-7- 



Massachusetts p. Piorjoer Sta te in Soi3. Mapping . 



Masse chusetts v/as amont: the fiviit fev: states to be cora- 

 pletely covered by a detailed soil :::urvey. /. P'^rt of the lov.er 

 Connecticut Valley wcs surveyed in 1899. -Plymouth County was mapped 

 in 1911. After some delay during the Vvorld War, mapping was re- 

 sumed in 1920 and continued until, v/ith the surveying of Frj-nklin 

 County in 1929, the state was completed. 



Maybe That's How It Started 



V'e had alv^a^AS supposed that "strawberries" v.'ere so named 

 because straw was conu-nonly used for mulching. But the folj.owing 

 statement from the French Gardener of 1691 melees us wonder if the 

 origin of the name may not go back to the ancient custom of tying 

 the plants with straw: "You must dress, weed and loose the mould 

 about the plants very diligentl:/, and to have fair and clear fruit, 

 3'ou shall stick a small prop to every pl^.nt, to which you shxll 

 bind their stalks v/ith a straw . " 



Do Lcrger Yields Mean Softer Fruit? 



At p recent fruit meeting, a grower raised this question: 

 "Are we getting softer Mcintosh as a result of our efforts to get 

 larger yields? The answer is a qualified "Yes." A nitrogen starved 

 tree has smaller, firmer, more liighly colored apples, and fev/er of 

 them. A tree vfith an abundance of nitrogen, plus a good water 

 supply, bears larger and generally softer apples. Some of them 

 m.ay be poorly colored. If we can't get both high yields and ideal 

 color and quality, let's compromise between the best possible yields 

 consistent with other desirable characteristics. Large annual 

 yields are of primary importance. And incidentclly, let's give 

 more attention to packages and methods of handling which will insure 

 good m.arket condition in a naturally soft apple. 



"Poor Ma n ' s Mul c h " is a term sometimes applied to snow. As this is 

 being written I'e're gettiiig another heavy snowfall on top of the 9" 

 blizzard of February 14- Here's hoping its Vc.lue to the "not too 

 wealthy farmer'' may be in proportion to the amount now covering the 

 landscape. It remains to be seen what in;iury, if any, may have oc- 

 curred during the contin"aed cold v/eather during January v.iien the 

 ground was bare. 



A good mulch not only protects the roots of plants by 

 preventing deep freezing, but when it disintegrates it yields to 

 the surrowiding vegetation something of real value. In the case 

 of organic matter the products of decomposition not only improve 

 the texture of the soil and increase its cbility to retain moisture, 

 but provide nitrogen and other mineral elements. Snow, if it is 

 to live up to its reputation as a mulch, must also yield sometl:ing 

 of value v;hen it disappears, namely W'ater. 3ut v/ater is of no use 

 unless it soaks into the soil tnd is available v;hen needed. v,"i£,t 

 runs down into the valley may be worse thf.n useless. Melting snow 

 over deeply frozen ground can scarcely qualify as a good Liulch. 

 But if tiiere is plenty of organic matter beneath the snow to prevent 

 most of the surface runoff then it contributes something of vital 

 importance to the fruit plantation. 



