FRUIT iJOTES 



October, 19^0 



W. H. Thies 

 Extension Horticulturist 



108 Years Ago 



Speaking before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society- 

 October 3rd, 1832, Dr. Thaddeus Y/illiaia Harris, a prominent entom- 

 ologist of that day ssid, "Many orchards suffer from the neglect 

 of their proprietors j the trees are permitted to remain year after 

 year without any pains being taken to destroy the numerous and var- 

 ious insects that infest them; old orchards especially are over- 

 lookea, and not only the rugged trunks of the trees but even a 

 forest of unprmied suckers around them are left to the undisturbed 

 possession of the apple borer. Did this slove;\iy and indolent 

 practice affect only the owner of the neglected domain v/e should 

 have no reason for complaint; but vJien the interests of the com- 

 munity are exposed by the harboring of such noxious insects, vvhich 

 arinualjy issue from their places of refuge and overspread the 

 neighboring country, when oui' best endeavors are thus frustrated, 

 have v;e not sufficient cause for serious accusation against triose 

 who have fostered our assailants?" This sounds like modern doc- 

 trine and might well be expressed in soiuewhat different words by a 

 present day entomologist. 



In the same talk Dr. Harris outlined the control of var- 

 ious fruit insects. Concerning aphids he said, "The means of des- 

 troying Aphides are readily obtained and applied. Solutions of 

 soap and weak alkaline licuors used warm, and thrown up by a gar- 

 den engine, are the proper remedies." The term "garden engine" is 

 a puzzler. Those of us who supposed that spraying had its origin 

 in the Gay Nineties are surprised to learn that an insecticide in 

 liquid form was applied by a mechanical contrivance more than one 

 hundred years ago. 



Do You Know 



That each normal seed which develops in a fruit, be it 

 apple, grape or strawberry, results from fertilization by a sep- 

 arate pollen tube and that there may be scores of these pollen 

 tubes competing with each other for tae privilege of fertilizing 

 a single seed embryo? A. P. French 



That bud sport varieties may produce limbs of fruits which 

 show a reverse sporting? Two interesting Starking apples have 



Issued by the F.xtension Service, Wlllard a . Munson, Director, 

 in furtherance of Acts of i.lay o and June 30, 1914' Massachusetts 

 State College, United States Department oi i^gricul ture, and County 

 Extension Services cooperating. 



