FRUIT NOTES - August, 1941 



W. H. Thies 

 Extension Horticulturist 



Observations in Frank lin County Orchards 



Yhe writ'er' n'as ' just~rriade"ar'ser'ies of 22 orchard visits in Colrain, 

 Aslifield, Slielburne, and other hill tovms in company with Assistant County 

 Agent Stanley Burt. Practically every farm in this area has its Baldwin 

 orchard. T.'hen we think of Franklin County we commonly think of Baldv/in apples 

 because of the prominent part they have played in its agricultural history. 

 Ivlany shiploads of Baldvdns have been exported to England in years past. And 

 even though the export trade has disappeared many thousands of Baldwin trees 

 remain. A large jauriber of these trees are more than 25 years of age, and 

 as stated in the June issue of Fruit I^otes, the Baldwin crop of the current 

 season is disappointingly small. 



As vife travelled from orchard to orchard during the past tv/o weeks 

 we vrere impressed with tne foliowijig items: (1) A large proportion of the 

 Baldwin trees in Franklin County are of doubtful value from a proi'it making 

 standpoint because of severe v.'inter injury in 1934 or because they are nov; 

 too old or too tall to render economical apple production possible. On prac- 

 tically every farm old, tall, scattered Baldwin trees should be cut down and 

 made into firewood. The wood burning furnace is an ideal market for these 

 old timers. (2) Orchards v;hich are somev.'hat younger, located on good soils 

 and sufficiently compact to permit efficient spraying may well be given more 

 attention. The common practice of cutting hay in the orchard and hauling it 

 to the barn is not increasing the grower's chance of profit from these trees. 

 If the older trees are eliminated considerable land now devoted to an unprofit- 

 able orchard will be released for the growing of hay. '"hatever hay grows in 

 the orchard should be used for mulching purposes except in rare instances 

 vfhere the soil is so fertile that a moderate amount may be removed and fed 

 to livestock. (5) In the orchard, as in other farm enterprises, we are likely 

 to get out no more than ve put in. If we delay fertilizing, pruning, mulching, 

 and spraying until some future time when a big crop is in prospect, the big 

 crop may never appear. \'ie recommend for the more promising Baldwin trees in 

 Franklin County and elsewhere a little investment, as suggested above. If 

 they fail to respond, these trees like the old timers whicli have outlived 

 their usefulness, should be made to contribute to the wood pile. There is 

 reason to believe that the 1942 bloom xvill be fairly heavj^. The coming fall 

 and winter is therefore an ideal time to reorganize the orchard by cutting 

 out the less promising blocks along witn the scattered trees and by doing 

 something to insure a crop of marketable fruit in the rest of the orchard. 



A Borrov;ed Editorial 



The following timely statement on "Fruit Grading Standards" in a 

 recent issue of the Rural New Yorker deserves tlie attention of every fruit 

 grovjer in Massachusetts. 



"Far-sighted fruit growers are looking beyond the minimum grade stand- 

 ards now in force, to something better. Present day regulations call for cer- 

 tain size, color, and blemish standards, mostly directed at oxitvTrd appearance. 



