County Agricultural Agent. 



New Data on Orchard So il Moi sture. The variation of orchard soil moisture in 

 12 New York orchards over a 2-y6ar period is reported in Bulletin 706 by Boynton 

 and Savage of the Cornell Univ. Agr. jibcp. Sta. They find that a lack of soil 

 moisture seldom limits the productivity of New York orchards on v/ell-drained, 

 relatively porraeable orchard soils wnich permit rooting to a depth of 4 feet. 

 They indicate, however, that low perme.. ability coupled with poor drainage and 

 the presence of bedrock at a shallow depth, can be responsible for a direct lack 

 of soil moisture and consequent low productivity. 



Apple Silage . An interesting experiment on "The Digestibility and Feeding 

 Value of Apple imd Apple-Alfalfa Silage" is reported in Washington Bulletin 

 No. 362 by Knott, Hodgson and Overholser. A mixture of 80 per cent of apples 

 and 2o p^^r cent of freshly cut alfalfa wus ensiled. This material proved pal- 

 atable and nutritious. On a dry matter basis the apple alfalf% hay silage con- 

 tained an average of 5.4 per cent of digestible crude protein and 57.2 per cent 

 of total digestible nutrients. 



Possible Tree In.iury from Anchorage Wires . There is some evidence to show that 

 the wires used in supporting hurricane damaged trees are causing injury whore 

 wrapped around the limbs without adequt-.te padding. One grower reports definite 

 injury to the cambium where the wires were used in connection with short pieces 

 of rubber hose. He believes that screw eyes ore much Safer and that they should 

 be used to replace the other method of attachment on larger trees. This matter 

 will bear investigation both from the standpoint of a secure anchor. -ge for each 

 damaged tree tjid a kind of anchorage which v^ill not Cause permanent injury to the 

 brt;,nch . 



